Cleveland City Council

Last updated
Cleveland City Council
Cleveland City Council seal.png
Type
Type
Leadership
President
Blaine Griffin, Democratic
since January 2022 [1]
Majority Leader
Kerry McCormack,Democratic
since January 2022 [2]
Majority Whip
Jasmin Santana,Democratic
since May 2021 [3]
Structure
SeatsTotal seats: 17
Cleveland City Council partisanship 2019.svg
Political groups
  Democratic (17)
Elections
Single-member districts
Last election
November 2, 2021
Next election
November 4, 2025
Meeting place
Cleveland City Hall.jpg
Cleveland City Hall
601 Lakeside Avenue, Room 220
Cleveland, OH 44114
Website
Cleveland City Council Website
Map of the 17 wards of the City of Cleveland, in effect since 2014. Cleveland City Wards 2014.png
Map of the 17 wards of the City of Cleveland, in effect since 2014.

Cleveland City Council is the legislative branch of government for the City of Cleveland, Ohio. Its chambers are located at Cleveland City Hall at 601 Lakeside Avenue, across the street from Public Auditorium in Downtown Cleveland. [4] Cleveland City Council members are elected from 17 wards to four-year terms. [5] In Cleveland's mayor–council (strong mayor) form of government, council acts as a check against the power of the city executive, the mayor. Its responsibilities include "monitoring city departments, approving budgets, and enacting legislation to improve the quality of life [for the citizens of the city]." [5]

Contents

The current President of Council is Blaine Griffin. [1] The council Majority Leader is Kerry McCormack, and the Majority Whip is Jasmin Santana. [6] Patricia Britt serves as the Clerk of Council. [7]

History

The structure and membership of city council have fluctuated throughout Cleveland's history. Established in 1802, it initially included three trustees, and when Cleveland was incorporated as a city in 1836, it had three aldermen. After the annexation of Ohio City in 1854, "the revised city council expanded to 11 wards, with 2 trustees elected from each," or 22 representatives in total. [4] By 1885, the city's legislature had grown to 50 representatives. [4] Cleveland's 1892 Federal Plan, which strengthened the powers of the mayor, reduced the size of council to 20 members, but after the plan was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of Ohio in 1902, council membership grew again to 32. [4]

After gaining municipal home rule from the state in 1912, Cleveland's city government, led by Mayor Newton D. Baker, drafted a new municipal charter. In developing the charter, the size of council proved to be the most contentious issue. According to the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History, "those advocating a small council elected at large maintained that it would be more efficient, less expensive and would eliminate local machine corruption. Those who favored a large council elected by ward considered it more democratic, since it made councilmen answerable to their constituents." [4]

The final charter adopted in 1913 introduced a system with 26 wards each represented by a single council member. Due to the city's continued expansion, council grew to 33 members by 1923, making it "second in size only to Chicago's 50-member council." [4] In the 1920s, during the brief council–manager experiment, the number of council members was reduced to 25. When the mayor–council system was restored in 1931, the city had 33 council members again. [4]

In November 1981, as part of Mayor George Voinovich's effort to streamline city government, Cleveland voters approved reducing council to 21 members. [4] In November 2008, during the tenure of Mayor Frank G. Jackson, Cleveland voters passed a charter amendment linking the size of City Council to the city's population. [8] City Council approved a redistricting plan in March 2009, [9] reducing the number of wards to 19 at the start of the 2010–2013 term. [10] Thereafter, the number of wards was tied to the population identified in the decennial United States Census.

Population decreases identified in the 2010 Census resulted in the elimination of two wards, reducing the number of members to 17. In March 2013, City Council approved new ward boundaries that went into effect in January 2014. [11] Council voted to amend the boundaries on April 17, 2013. [12]

Current council

The members of Cleveland City Council - all from the Democratic Party - are listed below in the order of the ward they serve. [13] [14]

