City-owned grocery stores, revisions to Cleveland’s 311 service, clear help with the city’s lead crisis and the dreams of affordable rents were all on the minds of those packing the Bosworth Tavern on Tuesday evening.
As was the City Council candidate undoubtedly the most outspoken on actually making such a policy wish list happen in a city like Cleveland.
Shortly after 10 p.m., as all the early votes and election day ballots were counted, Tanmay Shah led by just seven votes in one of the most surprising Council races in Cleveland. The upstart Democratic socialist was on the verge of upsetting incumbent Councilman Danny Kelly. Provisional ballots, if they exist, will still need to be counted, and the razor-slim margin means there will be an automatic recount.
But for the moment, the 29-year-old housing attorney and truck driver with the most progressive agenda on the ballot was championing the momentum, regardless of how the final vote shakes out.
“I’m so proud of this movement that we’re building. It’s not going to be done tonight. Whether or not I get sworn into City Council, the victory is what we built right here, right now,” he said to the crowd.
Shah, who built a ground game in the new Ward 12 and received a host of support, including the endorsement of the Better Cleveland For All PAC, attracted hundreds of volunteers under a burgeoning trend of Democratic socialism. (Which seemed to fare pretty well in New York City last night with the victory of Zohran Mamdani.)
“I mean, this is a people-led movement,” Zeyd Khan, 35, a father-of-one and volunteer, said sitting at a high table at Bosworth’s. “And it’s amazing to see someone who’s speaking to our actual concerns: Can we continue to fund our schools? Can we keep the lights on?”
Over near Bosworth’s bar stood Ronald Watkins and his friends—all members of the Democratic Socialists of America and Shah volunteers. Just a few of many: The Cleveland DSA chapter got 200 new participants since the primary election in September.
Watkins, a recent graduate of Garrett Morgan High School, wanted to help Shah bring his ideas—ideas reminiscent of Bernie Sanders’ 2016 campaign—into City Council somehow.
“The thing is, to me, socialism is inherently democratic,” Watkins, 18, told Scene.
People like Shah are, he added, “are not just in it for themselves, but helping to advance the party’s interests, and helping to, like, push for better living standards in general.”
Born in India, Shah’s family moved to America when he was 10. Raised in Akron and then the suburbs of Cleveland, he studied political science at Kent State, then grabbed a law degree at Case Western. Come 2022, Shah merged two growing interests—law and the working class—and got a job as a Legal Aid lawyer, helping Clevelanders secure affordable housing.
Which was one of his main campaign platforms.
“Council is not speaking to the reality working class people are facing,” Shah told Scene earlier this summer. “I was representing low-income tenants who were not able to afford $500 or $600 in rent, and all I see are townhomes and luxury apartments going up. There’s a disconnect. Officials aren’t up to the challenge right now. They haven’t really laid out a vision for the challenges the city is facing.”
Food, shelter, transportation.
“We have to get those fundamentals right before we talk about bigger things,” he told Scene. “I don’t think the city’s in a place where we’ve done that for the working class.”
But can Shah survive City Council? Like many idealists, his political resume is thin; he has never held office, and, at 29, would be the youngest member walking into Council Chamber in January. And, of course, actually convincing the other 14 councilmembers to pursue action on his agenda is a whole other rodeo.
“I think he can do it,” Jheel Shah, his older sister, said, wearing a white T-shirt with her brother’s name. “He has compassion for people and a strong sense of justice, which he got from my parents.”
His father, Vijay Shah, worked as an attorney in Gujarat, India (where the Shah family originates) before migrating to Akron to run a motel. Both him and Shah’s mother, Hemal, expressed support for his ability to achieve his goals.
“There is a kind of clarity in his mindset,” Hemal said. “He is strong in the heart.”
“What I know is that if you do anything with intention, you will be successful,” Vijay added nearby. “He has a burning desire to help the needy and the common man.”
Around 10:30 Tuesday night, as votes from Ward 12’s precincts shuffled in, Shah gathered the crowd at Bosworth’s, those who were anxiously gazing down at laptop screens or scrolling the Board of Elections’ website on their phones.
“We are winning by seven votes,” Graham Ball, Shah’s campaign manager, said. “This is a testament to ever door that was locked. To the efforts of every one of our 150 volunteers that worked on our campaign in the last few months. That it’s possible to elect a Democratic socialist to City Council.”
After applause and shouts, Shah entered the circle. Phones came out to record.
How many of you volunteered? he asked. Everyone in the house raised their hands.
“This scares a lot of people. We talked about this, right? That they don’t want to see this type of change at City Hall, because we pose an existential threat,” Shah said. “We’re only scratching the surface.”
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