Cleveland must never stop fighting for more democracy. The truth is that our fight was never with Cleveland City Council or the structures of representative government. It was with a donor class of wealthy special interests that believe they’re entitled to public resources (1/3)
This isn't the end of the story. The movement for a people’s budget is an early chapter in a much longer story that puts the needs of our communities at the center of policy making over corporate interests, while building power in the community for important fights to come.
Issue 38 fell 1,388 votes short of passing. People's Budget Cleveland is so proud to have stood with residents to challenge Cleveland’s entrenched political structure by putting more power into the hands of the people.
#StreetsOverStadiums
Loh is forever on the wall of the new Cleveland Foundation headquarters and I love it (Loh should really be on the wall of County Council headquarters, but maybe next year).
The waiting list for family shelter right now in Cleveland is… very long. When I lived in Nashville, we literally had 200 participating congregations in a winter shelter program. It’s so hard to find more than 2-3 here to do it. We need more churches praying with their feet!
It has been 9 months since the Cleveland Board of Zoning Appeals granted
@LMMCleveland
, the property owner of 4100 Franklin, a variance to open a Youth Drop-In Center for young people experiencing homelessness. It’s still hard for me to wrap my head around the entitlement that…
Good morning from Hind’s Oval. Day 5 of the
@cwru
encampment led by students calling on university officials to divest Case’s finances from Israel, a government that has destroyed EVERY university in Gaza. If you have supplies, DM me. Clear storage bins, please!
One year ago today
@WelleJonathan
and I got engaged. We decided that running a ballot initiative campaign was more important than a wedding. 😛That community party is still happening though! August 2024.
Peaceful gathering of 100+ students, with more gathering at 6pm. Join us on the oval!
@CWRU
students are asking for divestment, amnesty, & financial transparency - challenging the economic reality that human life in Gaza comes 2nd to university investment in more weaponry
Today the State Senate voted to pass SB 158, with an emergency stipulation to go into effect immediately upon passage. It'll head to the House next. The possibility of every day residents having power is a threat to those in power. Plain and simple.
Waiting to testify against SB 158, a fast track bill proposed to prevent the passage of Issue 38. Clevelanders have the right to decide how we govern ourselves without clearing it from this office in Columbus.
At 31, the US army changed my great grandfather’s name to John Martin, a common assimilation tool used by the military. Yesterday, I reclaimed my Lithuanian name, got married, and turned 32 at midnight alongside a beloved community 🧡💛
RT if you think it's unethical that
@CleCityCouncil
website posted a piece accusing working class residents of this: "PB is a Trojan horse that hides the true intentions of its promoters-to guarantee themselves a paycheck on the public dime without having to justify their worth"
Cleveland, why are we okay with elected officials giving the Haslam Sports Group and the Cleveland Clinic voting power over the future of our public lakefront and how public money is spent? Who will pay if the financing doesn’t work out as expected?
Nearly 32k Clevelanders voted for a policy that many learned about only in the last year. Today, participatory is known across the state, and dozens of state legislators took action to keep the door open for participatory budgeting arriving in the future.
Clevelanders took bold action to change this city’s political culture in the fight for a People's Budget. We can rest assured that the next time city leadership tries to put public money in the interest of the few, working people in Cleveland have another model for fighting back.
This is what power looks like! Shout out to
@KCTenants
and Jackson County voters for preventing this sales tax to subsidize billionaire owners of the
@Chiefs
The future of the Royals and Chiefs in Kansas City was thrown into question Tuesday night when residents of Jackson County, Missouri, voted against a sales tax.
This morning 50 people silently left at the start of the
@GreaterCLE
Sustainability Summit to learn about community ownership of energy and to protest the keynote speaker from
@BlackRock
, owner of $10+ trillion of assets and heavy investor of fossil fuels
Cleveland’s favorite gambling strategy. Our corporate overlords grasp land value tax when it suits them. Future appreciation not going as planned = Decreased services and regressive taxes predominantly impacting BIPOC Clevelanders.
Is it a reduction of homelessness they want, or invisibility? Every summer, complaints make it so inhospitable for ppl to exist in public that they retreat to wooded areas & bandos.
