PHOTO BY CHUCK HOVEN

Thursday, July 31, 2025; Cleveland Co-Op Circles Economic Policy Candidate Forum, Pilgrim Church, 2592 W. 14^th Street: Ward 4 City Council candidate Kris Harsh says residents want better City services.

PHOTO BY CHUCK HOVEN

Thursday, July 31, 2025; Cleveland Co-Op Circles Economic Policy Candidate Forum, Pilgrim Church, 2592 W. 14^th Street: Ward 4 Cleveland City Council candidate Rehan Waheed cites City of Cleveland’s long-term subsidies to billionaires while failing to invest in neighborhoods. He says Clevelanders deserve better representation in Cleveland City Council.

PHOTO BY CHUCK HOVEN

Thursday, July 31, 2025; Cleveland Co-Op Circles Economic Policy Candidate Forum, Pilgrim Church, 2592 W. 14^th Street: Ward 11 City Council candidate Nikki Hudson said the City needs to address lead safety to assure the health of its citizens, while also finding a way to address the burden placed on small landlords trying to create lead safe housing.

by Chuck Hoven

     (Plain Press September 2025) Cleveland Co-Op Circles invited Cleveland City Council candidates from throughout the city of Cleveland to an Economic Policy Candidate Forum on July 31^st at Pilgrim Church on W. 14^th in the Tremont neighborhood.

     Cleveland Co-Op Circles describes itself as “a collaborative project of local co-ops and co-op developers, and people working to build more cooperative economy in Cleveland.” Groups in the Co-Op Circle coalition include Cleveland Owns, Rust Belt Riders, Forest City Tech Co, Little African Food Collaborative, Inter Religious Task Force, and People’s Plumbing.

     A statement from Cleveland Co-Op Circles about the forum says, “The focus of the forum is on municipal economic policy. Candidates will have the opportunity to respond to questions on the following topics: the City’s response to federal policies impacting economic life in Cleveland; the role of co-ops and shared equity models of ownership of businesses, housing, and land stewardship; the City budget as a moral document; affordable housing policy; and other municipal economic policy topics, such as public subsidies for corporations.”

     Due to population loss in the City of Cleveland determined by the 2020 United States Census, the Cleveland City Charter requires that the number of City Council Wards be reduced from 17 to 15. Candidates from throughout the city were invited to the forum.

     Fourteen City Council candidates participated in the forum in person. Ward 5 candidate Rebecca Maurer sent a recorded message.

     The candidates were divided into two groups. Each group was given about an hour to answer questions submitted in advance to Cleveland Co-Op Circles. The questions were asked by moderator Trevelle Harp, the executive director of the Neighborhood Leadership Institute.

Group One

     The first group to answer questions consisted of six City Council candidates: Lesa Jones Dollar (Ward 1), Deborah Gray (Ward 3), LaShorn K. Caldwell (Ward 3), Rehan Waheed (Ward 4), Mike Polensek (Ward 10), and Tanmay Shah, (Ward 12).

     Of the six candidates two are running in City Council wards served by the Plain Press – Rehan Waheed in Ward 4 and Tanmay Shah in Ward 12. Ward 4 serves most of the Old Brooklyn neighborhood and Ward 12 runs from the Edgewater and Cudell neighborhoods on the north to the Cleveland border with the Village of Lindale and City of Brooklyn on the south.

     At the forum Tanmay Shah spoke of Federal government decisions that may affect the well-being of Cleveland residents. He said in the face of federal decisions that negatively impact Clevelanders, local government needs to step up and “show it is working for the working class.”

     Shah spoke of the subsidies Cleveland City Council is giving to Billionaire Dan Gilbert for riverfront development. He said the money should go to the neighborhoods. Shah called for the City of Cleveland to defend its immigrant population and hire attorneys to fight back in Federal Court if local immigrants are abducted by federal agents on the streets of Cleveland.

     Shah called for citizen participation in spending public funds such as the casino revenue each City Council member receives to spend.

     Shah called out the unfairness of the use of the City Council Leadership Fund in protecting incumbents. With a contribution limit of $16,000 per person or organization, Shah said it allows fundraising from the rich to influence the actions of City Council.

     Shah said he would work to change City government. He said as a union organizer he leaned to “speak truth to power.” He said for too long “City Hall hasn’t worked for people.” As a housing attorney, Shah said represented the needs of his clients and worked for them.

     Rehan Waheed said Clevelanders deserve better local government. Waheed spoke of City Council’s subsidies given to billionaires as giving away the long-term future of the city. He said priority should instead be given to the needs of residents in Cleveland neighborhoods.

     Waheed said Cleveland City Council opposed a citizen proposal for Participatory Budgeting and yet approved a billion dollars in subsidies for downtown development. Waheed said while subsidies for development downtown are approved, when it comes to our neighborhoods there is always lack of funds in the budget to address the concerns of residents. Waheed said we need to work for a sustainable future for Cleveland or people will continue to vote with their feet and leave the city.

`Waheed said when Bedrock, Sherwin Williams or the Haslams have come with requests to City Council, the response has been, “How much can we give you?” He said Cleveland needs to be creative with its resources and to stop allowing the “exploitation of neighborhoods so downtown can prosper.”

`Waheed said the Council Leadership Fund, which has different limits on contributions than individual City Council people, allows those in power to keep incumbents in office.

     Waheed said as a physician he takes care of people. He said if City Council members “realize people are first in what we do – the city will thrive again.”

