Danny Kelly

Andrew DeFratis

Tanmay Shah

by Chuck Hoven

   (Plain Press August 2025) On July 10^th at Story Church at 99^th and Madison, the Clifton-Baltic Neighbors Block Club hosted a Meet the Candidates Forum for City Council candidates seeking to be the City Council representative for the new Ward 12.  Three candidates participated in the forum: Andrew DeFratis, Danny Kelly, and Tanmay Shah. Each candidate was given an opportunity to introduce themselves and answer questions solicited in advance by the block club. A moderator asked the questions.

   The candidates will be on the ballot in the September 9^th Primary Election. The top two finishers in the Primary Election will again be on the ballot in the November General Election. To check if you live in the new Ward 12, see the accompanying Ward 12 Map downloaded from the Cuyahoga County Board of Election’s website or visit the website at: boe.cuyahogacounty.gov and click on Maps and Data.

   The upstairs meeting room at Story Church was filled with those observing the forum. In addition to the candidates’ opening and closing remarks and answers to questions, those in attendance were given a pamphlet with personal profile prepared by each candidate for the Clifton-Baltic Neighbors Block Club.

   The pamphlet offers background on each candidate in their own words.

   Andrew DeFratis says his current occupation is as the Senior Director of Public Affairs for the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center. He graduated from Garfield Heights High School, has a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Education from the University of Akron, and has a Master of Public Administration Degree from Cleveland State University. He lives on W. 106^th in the Clifton-Baltic neighborhood.

   DeFratis says, “I’ve lived with my partner, Adam, in Edgewater since 2016, but I grew up in Garfield Heights. I studied to be a high school government teacher and found my calling in nonprofit advocacy. I’ve worked with Summit County’s Alcohol Drug Addiction and Mental Health Board, built policy support with the Alzheimer’s Association, and now advocate for the survivors of sexual violence with the Rape Crisis Center. I worked on Sherrod Brown’s 2012 Senate Campaign, served as president of the Stow Democratic Club, treasurer of the Ward 15 Democratic Club, and parliamentarian of the Cuyahoga County Democrats.”

   Danny Kelly is currently a Cleveland City Councilman (Ward 11). He has a General Equivalency Degree (GED). He lives on W. 132^nd Street.

   Kelly says, “I have been proudly serving the current Ward 11 as Councilmember since January of 2023. I am a dues paying member of (Building Laborers) Local 310 for the past 47 years and counting. Before joining Council, I worked for the Teachers Union, Local 279 for the Cleveland Metropolitan School District for approximately 10 years. As a single father, I raised four children from the ages of 4, 6, 7, and 8, while building skyscrapers. Since the age of 17 I have been working to provide for my family and now do the same for all my constituents.”

   Tanmay Shah says he is a truck driver and a lawyer. He is a graduate of Kent State University and Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) School of Law. Shah lives on W. 139^th in the Jefferson neighborhood.

   Shah says, “I am an immigrant from India who is a product of public schools. I studied political science and economics as an undergrad. My passion for social justice led me to CWRU Law School. I was a leader involved in student government and organizations such as Moot Court and South Asian Law Students Association. I helped start our chapter of National Lawyers Guild. My experience working in the private sector, and state and federal government, have equipped me with the skills to navigate these systems and make me the best candidate in the race. As an attorney at Legal Aid, I represented 100s of tenants against landlords and helped unionize our workplace. For the past year, I’ve worked as a driver for Rust Belt Riders, a local composting co-op.”

   The printed pamphlet also provided each candidate an opportunity to state their priorities for the new Ward 12.

   Andrew DeFratis says, “My top priorities for the ward, our neighborhoods, and the city are improving public safety (by encouraging transparency, accountability, and modern support) and addressing health policy (including lead, racial equity, and environmental action) while prioritizing a responsive local government. Specific to the ward, I’m interested in updating the vision for the Lorain Ave./West 117^th intersection, filling the Variety Theater, and getting walkable start-ups in storefronts. I believe that area has the potential to be the next Gordon Square.”

   Danny Kelly says, “My top priority, for the new Ward 12 and the city, are good paying jobs. Every Clevelander should have stability and benefits in employment, like I did as a member of a union. We should be encouraging people to both join or create unions to ensure fair employment practices for all residents. Good paying, benefit providing jobs are the cornerstone to improving our communities and quality of life.”