@clevhomeless
is hosting a 2-part root causes of homelessness session soon for ppl interested!
Never in my life did I think I’d be excited to support a prosecutor race but
@ahnbrand
is for real! He gives me hope about what it looks like to be focused on justice while we continue to endure a broken capitalist system that sells an illusion of justice by punishment.
Is there anything better than seeing the courage of Matthew Ahn? Congrats to 40+% of the vote,
@ahnbrand
! While many electeds in Cleveland remained silent or yielded to the ruling class, you made an incumbent contend for their power and ask MAGA for money.
We all have a right to a say in Cleveland’s future. Many in leadership feel tied to the purse strings of Cleveland’s owning class. We took bold action to change this city’s political culture, & I hope elected officials see that as a warning to better fulfill their duty (3/3)
The
@cwru
solidarity encampment for Gaza has extended its borders to include the sidewalks around the oval. Arundhati Roy quote spotted along days worth of food and water :)
From a Cleveland City Councilmember to a resident at a ward meeting tonight: "I know you're pushing participatory budgeting, the state's gonna shut that down."
If residents pass Issue 38, I trust that the city will figure it out without putting our lives on the line by cutting EMS. I've been talking to Council for 2 years about participatory budgeting.
Issue 38 (participatory budgeting aka the people's budget) is up for a vote on 11/07
I'll be voting "no" for a simple reason: Under this proposal, city services would have to be cut during budgeting to fund PB
This isn't fear mongering, it's accounting
Despite their fears, City Council doesn’t have to be afraid of a people’s budget “defunding meals on wheels.” And if anybody has a minute with Councilman Jones, tell him to drop off our People’s Budget yard signs he put in his truck yesterday. We want them for an art project. Lol
Ireland was the first EU member in 1980 that called for the establishment of a Palestinian state. Packed house yesterday in West Park with Irish and Palestinian Clevelanders connecting the dots of a shared history of solidarity against settler colonialism
#CeasefireNOW
As Campaign Manager of this effort, it is very disappointing that complete opposition to the concept of participatory budgeting shut out the possibility of an alternative charter amendment for a *substantially agreed upon* lower amount that unions could have gotten behind.
Politicians pre-empt local laws because they want to maintain power. Politicians in Ohio maintain power by rigging the game with gerrymandered maps. Vote yes for fair voting districts in November!
@CitizenMapsOH
@OhFairDistricts
@R1chardStarr
@R1chardStarr
, 2 of the petition committee members have been members of EBC, a church in your ward, for years. The other 5 are residents of Hough, Old Brooklyn, Larchmere, Detroit Shoreway, and Lee Harvard. Gwen Garth of Central was a founding member of
@PB_Cleveland
.
Day 7 of the
@cwru
student encampment, led by Palestinean student organizers in protest of the eradication of hospitals and universities and human life in Gaza. The encampment has expanded into the grassy area between Hind oval & Euclid. They’re calling it the Gaza plaza.
🚨PSA: People with felonies CAN vote as long as they’re not currently incarcerated! It is astonishing how many people I’ve talked to or have worked with in the last year who think otherwise.
Wow y'all, thanks to everyone sending testimony to oppose SB 158! Remember: regardless of how you feel about participatory budgeting, Republican State Senator Cirino’s efforts to strip Clevelanders of their power to decide Issue 38 in November is an anti-democratic power grab.
Issue 38 opponents call the steering committee that’d guide the participatory budgeting process an unelected & unaccountable shadow govt even though applicants are appointed by Mayor/Council. It’s no different than commissions like Board of Zoning Appeals
motivates former housing court judge Ron O’Leary to legally stall the opening of the center. It is bizarre to expect that all social services be located only in industrial parts of downtown. Out of sight, out of mind. It mirrors the sense of disregard felt by so many…
Today’s program at the
@cwru
student encampment. The best way for community members to support is to continue showing up (I’ll be there tonight!) and to donate food (Food Not Bombs and other groups are feeding 30-60 students for breakfast and lunch and 250 at dinner).
