Cleveland’s once-in-a-decade redistricting process brought new maps, fewer wards and more political drama.
Council is losing two of its seats due to population loss, meaning two incumbents will continue on council and two will depart after the November election.
First-term Councilmembers Richard Starr and Rebecca Maurer battle it out for East Side Ward 5
In the new Ward 5, incumbents Richard Starr and Rebecca Maurer will vie to represent the East Side neighborhoods of Central, Kinsman and parts of Slavic Village, downtown and midtown.
As the incumbent whose current area of representation includes about three-quarters of residents in the new ward, Starr of Central has the upper hand over Maurer, whose current ward 12 includes about 4% of residents in the new Ward 5 boundary. That’s because her ward was diced into six pieces, and she ultimately decided to run where her personal residence fell.
Starr’s home field advantage was apparent in the most recent primary. He received 70% of the vote as compared to Maurer’s 25%. Turnout was low, about 3% across the Ward 5 neighborhoods, and 427 votes separated the two. A newcomer, Beverly Owens-Jackson, received 47 votes and did not advance to the general election.
Maurer and Starr are both first-term council members.
Maurer is a lawyer who has championed housing issues, such as lead poisoning in children and tenants' rights, during her tenure in the legal field and on council.
“[Lead-safe housing] was what got me interested in local politics in the first place, is believing and knowing that the city owes more to its kids,” Maurer said. “We shouldn't have over a thousand kids testing positive every year for elevated blood lead levels…So, we haven't solved this problem yet. We have this law on the books that I helped push for before I got on the council and now, we're in the implementation stage. So, almost every day I work at least a little bit on how we're implementing that 2019 law.”
With an undergraduate degree from the University of Chicago and her juris doctor from Stanford Law School, her previous experience includes running her own law practice and working as a staff attorney for the Legal Aid Society of Cleveland. Maurer also previously worked as a community advocate, serving on the board of Slavic Village Development and as a teacher at Mind Matters Cleveland.
Maurer told Ideastream she’s most proud of her work that makes residents’ everyday lives easier, like her efforts to help modernize the city’s 311 streamlined information program, by data tracking her constituent requests, pushing for basic city service reforms like reducing the wait time for garbage bin delivery and a recent effort to implement consistent street lighting for public safety.
“To me, a lot of this starts with setting up the basic systems of the office," Maurer said. "Where are we having our community meetings? Where are you listening to residents? Where are we? How can we meet residents where they're at? And rebuild that trust that's been lost over the decades between residents and their local government.
"I really believed when I ran the first time and I believe now that anyone who serves in this city has to go above and beyond to rebuild that trust," Maurer said. "And that's exactly what I plan to do in Ward 5.”
Starr was a community advocate for years before being elected in 2021. He grew up in public housing in Ward 5, often citing this lived experience in poverty to inform his time on council. With an undergraduate degree in sports management and a Masters of Business Administration from Baldwin Wallace, Starr previously worked in various roles at the Boys and Girls Clubs of Cleveland. While on council, Starr said he has worked to secure $300 million worth of development in the neighborhoods he serves, raised funds for sports and other youth programming like the Cleveland Muny Football program and invested in education and mentorship for the neighborhood’s youth, according to his council website.
Starr declined to comment for this story.
Council President Blaine Griffin is throwing his endorsement, and funds from the political action committee he controls, behind Starr. Griffin said he's encouraged by the primary results, in which Starr had a wide lead over Maurer.
Maurer has publicly clashed with Griffin throughout the redistricting process. She called foul on Griffin's proposed maps, which spliced her current ward into multiple pieces and drew her personal address into Starr's domain. She said the decision to do so was politically motivated, an allegation Griffin denied.
Longtime Councilman Mike Polensek seeks 12th term against Ward 10 incumbent Anthony Hairston
Also on the East Side, the longest-serving member of council in Cleveland’s history, Mike Polensek, will challenge the Ward 10 incumbent Anthony Hairston.
Redistricting and population loss in current Ward 10 absorbed Polensek and much of his Collinwood neighborhood into Hairston's current territory, which includes St. Clair, Superior and Glenville.
Polensek filed to run ahead of the June filing deadline, but had not confirmed if he intended to run until early August, when he said he would seek reelection. Griffin said he would back Hairston over Polensek because of prior commitments before Polensek confirmed his candidacy.
"I gave it a great deal of consideration," Polensek told Ideastream. "What they wanted me to do was, in (boxing) terms, was to throw the fight, or throw in the towel, and walk away at the 11th hour...Engaging with my residents, businesses, it became very clear to me, overwhelming, they wanted me to run again."
It’s unclear who will have the advantage in the upcoming race. Polensek has served decades on council. Hairston has the financial backing of council leadership and name recognition among voters in a ward that most closely resembles the ward he’s served since 2018. There was no primary election in that ward to take the pulse of voters.
Still, Polensek is optimistic and said his campaign is going “very well.”
"I'm very much aware I'm the underdog because of the ward number and the council leadership fund," Polensek said.
He noted the leadership fund has been used against him "more than it's benefitted" him throughout his tenure.
"Those are all things that weighed heavily, but at the end of the day, I said to myself, 'You know what, I have to do this,'" Polensek said.
Polensek cited major projects nearing completion, or those in the pipeline he's worked years for that he wants to see through; Reimagining the lakefront, the beautification project of E. 185th, the Waterloo streetscape project, Waterloo arts district and more.
"I've got things to do," Polensek said.
Similar to other council members, Polensek said it's time to "forget the glitz and glamor" projects and return to the basics, such as strong code enforcement and "going after" absentee and out-of-state landlords and businesses that "disrespect" Cleveland.
"People don't have confidence in the school system, they're concerned about the proliferation of these absentee landlords descending on our neighborhoods," Polensek said. "Council has got to step back and focus more on quality of life issues."
Polensek, who chairs council's safety committee, has survived several redistricting processes in decades past.
Hairston, who did not respond to a request for comment, currently serves as chair of council's development, planning and sustainability committee. Prior to taking office in 2018, he served as a county councilman from 2014-2017, working to secure millions to demolish vacant and abandoned properties, according to the city council website. A lifelong Collinwood resident and graduate of Collinwood High School and Cleveland State University, he said he's worked to secure funding for major infrastructure and resurfacing projects in his ward.
Election Day is Nov. 4.