   Tanmay Shah says, “My top priorities are affordable housing, affordable groceries, and reliable City services. City services should not be dependent on who you know, or how much money you make. I believe the city government should be there to ensure a dignified life for every resident, not just for the rich. Our population has grown two years in a row. I want our ward to not just grow but also to retain residents. We cannot talk about giving hundreds of millions in taxpayers’ money to a stadium while children in West Blvd. suffer from one of the highest rates of lead poisoning in the city. This is another priority that I want to work on if I am elected. If we build a city that works for the working class, we will thrive.”

   Organizers of the forum from the Clifton-Baltic Neighbors Block Club also asked each candidate to describe what they thought is the biggest challenge facing Cleveland.

   Andrew DeFratis says, “Cleveland’s biggest challenge is restoring community trust in follow-through. I’ve talked to residents passionate about issues – trans rights, tree canopy, absentee landlords, stopping unwanted gas stations – and even when something is happening, it often fizzles. That erodes trust, especially when it comes to safety, schools, jobs, and health – and leads to population loss, which costs us even more. I’d work to rebuild that trust on Council by holding leadership accountable, publicizing both progress and obstacles, and bring more residents to the problem-solving process to ensure solutions are formed with authentic community investment.”

   Danny Kelly says, “The biggest issue is the lack of jobs and education that set up our next generation for success. In the past the city was thriving, but that was when we had jobs for all who lived here and the resources to prepare our residents for any job they might choose. We need to revitalize our transportation options such as Cleveland Hopkins International. To further grow Cleveland and attract investing businesses we need to build up Clevelanders abilities and set them up for success.”

   Tanmay Shah says, “We have been losing people for decades. To create a thriving city and continue generating revenue for city services, we must reverse this trend. This is Cleveland’s generational challenge. Our growth for the last two years has primarily been driven by immigrants. This is a city built and defined by immigrants, and we must lean into this. To attract immigrants and working-class people, we must have affordable housing, affordable groceries, and reliable city services.”

   The forum allowed candidates to elaborate on their priorities while answering questions from residents. All the questions were submitted to the forum organizers prior to the meeting, most coming from online contributions.

   Commenting on the most important issues Kelly again stressed the importance of jobs. He said he saw opportunities for job growth in the building trades and in entertainment. He said the city must also stress the importance of education. He said without quality educational opportunities when families have children reaching kindergarten or first grade, they are leaving the city. He said, we must give them a reason to stay.

   Shah called for putting a plan in place for affordable housing. He said the city needed to place a cap on late fees for renters and make sure that leases are fair to tenants. He called for a plan to assure that senior citizens won’t be forced out of their houses by rising property taxes and a plan for creating affordable grocery stores. Shah called lead poisoning a historic challenge. He noted that the West Boulevard neighborhood had one of the highest child lead poisoning rates in the city. He said he would address that in his first year in Council. “It has been a problem for too long,” he said.

   DeFratis said he sees the job of City Council Representative as one of balancing policy making with doing constituent services. DeFratis said City Council tends to spend a lot of time doing constituent services and is not meeting its obligation to focus on policy. DeFratis said if elected he plans to work with Westown Community Development Corporation to increase activities in the neighborhood and work on community building. He called for meetings with residents in the area south of Lorain Avenue and creating a master plan for area around W. 117^th and Lorain Avenue.

   Candidates were asked to address how to keep the trust of residents, hold their colleagues accountable and tackle concerns of residents about corruption and lack of transparency at City Hall.

   Shah pointed out that Cleveland City Council recently raised the campaign contribution limits from $1,500 per individual to $3,000 per individual and from $3,000 per organization to $6,000 per organization. He said this is something that needs to be addressed if you want working class people to get control of Cleveland’s government. He said the average Clevelander doesn’t have $3,000 to give to a candidate. He called for campaign finance reform.

   DeFratis called for bringing back Campaign Finance oversite and called for greater transparency. He cited an example of a donor giving $4,000 to a campaign, $1,000 over the limit, but the campaign only receiving a $50 fine for the transgression. DeFratis called for community input as frequently as possible.

   Kelly said Council candidates need money to run a campaign. He said getting money from people is not wrong. Just don’t do something that is not proper.

   In a related matter, candidates were asked for their stance on elimination of the Council Leadership Fund.

