As this year’s municipal elections approach, Cleveland VOTES and Signal Cleveland are hosting the first in a series of “unfiltered” community conversations to understand and amplify resident priorities.
The nonprofits will also gather and answer questions from community members about campaign promises of incumbents and candidates and provide basic information that residents need to be prepared to vote n during the elections this fall.
“Elections Unfiltered: Promises, Power + Politics” will launch on May 13 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. with a gathering on Cleveland’s Southeast Side at the Killingsworth Meeting Place in Miles Shopping Plaza at 4127 E. 131st St.
We’re looking to hear from people who live in or have ties to the following neighborhoods. (Not your neighborhood? Look for future events across the city.)
- Lee-Harvard
- Lee-Seville
- Lee-Miles
- Union-Miles
- Mt. Pleasant
“While the national political landscape is quite challenging at the moment, we know the importance of local elections,” said Erika Anthony, executive director of Cleveland VOTES. “It’s important that the voices of Cleveland voters are heard and valued by the candidates (and incumbents) seeking their vote.”
Cleveland VOTES is also accepting applications from local groups that want to do democracy building work in Greater Cleveland through May 9. Find more information here.
The organizations will also partner to keep voters informed so they can register, cast ballots and make sure they have needed information on voting laws, ward maps and polling locations.
“At Signal Cleveland, we want to listen first to learn what’s important to Clevelanders and make sure the news and information we publish is useful for them,” Editor-in-Chief Lila Mills said. “We can do that more effectively by partnering with trusted organizations like Cleveland VOTES, which has been doing nonpartisan, civic engagement for 10 years already.”
Cleveland City Council contenders
At least 40 candidates are running or exploring a run for a council seat. That includes current council members, potential candidates who have pulled petitions to run or formed committees to explore a run, or who have announced a run for a seat on Cleveland City Council.
New ward maps, approved by a vote of council earlier this year, whittled the size of council from 17 members to 15. (A charter amendment passed by voters in 2008 ties the number of council seats to the number of residents. Based on U.S. Census numbers from 2020, Cleveland’s population dipped to 372,624.)
So far, Mayor Justin Bibb, who is currently finishing his first term, and LaVerne Jones Gore, from the Hough neighborhood, are running for mayor.