When Cleveland’s mayor-elect Justin Bibb was born in 1987, George Voinovich was serving as Cleveland’s 58th mayor. It was also the year the city got out of debt. Back in 1978, under the administration of Mayor Dennis Kucinich – one of the candidates that Bibb defeated in the September primary — the city defaulted on some $30 million in financial obligations. It took Voinovich, with the help of local banks, nine years to get the city officially back on a sound financial footing.
Like other mayors, Voinovich had prior government experience. A lawyer, he served as an assistant Ohio attorney general, member of the Ohio House of Representatives, Cuyahoga County auditor, Cuyahoga County commissioner and Ohio lieutenant governor before taking office as mayor.
A review of Cleveland mayors who served in the last 50 years or so shows that most have deep roots in Cleveland’s neighborhoods and have served in Cleveland city council, like current Mayor Frank G. Jackson, former mayor Dennis Kucinich and Michael R. White, who served in both Cleveland city council and the Ohio senate.
Other mayors, such as Carl B. Stokes and Anthony J. Celebrezze, both of whom were lawyers, served in the Ohio legislature. Cleveland’s only female mayor, Jane Campbell, served five terms in the Ohio house of representatives and was a Cuyahoga County commissioner before serving as mayor. Ralph Locher had not been elected to office before becoming Cleveland’s law director. But when Mayor Celebrezze accepted a cabinet position in Kennedy administration, Locher assumed the office and went on to serve three terms.
Over the years, Cleveland voters have rejected mayoral candidates with no prior experience as an elected official, such as Raymond Pierce (2001) and Ken Lanci (2013).
When sworn into office in January, Bibb will become the city’s second youngest mayor and the first mayor in decades to come to office with no previous experience as an elected official. But apparently voters did not consider that a deciding factor when going to the polls. Every other candidate in the primary race, except for long-shot Ross DiBello, had previously held elected office — in some cases for decades. But Bibb outdistanced them all, including Kevin Kelley, in both the primary and the general election. Kelley’s 16 years on Cleveland city council, the last eight as council president, were not enough to sway voters to his side.
To his credit, Bibb has worked in government as an intern for then-Senator Barack Obama and as a special assistant to former County Executive Ed FitzGerald. But he has never been in a position to answer directly to the voters. Critics may see this as a negative. Voters apparently did not.
This lack of government experience must be balanced with Bibb’s educational background and the wide variety of experiences that he brings to the table. He has a background in finance, technology, working in nonprofits and has been a community activist for police reform. He has lived in other American cities, so he has a basis to compare Cleveland with other cities. The fact that he is a downtown apartment resident will be a major change from previous mayors and reflects Cleveland’s trend toward gentrification with populations shifting to the central city — particularly downtown and the Near West Side.
Between now and inauguration day, Bibb clearly has a lot on his plate. The implementation of Issue 24 will be one of his first challenges. Before the ink was dry on the board of elections returns saying that the issue passed, police union officials were raising objections asserting that the newly adopted charter amendment could not override the existing contracts. That is a question that is likely to be litigated and decided by the courts. It is also likely to cause a delay the implementation of the changes to existing police practices and policies.
Several key black councilmen, such as Blaine Griffin and Kevin Conwell, supported Kelley in the election. They must now bury the hatchet and accept defeat. Conwell’s early support of Kelley did little to sway east side voters in the primary or the general election. East side voters clearly ignored their endorsements and voted overwhelmingly for Bibb.
Hopefully, Bibb will surround himself with people who have experience in government. This early in his tenure, he’s not yet able to know what he doesn’t know. The decisions that he makes in the next month in terms of a transition team and cabinet members will be vital to his success or failure as mayor.
He will soon learn that it is easy to stand on the campaign trail and make promises. It is harder to implement promised changes when faced with years of entrenched government bureaucracy and systems that are resistant to change. But as the old political adage goes, a new broom sweeps clean. The voters have handed Bibb the broom and 601 Lakeside needs some cleaning. Bibb must utilize the skills to use it.
Bibb will be a fresh face representing a new generation of Clevelanders. It’s time to put the campaign behind us and look forward to working with the new mayor to make Cleveland an even better land. The city, and particularly the east side wards who helped put Bibb into office have too many problems for sore losers to spend time carrying grudges over who won and who lost. Bygones must be bygones. Egos should be buried. And Bibb must be allowed to be his own man and fulfill the promises that he made. He has Cleveland’s future in his hands.
C. Ellen Connally is a retired judge of the Cleveland Municipal Court. From 2010 to 2014 she served as the President of the Cuyahoga County Council. An avid reader and student of American history, she serves on the Board of the Ohio History Connection, is currently vice president of the Cuyahoga County Soldiers and Sailors Monument Commission and president of the Cleveland Civil War Round Table. She holds degrees from BGSU, CSU and is all but dissertation for a PhD from the University of Akron.