We invited Cleveland residents from Wards 1 and 2 to a community conversation on voting and politics. This is what they want city leaders to know.

On May 13, Cleveland VOTES teamed up with Signal Cleveland to host Elections Unfiltered: Promises, Power+ Politics, a special "unfiltered" community conversation event. We provided the participants with a safe space to talk about the issues that are important to them and their priorities for the 2025 elections. All of the participants live in one of these neighborhoods:

• Lee-Harvard

• Lee-Miles

• Lee-Seville

• Union-Miles

• Mt. Pleasant

We started the meeting by asking participants to name their favorite local “hidden gems” from their neighborhoods in order to break the ice and to learn more about one another and the region. Here were some highlights:

• Mayor Arthur Johnson’s home

• The Myrtle Highview District

• Feiner Historic District

• Mill Creek Falls

• Lee-Harvard Plaza

• Newly built schools

The facilitators then broke up the participants into two groups where the conversations revolved around community engagement challenges, particularly in relation to council members and local politics. The discussions also touched on the need for genuine investments in community arts, culture, and small businesses, rather than just promises. Here are some of the key issues that they discussed.

The challenges of trying to stay engaged

Multiple attendees complimented their council members for being responsive to requests for fixing potholes, but said that sometimes their council members  host community meetings at times that are not convenient for the average resident (for example, 4:30 on a work and school day). Another issue is council members will only hold one meeting, and it might be in an area that isn’t accessible to all residents.

An attendee had this to say about the challenges of attending meetings:

“Why can't the council person host two different meetings in different parts of the community at two different times? Because that helps engage more people, and they want to come out. But you also want me to be an engaged parent. You also want me to go to City Hall and be engaged with what's going on here. You also want me to be in my community trying to change something. I'm only one person, and it's a bunch of one persons all through the community.”

Safety 

There was also a call for increased police presence, especially in neighborhoods with  vulnerable residents.

“There's a lot of old people, including myself, in this neighborhood,” one attendee said, “And when I see an elderly person looking disheveled walking down the street, I'm concerned that they might have dementia and that somebody might harm them. You know, police are trained to be on the watch for things like that. We might all feel better with a higher police presence. “

In addition to increased presence, residents would like for police to be more accessible in the community, and they’d like to explore the possibility of getting more police substations. Regarding youth safety, participants suggested rebooting the “Safe Routes to School’ program and funding solutions to gun violence.

Arts, culture and recreation

The participants believe that the community has great potential for creativity and innovation. They’d like to see more investment in local artists as well as funding for more arts and cultural spaces for all ages. They’d also like to see better marketing/communications for recreation centers and low cost programs that are already available so more families can send their children. And there should be safe transportation to and from these programs and for the recreation centers to have longer hours. 

Jobs and commerce

To boost the local economy, attendees want more investment in small businesses and more investment in people through economic empowerment and career training. 

Housing

Concerns about real estate and housing issues were raised multiple times. Residents want housing for low to middle income that is affordable and better housing choices for aging family members (not multi-level buildings, which creates accessibility barriers). They also want local government to crack down on LLCs that don’t care for homes and to help fund projects that increase property values.  

Environment and community beautification

The attendees think the city should more strongly enforce illegal dumping and provide more consistent garbage pickups (especially of larger items). They also said that the city started demolition on several abandoned homes that were never completed. Residents would also like to see more parks and for the city to do a better job of managing current parks (such as clearing out overgrown areas).  

Food

Food availability and costs also came up. The participants called on city leaders to do more to address food deserts. 

Going forward

Here are some of the takeaway action items that attendees would like to see from local leadership:

• Communicating more clearly and transparently about plans and initiatives, including how they will be implemented.

• Coordinating better scheduling of community meetings to avoid conflicts with other events.

• Increasing police presence in the community.

• Investigating opportunities to create dedicated, accessible spaces for arts, culture, and creativity in the community.

• Developing strategies to support and invest in local small businesses, including those owned by community members.

• Creating space to turn data into tangible action.

• Hosting your public meetings that are casual and honest, like the Elections Unfiltered event.

  
  

Thank you to all of the participants who took time out of their busy schedules and showed up for their neighborhoods. We are hoping to host more Elections Unfiltered events this year. If you’d like to get updates on the next one, sign up for our newsletter.