![Councilman Blaine Griffin on 90.3 The Sound of Ideas [Ideastream]](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/f3ab806/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1511x1003+0+0/resize/840x558!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fuploads%2F2017%2F5%2F18%2FScreen%20Shot%202017-05-18%20at%204.04.47%20PM.png)
The newest member of Cleveland city council says he will prioritize listening to his constituents. Earlier this week, Blaine Griffin replaced Mamie Mitchell following her resignation Monday.
Griffin has been a member of Mayor Frank Jackson’s administration since 2006.
He spoke Wednesday on 90.3’s the Sound of Ideas and says he’ll continue to reach out to the city’s diverse groups like he did as director of the city’s Community Relations Board.
“I think too many times we try to go to the community and say ‘Here’s my ideas,’" Griffin said. "One of the first things I want to do is really understand and hear what the community want me to do. Even though I have a sense of it and some of the issues are the same as they’ve always been, but at the same time I would do some appreciative inquiry.”
Like Mitchell, Griffin is an advocate of the Opportunity Corridor project, and says he backs the building of a dirt bike track on Cleveland’s east side.
Griffin says he plans to run for the Ward 6 council seat in the September primary, though the Board of Elections has not listed him as a certified candidate.