Three Candidates Toss Hats into the Mayoral Ring
Excerpted from Cleveland.com, February 17, 2021
Written by Thomas Jewell
In the likely event of a primary, the two candidates with the most votes in the nonpartisan September runoff will then face one another in the Nov. 2 General Election for the new $115,000-a-year post.
Although she has only served one year on City Council, Hart garnered the most votes in November 2019 -- when the charter amendment to start electing a mayor for the first time in the city’s 100-year history was decisively approved, as well.
Prior to her election, she also attended weekly council meetings for four years.
A certified public accountant and financial planner, Hart noted in her press release that she has broken glass ceilings in Fortune 1000 companies, serving as vice president and treasurer of a major multinational corporation.
“I bring a strong financial background and management skills to City Hall, together with progressive values,” Hart stated in last week’s mayoral announcement. “I will run an effective, transparent and responsive city government. We are all neighbors!”
She and her husband, attorney Gary Benjamin, are also known nationally for their efforts in getting Haitian refugee, asylum seeker and then house guest Ansly Damus freed from the Geauga County Jail after two years of incarceration through U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Hart has also been involved in housing initiatives through her work with the Greater Cleveland Congregations organization. Much of that focus has been on Noble, as well as the enactment of the city’s requirement for foreclosure bonds on vacant homes.
While on council, Hart has since worked to fine-tune the foreclosure bond legislation “to make sure banks and landlords keep their properties up to code,” as well as put the money up to assure compliance. She also spearheaded changes to shore up the “out-of-county” ownership ordinance.
If elected mayor, Hart said she would focus on housing stock preservation, racial equity, police reform, economic development and more transparency in local government.
As chair of council’s Finance Committee, she has held open meetings and has called for more public discussion on the appointment to the vacancy created nearly a year ago when Councilwoman Melissa Yasinow stepped down. Hart says it is incumbent upon the legislative body to work through any impasse in appointing a new council member.
She worked with fellow council members to attain a unanimous vote for financing on the Top of the Hill project, negotiating with the developer by increasing the number of jobs paid by “prevailing wage” and getting commitments to hire locally.
Hart also established a system to refer citizen complaints to the appropriate department and asking that department to report to council about progress made.
As mayor, she said she would implement a single number for citizens to contact for all complaints, as well as a software system to track citizen complaints, and requiring a prompt response from City Hall.