just would not drink the kool-aid and will be gone soon, while ward 14 undergoes a year of review, study, etc. Rather than cooperate with a group like SRO with years of experience in one of the poorest sectors of the city, with staff that worked their butts off, they have been killed off because they decided to not be co-opted. Rather than respect the Board in place, they were mandated to have Sandy Smith and Kate Duapis added to their board and that was declined.

I am very happy that Megan and Adam will work in Ward 14, but let us not fool ourselves with any pretense that at a time that CDC's are consolidating and merging service areas, that their will be a new service organization. 

In 2009, Cummins told people that, if elected, he would give money to DSCDC to cover 14. Then we all went through the pretense of a series of meetings at the beginning of this year to explore the best way for SRO to cover most of 14. Zone told me that SRO was the best to get the job done, and Westbrook said that he supported SRO serving the area. The wild-card here is Cummins.  He lied. I am sure that you can handle being told this, Brian, as you have heard it before. As a public official, people have a responsibility to tell you when you do it. Nothing personal, just business.

Unfortunately, after a year of study and input, he may decide that things best continue under DSCDC and TWDC.  The wild-card for Cummins is Gail Long and Jim Pelikan. I know Gail Long, and she will truly try to assess what the neighborhood wants and needs.  Then it is up to Cummins to drink the new kool-aid. Will he?

For a man that wanted this job so bad, and said that he had the experience, touting the Peace Corp work, and touting his knowledge of the neighborhood, he sure is going down some mighty wrong paths with this rejection of SRO, saying a year of research, and the endorsement of a historical area on Scranton that includes a fraudulent letter to the Planning Commission while across the street low income and people of color living in the Scranton Castle fight for extermination of bedbugs with any assistance from you.

I have no doubt what so ever, that the next year will be full of surprises and a real learning experience for Brian Cummins. Ward 14 is kind of fun in that way.

 I am hearing that this is to maintain staff that is already there, not to actually deliver services. So what are the residents in Ward 14, serviced by TWDC, going to get out of this deal, specifically? What must TWDC offer to these residents that will improve the qaulity of their lives and their neighborhood?

I do not see any responses to tons of questions that requested transparency in your planning phases of these operations.

I do not see any invitations to your REALNEO readers to participate in those Ward 14 concerns, particularly when so many of them are regular readers on this website and came here because you offered open communications in this forum.

Once again, you-just like SANTIAGO-are driving our funding into outside CDC's.

Whatever the objectives of their alledged development is, should be presented to us for options to react-BEFORE you make such decisions on our behalf. Thanks for that kind of transparent leadership that results in abusive practices.

$300,000.00 to DETROIT SHOREWAY????

ABSOLUTELY AMAZING! 

TIME FOR A RECALL!!! DO WE NEED ANOTHER 4 YEARS OF THIS GAME WARD 14???

RECALL is a serious option--we are seven months into the four year council term.

The lag time, lack of communication and intentional stonewalling over NDA allocations and, now, word that there will be no street repaving and that Detroit Shoreway--already grossly over funded--will now receive the lion's share of OUR money.  Folks are tired of waiting. 

BCCA met yesterday with Meagan Meister.  She seems like a nice person, but what can she guarantee us in the way of services?  Do any of the employees at Detroit Shoreway live any where near us in Ward 14? Your office  and the satellite office for Detroit Shoreway is STILL not up and running in the Linn Omni building.  The neighborhood meeting with consultants Gail Long and Jim Pelikan to facilitate the process is sometime/somewhere in August...your preoccupation with the LED contract is an admirable focus, but not at the expense of residents. Your rollover on the ODOT walls was another miserable experience for local residents.

Are you asking us to BELIEVE in Cleveland and believe in you, Brian? We're tired of the lies, Brian--we're tired of the carpetbaggers.  You need to make this right.  I shouldn't have to beg--but you need to direct some serious NDA dough to the civic groups with 501c3 status.

Fund Brooklyn Centre Community Association and ask your colleague Joe Cimperman to cough it up for Southwest Citizens.  You both see the meltdown at Tremont West--another CDC beneficiary of your NDA jackpot to the tune of $100,000 of Ward 14 tax dollars. 

At the very least, support your civic groups. We will just continue to take care of ourselves despite this latest hemorrhage of our tax dollars--we obviously can not count on our political representatives.

 from Cummins above posting:

"There are plans for a total of 5 to 6 staff members; three to work primarily on outreach/organizing and general housing rehab program services and three to work on vacant lot, code enforcement and neighborhood services.  Generally these services are viewed as stabilization services and commercial development and future housing project development services are anticipated to be covered by TWDC and DSCDO."

Why bother assessing if the many vacant lots are targeted for new development? The back assed way of Cleveland development pushes forward.

