CLEVELAND (WJW) — Cleveland’s new Ward 7 is big.
It stretches from the U.S.S. Cod on the lakefront downtown all the way over to the “Christmas Story” house right in the heart of Tremont.
And in the middle are some of Cleveland’s fastest growing neighborhoods: downtown, Tremont, Ohio City and Detroit Shoreway.
Sept. 9 primary election candidates Mike Rogalski, Mohammed Faraj and Austin Davis are all younger than 40. Each said he can bring fresh ideas to the City Council chambers.
- “I’m running on trust and neighborhood relationships and connections,” Rogalski said.
- “The power and voice should come from the residents, not from the mayor, not from city insiders. It should come from the residents,” Faraj said.
- “This is a city that has given me so much, that I owe so much to. I want to see it continue to grow and thrive,” Davis said.
The candidates all said they have walked the ward and talked to people about the different issues and challenges they face living in these neighborhoods. One of the biggest is affordable housing.
With so many new apartments and homes being built in theses areas, many long-time residents feel that they will be pushed out.
All three men said they want to work to find a balance.
- “It’s my goal to go down to Columbus and advocate for property tax relief and reform to make sure that long-term residents aren’t going to be priced out of these communities that they helped make incredible communities that we want to live in today,” Davis said.
- “Flexible development, making sure that the way we develop the ward is done in a way that residents feel like it’s working for those who are here now — not necessarily those we’re trying to attract,” Faraj said.
- “We have to take away the development agenda from developers and corporations and it has to be resident agenda, resident-focused and city-driven, and it’s not right now,” Rogalski said.
All three men said it’s about building partnerships and working with their constituents to get things done. Each said he wants to be an active and available councilman.
So what sets them apart? You may be hard-pressed as a voter to determine that.
But it’s a new ward in the city and a new chance, all three said, for a new voice at city hall.
- “I’m running because I want to improve the everyday lives of our residents and I want to challenge the assumptions made by our leaders about who gets prioritized,” Faraj said.
- “I come into this role with no allegiance to no entity, no group of people. My loyalty is to the residents, to all of you,” Rogalski said.
- “I’m here to hit the ground running on day one. I think with my personal commitment to the neighborhood — I’m from here, I’m raising a family here — professional experience working in this structure in the first place; we can really do great things together,” Davis said.
The top two vote-getters in the Sept. 9 nonpartisan primary will move on to the November general election.
Roosevelt Leftwich
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