   DeFratis said he supports elimination of the Council Leadership Fund. He said the fund supports the campaigns of incumbents and that is not fair to candidates challenging incumbents.

   Kelly said the fund helps Council persons that don’t have the wherewithal to have funds for campaigning. He said if the public didn’t want it, they could shut it down.

   Shah called the Council Leadership Fund a slush fund. He said it keeps incumbents in office. He said the fund is financed by billionaires and real estate developers. Shah asked the other candidates to agree not to accept campaign funds from the Council Leadership Fund, developers, corporations, or landlords.

   Kelly said as long as it is legal to take money, I will take it. He added, unions write me checks too.

   Candidates were also asked to comment on new development possibilities in the ward.

   DeFratis talked about some sections of W. 117^th needing a master plan to help build up more functional businesses. He suggested a Hispanic business incubator to help fill empty buildings in the area around W. 117^th and Lorain Avenue. He talked about filling businesses in the area around the historic Variety Theater as well as reviving the theater building itself.

   Kelly talked about several restaurants that have recently opened in his ward and plans made with Westown Community Development Corporation. He expressed disappointment with the development plans of the current owner of the Variety Theater that fell through. He noted that you need people with capital to do projects like the Variety Theater. “They need to make money, or they are not going to do it,” he said.

   Shah said business development is very important. He called it “the lifeblood of neighborhoods.” Shah said everybody needs affordable housing, affordable groceries, and good city services. He called for Cleveland City Council to work with the city administration to cut red tape to help facilitate business creation in the neighborhoods. Shah noted the area around W. 117 and Lorain Avenue is called Little Arabia because of the number of businesses in the area owned by members of Cleveland’s Arab community. He said the City has ignored this area for too long. Shah called upon the City to work to make sure that businesses we have already, want to stay.

   Another question posed to candidates concerned their position on the City of Cleveland’s tax abatement policy.

   Kelly mentioned some of the pros and cons of the policy. He said it attracts a lively bunch of residents that don’t have to pay property taxes. In some cases, he said it results in it being cheaper to knock down a house and build new. He also noted the unfairness of someone having to pay $5,000 in property taxes, while their neighbor was paying nothing. He said he hadn’t seen much use of the tax abatements in his current ward. He noted it being used in neighborhoods like Detroit Shoreway. Kelly mentioned another tax incentive package the large Tax Increment Financing of Bedrock’s planned development along the Riverfront. He said he supported it because the schools’ portion of the property taxes were not included in the financing of the future development.

   Shah called for using tax abatement as an incentive for developers to build affordable housing. He said called for avoiding using tax abatement for developers planning on flipping houses just to make more money. He said the property tax revenue is needed to fund schools, libraries, parks and City and County services. He said tax abatement should be used as a tool to get affordable housing built, not to build what developers want to build.

   DeFratis noted homeowners are advocating on the state level about lowering or eliminating property taxes. DeFratis said social services are supported by property taxes. He said we are not making our community better by not funding our schools. He called for tactful conservative use of property tax relief and not awarding it to billionaires and a cutout particularly for Cleveland schools.

   Following the questions, candidates were asked to make some closing remarks.

   Shah said he appreciates everyone who came to the forum. “This is what democracy looks like,” he added. Shah called upon Clevelanders to elect new people to Cleveland City Council with fresh new voices. He said his campaign is knocking on every single door in the neighborhood resulting in neighbors talking to neighbors. He hopes to help build a city government that works for the people.

   Kelly says he sees the job of being a City Council Representative as much more of a blue-collar job. He says he is involved in issues with building inspectors, calls about chuck holes and ground hogs. Kelly said he grew up on the East Side and now lives on the West Side. He said he has been poor and on welfare. Raised four children ages 4, 6,7, and 8 on his own. The main issues he is concerned about are jobs, schools, and safety. He noted that the City of Cleveland is having difficulty staffing empty positions such as police officers and lifeguards for city pools.  He said high school students need to be encouraged to become lifeguards.

   DeFratis spoke of the need for City Council members to do both constituent services and passing legislation. He said he grew up poor in Garfield Heights with a single Mom. DeFratis said he hopes to help make life better for residents of the city I love. He also noted the importance of having a LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) friendly voice in Cleveland City Council, especially with what is happening on the State government and Federal government level.