The Clark Fulton neighborhood and surrounding areas need a real plan. Cummins said that he would work with people. This sounds like the same old top down approach.

And the people of Ward 14 Tremont are - s-h-i-t o-u-t -o-f l-u-c-k

Poor people in ward 3 and in the same bucket except - they're S-H-I-T O-N

 Enough is enough....but Wared 14 can be certain that those funds that went to Tremont and Detroit Shoreway will pay for tons of hours of them fighting a recall....Now that their behinds are padded-you can rest assured they are going to fight hard to preserve their new Corrupt loyalist, Mr. Brian Cummins.

Brian Cummins, you are playing "politics as usual" in Ward 14 and there is a zero tolerance for this absolutely unbelievable game that you and the City Council are portraying on our community. If these representatives were "ineffective before" and now you just switch them around...then how can you begin to think that they will be effective now at another location? You have deliberately violated the citizens of Ward 14 in unethical and unscrupuous ways.

ATTENTION Citizens of WARD 14: Name the list of block club and social gatherings so that we may reveal the truth to the public at large and get our petition for a recall completed by the next election. I will devoutly make it part of my life to eradicate these corrupt, disingenuous, and absolutely defiant and inconsistent leaders who abuse our citizens and demographics as they climb their way to the top through political favors and redirection of our development funding.

Below are the results of the election from the BOE and the Ohio Revised Code about the Recall Requirements. Let's not sit on our hands as it

Cleveland Council Ward 14 CLEVELAND WARD 14
          Vote For Not More Than  1
              (WITH 17 OF 17 PRECINCTS COUNTED)
           BRIAN CUMMINS .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .     1,522   55.45

            RICK NAGIN .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .     1,223   44.55
               Over Votes .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .         2
             Under Votes .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .       215
 

705.92 Procedure for removal of elective officer by recall.

Kool-aid, killed-off, co-opted, lying, abusive practices, back assed, shit-(on) out of luck, corrupt loyalist, unethical, unscrupulous, eradicate, defiant… 

Brian J. Cummins
Cleveland City Council, Ward 14
216-664-4238 bcummins[at]clevelandcitycouncil.org

Great read, what's SRO stand for?

Old EX

  Outside of this blog there are civil conversations occurring with former opponents…Rick Nagin, Moises Torres, Nelson Cintron and James D’Amico as well as discussions with Gordon Fine (Clark-Metro) and others that used to be very active and involved in the community - all agree that we need to put aside differences and work collaboratively on building the neighborhood up.

This is good, Brian--but what can we look forward to in the way of redevelopment and investment?

Look at some of your colleagues--at least they understand bread and circuses. Joe Cimperman delivers up signature events and makes sure everyone sees him at events that he funds--in Lincoln Park.  Kevin Kelley recently sunk real money into improving Loew Park Pool and he is there almost every weekend with his kids.

I know you work hard and that you care, but you seriously need to improve your ability to deliver projects that deliver hope to your residents.  Writing a check to Detroit Shoreway and Tremont West for some vague code enforcement and continued mystery demolitions for developers doesn't cut it.

Your predecessor is now long gone--where is Joe Santiago?  Will we be saying that about you, too?  

Thank you for at least addressing these resident concerns here, but do better--please. 

(SRO=Stockyard Redevelopment Organization--now defunct

http://www.stockyardredevelopment.org/contact.html)

 Cummins, you veered so off course that it is hard to respond, but I will try.

The people that you mention "Rick Nagin, Moises Torres, Nelson Cintron and James D’Amico" are civil people and I would expect civil discourse. I am happy that you have spoken to them and that you feel good about this.

On SRO, you posting reflects the tired specter of disinformation.  SRO has been an incredibly effective organization, producing a lot of work with minimal staff. Every good board has discussion about where they are and where they are going. It is disingenuous to post these collection of words with the implication that SRO is to blame for your lack of ability to work nicely and fairly with others, including fellow councilmen.  You are being dishonest, again.

You are inviting problems for yourself. If you want to play the blame game.........

What is one to make of the fact that your ward office is in suite 305 and the new staff for the organizing is in suite 303? I do not envy them their job. BTW, this office is a few blocks from where the TWDC service area begins, but these organizers will have to get in a car and drive (or use the bus)  to the other part of the ward  to do their jobs.

I can understand Cimperman allocating funds for TWDC as they are in his ward. But you have allocated $100,000 to TWDC for a small area of residents without any public explanation of what Ward 14 residents will receive in return. 

Yes, a public explanation is in order for that $100,000 to TWDC and the $300,000 to DSCDC. The people of ward 14 and beyond are entitled to an explanation.

To unethical public servants.

To corrupt practices.

To disempowerment of the demographically disadvantaged.

To abusive practices by the leadership.

To inconsiderate professional administrators who violate the public's trust.

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