In the 300 conversations that I've had with random residents in the past 3 weeks, I leave each encounter with the sense of how deeply Clevelanders really deserve the city that they expect to live in. If we can subsidize developers that can afford hundreds of millions in new (1/2)
Oh, it’s Ahn now! Matthew is brilliant & a totally committed public servant. It still makes me laugh that he biked from a community event in West Park to a Guardians for Fair Work gathering on E 12 & wouldn’t let me hug him because he was sweaty. Lol. Can’t wait to vote for him!
I'm running for Cuyahoga County prosecutor because we need big ideas to make our criminal justice system work for everyone.
Join me as we build a movement that will create Justice, For All.
Thank you
@OhioMayors
for uplifting the fact that Cleveland voters are not children, they are competent voters who can determine for themselves whether Issue 38 should pass. Issue 38 is a a ballot measure aimed at increasing trust and deepening civic engagement in Cleveland.
“While we agree with the concerns, we disagree with the approach. We believe SB 158 would encroach on Ohio’s constitutional right to home rule,” said Executive Director Keary McCarthy in the Ohio Senates General Government committee today.
No surprise to see that the economic interests of
@GreaterCLE
supersede their belief that Cleveland voters should have the democratic right to vote on Issue 38.
It’s on y’all! Got that 15 person van rented to travel down to Columbus tomorrow to make opponent testimony against SB 158, an “emergency” bill to make Issue 38 illegal upon passage.
I'm sad I'll be missing the People's Budget debate at Public Auditorium on Tuesday. I'll be in Columbus giving testimony against SB 158, a bill that will make participatory budgeting illegal in Ohio. Ohio lawmakers are shifting local authority to the state, one bill at a time.
Yes,
@ahnbrand
was on
@Jeopardy
, but more importantly, here’s the data he’s committed to addressing if we vote yes for Matthew Ahn on March 19:
>> Children tried as adults and sent to adult prison are much more likely to commit more crimes when released compared to children who
…to land, to money, and to the sympathetic ear of our leadership. They believe this city belongs to them, and they know that this campaign was about them, which is why they poured so much money into opposing it. Cleveland doesn’t belong to just them. It never will. (2/3)
There's value in passing Issue 38, and
@PB_cleveland
intends to do so. It's a shame that elected officials in Cleveland worked so hard to oppose this. Now, every city in Ohio wishing to do participatory budgeting likely cannot. We'll be in touch about making House testimony.
Today the Ohio Senate General Government Committee got a crash course on participatory budgeting, the day before they’ll vote to move forward a bill that would prohibit it in Ohio, and just 6 weeks before Cleveland voters will vote on Issue 38.
Celebrating my birthday today meant celebrating the type of love that means the most - thank you
@WelleJonathan
for loving community as much as you love me! Shout out to starting Cleveland’s first community-owned solar project in East Cle & to some capital love to
@RustBeltRiders
Today is my birthday and yesterday I got married but I’m here to remind u that the land bridge WILL be the next great home for future public encampments and rallies.
The land bridge is a mistake IMO. Too often in Cleveland we spend decades and millions of dollars in planning for a “transformational” project when we could have made much simpler smaller improvements that could have been completed decades ago for less than the cost of studies.
unhoused people.
@SkrticX
helped uncover the rich history of family & children’s services at 4100 Franklin. I am sure it’s been cozy to have things quiet next door the last few years, but it’s interesting to me that a former judge who witnessed thousands of eviction hearings..
But don’t forget you need a photo ID to vote in Ohio now. So unhoused people and folks leaving prison with no documentation are disproportionality getting suppressed this election cycle (as a result of HB 458)
The courage of
@ahnbrand
should encourage all of us. Social movements are a living ecology of challenging dominant institutions, believing in personal transformation, and offering alternatives. Thank you for doing it, and for bringing so many people, young and old, into movement!
The scooter company Lime is offering free rides to the polls. Cleveland voters can enter the promo code LOCALELECTIONS2023 to receive 2 free rides of up to 30 min each!
I’ve long called NEOCH my organizing home because they’re one of the few nonprofits in town that takes hard stances on political issues *while also* collaborating with government bc housing saves lives and it takes an entire community to end homelessness.
