Sandra Morgan was named interim mayor of East Cleveland on Feb. 28. She was chosen by Cuyahoga County Probate Judge Anthony Russo from 34 applicants to step in while suspended mayor Brandon King faces criminal corruption charges.
Morgan has never held office before. She will remain mayor until King’s case is resolved or a successor is elected in November.
Signal Cleveland had the chance to sit down with Morgan to learn more about what she brings to the role of interim mayor and her vision for the city of East Cleveland.
Q: Good afternoon, thank you for taking the time to speak with me. Can you share with our readers a little bit about yourself and your background?
I was born in Cleveland, raised in Euclid. After I graduated high school, I went to college in Massachusetts and then moved to New York and worked there for a few years. Shortly after that, I got married and had children, then moved to Connecticut. I moved back to Cleveland about 30 years ago. I moved to East Cleveland 18 years ago. We fell in love with a home here and once I moved in, I fell in love with the community and the people throughout it. I saw a real opportunity to be civically involved.
Q: In addition to the community, what are some things that you love about East Cleveland?
There are beautiful homes up in the Forest Hill neighborhood, Forest Hill Park and the Rockefeller Estates and all the charm that comes with that.
The East Cleveland Public Theater is here, although it may not be in use at the moment. They were one of the first places to do blind casting for shows and to have interracial programming. Public transportation on Euclid Avenue is amazing with the Windermere station being right across the street from City Hall, we’ve got it all.
Q: What made you interested in applying to be interim mayor of East Cleveland?
I have always been interested in politics, but I have never held a political office prior to now. I have been civically engaged on a number of levels in Cleveland and East Cleveland ever since I got here. In Cleveland, I served on the Cleveland Metropolitan School Board, I was one of the first appointees by Mike White back in the ’90s. I went on to serve on the fiscal oversight commission for Cleveland schools and I currently sit on the fiscal oversight commission for the City of East Cleveland. I have been involved in a number of different things.
My motivation here in East Cleveland was just understanding that we really need to tighten things up. The people of East Cleveland deserve better governance, stronger leadership and a more clear-eyed and strategic view of our future. The people here need to be empowered, so it’s important that we give them a voice.
Q: What were you doing prior to assuming the role of interim mayor for East Cleveland?
I worked at Kent State University for 18 years and had several roles there. My most recent role was that of strategic partnership and outreach director. I think it set the perfect stage for this job because a part of that role was understanding the short-, medium- and long-term strategic goals of the university and the college I served [College of Arts & Sciences].
Q: What are some of your goals in your first 100 days of office?
I’m looking forward to building a coalition and partnering with others to get three things done: the budget, strengthening public safety and investing in public works.
In my first 100 days, I am mandated to work on the budget. That has to be done in the first 30 days. Things were a little behind here, so we have to have a budget submitted by the end of March. I’m working feverishly with the council and others in order to understand the more nuanced aspects of the budget that I didn’t already know. That is priority number one.
Second, public safety is critical here in East Cleveland. We had an unfortunate shooting just a few days ago. It’s winter time, think about what’s going to happen in the summer. We have got to get ourselves prepared for that.
It’s not only a matter of having an adequate police and fire department, staff-wise, and making sure they have all the equipment and resources they need, but we also have to look at enforcing the codes that currently exist in East Cleveland and not just ignoring things. We can’t just say we can’t afford to do that right now because we have bigger fish to fry. We have got to fry the big fish and the little ones too.
As far as public works, honestly, some of our streets, I’m not kidding, look like Gaza. People pop tires on their way to work, my husband has popped two. We have got to focus on street improvements, lights and some other things around here that I think will dramatically improve the quality of life for the residents of East Cleveland.
Q: The City of East Cleveland has been through a lot. Where do you think leadership has struggled in the past?
They came to the table without a road map and didn’t have the wherewithal to create a road map.
It’s sort of like the Wizard of Oz, where there is a person who said, “I am the Wizard’ and made a lot of proclamations and people listened. They were sometimes unsure, but they trusted the Wizard of Oz because they thought he was all-knowing, and we know how that story turned out.
Q: There have been some questions about the legality of your appointment. Ohio law states that when the mayor cannot perform his duties for any reason, the president of the council shall be the acting mayor. Can you speak to what you know as it pertains to that ordinance?
What I do know is that East Cleveland has been in such turmoil that, for whatever reason, the courts and the State of Ohio decided to follow this path. I know my position as interim mayor is tentative because they are waiting for a ruling from the Ohio Supreme Court. Judge Russo made that very clear to me. I will abide by whatever the Supreme Court says. In the meantime, while I am in this role, I am going to work hard to support the residents of East Cleveland and plant the seeds for success.
Q: Do you plan to run for Mayor of East Cleveland in November?
Yes. I absolutely plan to run.