Ward Neighborhoods [13] Council Member [13] In office sinceWard Map
1 Lee–Miles (Lee–Harvard and Lee–Seville), parts of Mount Pleasant and Union–MilesJoe Jones2017
Map
Cleveland City Ward 1 2014.png
2 Union–Miles, parts of Mount PleasantKevin Bishop2017
Map
Cleveland City Ward 2 2014.png
3 Downtown, Ohio City, north Tremont, north Cuyahoga Valley, part of Stockyards Kerry McCormack
Majority Leader
2016
Map
Cleveland City Ward 3 2014.png
4 Buckeye–Shaker and Mount PleasantDeborah Gray2022
Map
Cleveland City Ward 4 2014.png
5 Central, Kinsman, parts of Broadway–Slavic VillageRichard Starr2022
Map
Cleveland City Ward 5 2014.png
6 Fairfax, University Circle, Buckeye–Woodhill, parts of Broadway–Slavic Village and Union–MilesBlaine Griffin
President
2017
Map
Cleveland City Ward 6 2014.png
7 Hough, St. Clair–Superior, Goodrich–Kirtland Park (Asiatown) Stephanie Howse 2022
Map
Cleveland City Ward 7 2014.png
8North Collinwood, parts of Glenville and South Collinwood Michael Polensek 1977
Map
Cleveland City Ward 8 2014.png
9 Glenville, part of University CircleKevin Conwell2001
Map
Cleveland City Ward 9 2014.png
10South Collinwood, Euclid–Green, parts of Glenville and St. Clair–SuperiorAnthony Hairston2017
Map
Cleveland City Ward 10 2014.png
11 West Boulevard, parts of Edgewater, Cudell, and Jefferson Danny Kelly2023
Map
Cleveland City Ward 11 2014.png
12 Broadway–Slavic Village, south Tremont, south Cuyahoga Valley, parts of Brooklyn Centre and Old BrooklynRebecca Maurer2022
Map
Cleveland City Ward 12 2014.png
13 Old Brooklyn, part of StockyardsKris Harsh2022
Map
Cleveland City Ward 13 2014.png
14 Clark–Fulton, parts of Brooklyn Centre, Stockyards, and West BoulevardJasmin Santana
Majority Whip
2017
Map
Cleveland City Ward 14 2014.png
15Edgewater, Detroit–Shoreway, Whiskey Island, part of CudellJenny Spencer2020
Map
Cleveland City Ward 15 2014.png
16 West Park (Jefferson and Bellaire–Puritas)Brian Kazy2015
Map
Cleveland City Ward 16 2014.png
17West Park (Kamm's Corners and Hopkins)Charles Slife2019
Map
Cleveland City Ward 17 2014.png

Committees

As of 2023, City Council has 11 standing committees. [15]

CommitteeChairVice Chair
Development, Planning & SustainabilityAnthony HairstonJasmin Santana
Finance, Diversity, Equity & InclusionBlaine GriffinKerry McCormack
Health, Human Services & the ArtsKevin ConwellRebecca Maurer
Mayor’s AppointmentsJoe Jones
Municipal Services & PropertiesKevin BishopRichard Starr
OperationsKerry McCormack
RulesBlaine Griffin
SafetyMichael PolensekJoe Jones
Transportation & MobilityKerry McCormackCharles Slife
UtilitiesBrian KazyJenny Spencer
Workforce, Education, Training & Youth DevelopmentJasmin SantanaStephanie Howse

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 Vandenberge, Jordan (November 5, 2021). "Pledging change and transparency, Councilman Griffin named new president of Cleveland City Council". WEWS-TV . Retrieved January 3, 2022.
  2. Castele, Nick (January 3, 2022). "New Cleveland City Council takes oaths as political leadership turns over". WVIZ. Retrieved June 25, 2022.
  3. Higgs, Robert (May 19, 2021). "Cleveland City Councilwoman Jasmin Santana, the city's first Latina councilwoman, named to leadership position". The Plain Dealer . Retrieved June 25, 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Cleveland City Council". The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History. Case Western Reserve University . Retrieved June 7, 2021.
  5. 1 2 "About City Council". Cleveland City Council. Retrieved June 7, 2021.
  6. "Leadership". Cleveland City Council. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  7. "Clerk of Council". Cleveland City Council. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  8. Gomez, Henry J. (2008-11-04). "Cleveland City Council reduction close to approval". The Plain Dealer . Cleveland. Retrieved 2009-04-04.
  9. Gomez, Henry J. (2009-03-23). "Cleveland Council adopts new ward boundaries". The Plain Dealer . Cleveland. Retrieved 2009-04-04.
  10. "Find My Ward". Cleveland City Council. Archived from the original on 2007-05-14. Retrieved 2009-04-04.
  11. Atassi, Leila (March 26, 2013). "Proposed Cleveland City Council ward map approved; Cimperman, Polensek vote 'No'". The Plain Dealer . Cleveland. Retrieved April 1, 2013.
  12. Atassi, Leila (April 17, 2013). "Cleveland City Council approves another set of ward boundaries, map passes in 14 to 4 vote". The Plain Dealer. Cleveland. Retrieved April 17, 2013.
  13. 1 2 3 "Council Members". Cleveland City Council. Retrieved December 10, 2023.
  14. 5 new members elected to Cleveland City Council - WKYC.com
  15. "Committees". Cleveland City Council. Retrieved December 10, 2023.