I was groaning to a Swedish guy who couldn’t sign my petition about how challenging it is to describe gerrymandering to the average person and he was like well yeah something that absurd should sound incredible 😭
Hey y’all, don’t forget that voting Monday before Election Day doesn’t exist anymore bc voting rights are getting slashed in Ohio. Looking forward to repping
@clevhomeless
in court when we sue Sec of State
@FrankLaRose
for this voter suppression law impacting the unhoused.
can’t imagine his own role in calling for inclusionary zoning and creating community to break the cycle. I hope Judge Mooney makes a decision that reflects the need of so many young people in Cleveland who deserve the most.
I spent 14 hours in Broadview Heights, Independence, and Parma Heights on Election Day and it is just wild that we can only have 1 ballot drop box in Cuyahoga county
IN in 2024: not appointing your successor on City Council, going to the movies alone, boards without the Haslams or other blatant special interests, watching your friends kids if you don’t have kids, closing Burke
Proud to be leading on this with
@GreaterCleCong
! Cleveland cannot implement legislation that centers ownership & power to people over corporate gain until we end gerrymandering. State legislators will continue eroding home rule as long as we let them.
Ride to the polls request: I won’t be back in Cleveland until 8pm. Can anyone pick up my friend Michael in the St. Clair area and take him to vote at First Zion Missionary Baptist? He has low vision and needs some access help at the poll. DM me! We vote together every election!
I’m glad City Council is spreading the word about Issue 38 with a dozen billboards around town (vote YES on Issue 38!). It’s too bad the Council Leadership Fund isn’t as invested in reproductive rights
#YESon1
It should be no surprise to anyone that people mistrust government and disengage when citizen-led initiatives face pre-emption in a matter of weeks if there's even just the slightest perception of elite special interests at stake.
Young Molly here reminding Cleveland to remember your ABCs on November 7th: Yes on Abortion, Budgets, Cannabis/Tri-C.
#YESon1
,
#YESon2
,
#YESon5
,
#YESon38
I'm inspired by
@ahnbrand
's courage to envision what prosecuting the system could like in Cuyahoga County. Our young people deserve it. I'll be at the polls tomorrow talking to voters to vote Matthew Ahn for Prosecuting Attorney!
It is truly an incredible honor to have received the endorsement of
@VoteChoice
. Last year, I was grateful to be part of the effort to codify reproductive freedom in Ohio's constitution. And once elected prosecutor, I will ensure we do not criminalize medical care.
There has been total silence from CNP/CDCs for 2 years while this has been public discourse. Residents want bold solutions that give them power. PB CLE was born out of the silence from status quo institutions. Clevelanders deserve better. No one is above organizing.
.
@MayorBibb
is right that a permanent 2% allocation is too much. It can’t be easy for him to oppose this issue. Silence would have been worse. His survey of the land is right: this isn’t good for the future of our city. Finances are too precarious.
Kwame Botchway April 27, 1991 - August 17, 2024.
Our hearts are broken at the death of Kwame Botchway. He was a tireless advocate for economic opportunity throughout our community. He was also a friend to many of us, and we miss him.
Appreciate the time that lies beside the end of time. My cardinal rule in end-of-life caregiving is to give the dying person what they ask for. The truth, a lit cig, a whopper, whiskey. Keep dignity alive as long as they are. Let them see the world unveiled if that is their wish.
Until we ban politicians from being able to pick their voters with gerrymandered maps in Ohio, any local legislation that hints of more popular power will be pre-empted. We saw that with SB 158 in September, which would have made Issue 38 illegal if passed.
The gutting of these after school and summer programs😭Feral. Decades of tax abatements and tax exemption structures later, how long will Cleveland children continue to live rent free in the heads of politicians & their developer & team owner bosses?
How wild that Ohio voters must collect 800,000 signatures to re-instate basic democratic measures? And it’ll be a decade before any real roll out of expanded democratic powers? I’m so old at 31!!
This fund is a great opportunity for young people in Cleveland to get real support this summer to do the important work of getting the word out about the redistributing amendment & the ways it’ll determine our state’s future - for fair & safe elections, and reproductive freedom
We're accepting proposals for our 2024 Equitable Civic Engagement Fund to support nonprofits committed to educating voting age
#CLE
residents.
Tune in to our technical assistance sessions or visit to learn more and apply.