Group Two

     The second group consisted of seven City Council candidates: Kris Harsh (Ward 4), Austin Davis (Ward 7), Mohammad Faraj (Ward 7), Teri Wang (Ward 8), Leon Meredith (Ward 8), Alana Belle (Ward 9), and Nikki Hudson, (Ward 11).

     Of the seven, four are running in City Council wards served by the Plain Press – Kris Harsh in Ward 4, Austin Davis and Mohammad Faraj in Ward 7 and Nikki Hudson in Ward 11.  Ward 4 serves most of the Old Brooklyn neighborhood. Ward 7 includes the Ohio City neighborhood and parts of the Tremont, Detroit Shoreway and Stockyard neighborhoods as well as a portion of downtown. Ward 11 stretches from Edgewater Park on the north to Old Brooklyn on the south. Ward 11 includes parts of the Detroit Shoreway, Cudell, West Boulevard and Stockyard neighborhoods.

     Kris Harsh says after knocking on 10,000 doors he believes what residents want are better services on streets, potholes, snow removal, and trash removal. His priorities include expansion of Cleveland Public Power, working with United Way to provide $1 million to help create a Tenants support organization, and introducing modular housing to Cleveland to help house people who live here now. He also proposed creating nonprofit trailer parks where residents would pay a lot fee and buy a unit that goes on the land as another way to provide affordable housing in Cleveland.

     Harsh cited his efforts to use Federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to help Cleveland residents with medical debt relief. He says $165 million went to help 160,000 Cleveland Families with medical debt. Democracy, Harsh says, means keeping his ears open at monthly Ward meetings.

     Harsh spoke of the bad diets of children receiving free breakfasts and free lunches at Cleveland Metropolitan School District schools. He noted that Cleveland City Council has no say in how the schools are run. He called for an elected or partially elected school board to have more public say in how the schools are run.

     Harsh said his presence on City Council would mean “real work and real solutions.”

     Mohammad Faraj says he has knocked on 4,000 doors and has heard from residents who say they can’t afford property taxes and can’t afford to move. Faraj is concerned about “what and who get prioritized for the spending of tax dollars.” He says residents who contribute to the tax base should see their tax dollars helping to improve their lives.

     Faraj called for increased oversite of the City’s Tax Increment Financing (TIF) subsidies. He said they must be more equitable. For example, he said Community Benefits Agreements could be negotiated with developers receiving a TIF. Perhaps requiring the developer to build a public playground as part of a development or prioritize union apprenticeships for Cleveland residents working on the development.

     Faraj spoke of the City’s responsibility to keep people safe, especially society’s most vulnerable. He also noted some policy decisions by the City have negative consequences. He cited the debate years ago over whether to allow Walmart to come to Steelyard. He said there was discussion about the impact it would have on the community, but it was allowed anyway. A market study was done, and some benefits were given to area businesses to mitigate the harm. He said dozens of small businesses closed due to the competition from Walmart. He said prior to Walmart, “we were not talking about food deserts.”

     Faraj called for the city to make a commitment to affordable housing and to address housing insecurity and hunger.

     Faraj said he is an anti-genocide budget hawk – and would work to make sure the City of Cleveland didn’t use tax dollars to fund genocide in Gaza. He said he would work to assure that tax dollars are not used for exploitation and extraction but rather to make “tangible improvements for every resident.”

     Austin Davis spoke of the pressure on the housing market in Cleveland. Davis called for building more homes so people who want housing in Cleveland can make it into a home. He called for speeding up the approval process and public sector capacity to help build more homes. He noted the role of the Near West Land Trust in reducing the cost of new housing. He called for improved safety, code enforcement and more investment in folks who make the city run.

     Davis called for requiring union labor as part of Community Benefits Agreements with developers. He also noted the role he played in creating City of Cleveland policy to require employers to post salaries for job openings to empower workers’ whose wages are so dramatically low.

     Davis said the current property tax debacle won’t get fixed without State of Ohio intervention.

     Davis summed up some of his priorities. He called for more affordable housing – building every kind of housing. He stressed the importance of street safety – especially for pedestrians and bicycle riders. Davis called for investment in families that live here and provide them with high quality public services.

     Nikki Hudson cited safety, education and health of citizens as priorities. Hudson stressed the importance of addressing the city’s lead crisis by making homes lead safe. Hudson says that the current lead safe policy is a “burdensome process for small landlords.” She called for adjustments to the law to make the City’s lead policy more sustainable. She said small private landlords should not be forced to sell because of the difficulty of making their properties lead safe.

     Hudson cited a belief in economic democracy. She said cooperatives were valuable resources. To inform her policy decisions, Hudson says she would speak to people, small business owners, and merchant associations.

     Hudson noted the limited ability of City Council to make sure children have sufficient food. She noted some resources that can help. She said Food Not Bombs helps to rescue excess food that would otherwise go to a landfill. She also said City Council can raise awareness of community gardens and help to create more.  She said community gardens are places where children can help grow healthy vegetables and fresh fruit.

     Hudson expressed concern about rapid gentrification in the area served by Northwest Neighbors in Ward 11. She suggested that a Land Trust could be used to help people stay in the neighborhood when they otherwise would be forced out.

     Hudson says as a City Council representative she would work for strong neighborhoods, safety, and good governance. She said she would make sure the voices of residents are heard and taken into consideration in policies City Council makes.

Editor’s Note: In the area served by the Plain Press there will be a primary election on September 9^th for candidates in Ward 7 and Ward 12 where there are three candidates competing. In Ward 14, Councilwoman Jasmin Santana is running unopposed. On November 4^th in the general election top two candidates emerging from the primary election and the two candidates running in each of the remaining wards will face off to decide representation in Cleveland City Council for the next four years.