Cleveland Guardians outfielder Steven Kwan threw his all-star support behind the Cleveland Metropolitan School District levy, appearing on ballots as Issue 49.
The campaign for the school tax increase posted a commercial featuring him to Facebook, and there are plans in the works to air it on TV.
“You will be seeing it on TV in the very near future,” said Brandon Baker, a spokesperson for the campaign. The ad might appear on streaming platforms, as well, he added.
Kwan and the Guardians didn’t charge the campaign anything for the appearance, Baker said. The team has already done outreach in CMSD schools, hosting chess games the last three years with students from John Marshall High School.
Voting ends in less than a month on Nov. 5, but Baker said “a lot of things can happen in the matter of a few weeks.” Back in 2020, the Cleveland Cavaliers announced their support for that year’s CMSD levy late in October, just days before voting ended.
“We do have just under a month left, and so, you know, you never know when an October surprise is gonna come about,” Baker said.
CMSD levy campaign ramps up
Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb also voiced support for Issue 49 in an ad shared on his social media accounts. It starts with a nod to a tough economic reality hitting many Clevelanders, especially as property taxes are set to increase for some homeowners next year.
“No question, the cost of living is high,” he says at the beginning of the ad, “and investing in education is important.”
When canvassers for the levy campaign hit the streets a couple weeks back, they came prepared with talking points about rising costs. They were ready to tell residents that the school levy is based on current home values rather than the broadly higher home values set to kick in next year. Instead, they found little opposition. Some of those who answered their doors weren’t aware of the levy, and others expressed unwavering support for the schools.
James Novak, the parent of a CMSD student who talked with levy canvassers on his porch, said he hadn’t heard much about the levy, but “anything that supports the teachers and everything, I’m automatically on board for.”
This article was updated to correct the last day to vote on Issue 49, which is Tuesday, Nov. 5.
