CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio — As a newly elected Cleveland Heights city councilman, Tony Cuda said he’s already got about 20 changes to the city’s charter he would like to propose.

Following the Nov. 2 general election, Cleveland Heights will be governed by Mayor-elect Kahlil Seren and seven at-large council members, replacing the city-manager form of government the city has had since 1921. The new government begins in January.

Cleveland Heights is a 44,000-population inner-ring suburb adjacent to Little Italy, University Circle, the Cleveland Institute of Music and the Cleveland Institute of Art. The city prides itself on its diversity and its array of independent coffee shops, music clubs and breweries.

Cuda is one of two new council members elected, along with two reelected, for the seven-person legislative body that will govern the city.

In January, another council member will need to replace Seren, who is council vice president.

“That's going to be our first order of business, other than probably choosing a council president,” Cuda said.

A retired government teacher, Cuda co-founded and served as campaign manager for Citizens for an Elected Mayor, a grassroots group that advocated for the leadership change, which residents approved with a resounding 64% of votes in November 2019.

Once all the elected officials are in place, the City Council will need to focus squarely on the most pressing issues, which include establishing itself as the governing body for the city, he said.

“So that means we're going to have to strategize as to who and what it is we want to be. We have to create our identity as the legislative body, as an oversight body, to check and balance in this new system for Cleveland Heights,” he said. “It's not a new system, in the grand scheme of government, but it is new for Cleveland Heights.”

Great examples are nearby, he said, pointing to Shaker Heights and Lakewood.

“Shaker is just a well-run city. And it has an elected mayor, and a strong city administrator that runs day-to-day operations,” he said. “And then Lakewood for its efficiency. It's just one of these inner-ring suburbs that's firing on all cylinders.”

Another focus for the council will be on Cleveland Heights’ housing department and its neighborhoods, both of which are distressed, he said.

“We need to focus on a plethora of housing issues,” he said. “Our small business districts need attention. And that gets into a lot of issues: economic development and infill housing, which is more enterprising than the other housing issues or the other economic development issues are.”

Council will also need to decide how to allocate the $38.8 million Cleveland Heights was awarded through the American Rescue Plan Act, he said.

“We know that we have to spend a good deal of it on infrastructure repair,” he said. “But then there's millions leftover that we need to use on our highest priorities that are eligible for the funds.”

Many of the changes Cuda would like made to the charter are geared for ensuring a smooth transition to the new government.

“But our charter was out-of-date for a city-manager form of government,” he said. “God knows it's out of date for a strong-mayor form of government.”

That transition is where Seren’s experience will be vital, he said.

For the next couple of months, Seren will remain in his roles as vice president of City Council and policy advisor for Cuyahoga County Council. In the latter role, Seren assisted in County Council’s transition in 2011 from a three-member board of commissioners to 11 elected representatives and a county executive.

That combined city-county experience is ideal for Cleveland Heights’ transition, Cuda said.

“So he both has the Cleveland Heights-specific experience with issues and kind of the bigger picture, and not just the bigger picture with his job at the county, but that connectivity between all the communities in the county,” Cuda said “Because we're going to be interacting with other communities, and obviously the county and on some levels, and the state government as well. And Khalil has that experience.”

Even so, in launching the government-change initiative, the 10 members of Citizens for an Elected Mayor had no one specific in mind to serve as the city’s mayor, Cuda said.

“First of all, I have to work with whoever wins,” he said. “But probably even more importantly than that, as the campaign manager of Citizens for an Elected Mayor, I really did not even want the appearance that I ran that campaign so I can get someone as mayor, because that's not why we ran the campaign.”

In 2019, Cuda had no plans to run for City Council either, he said.

But since retiring from Shaker Heights High School last year, he had been thinking about what he wanted to do next, he said. He already regularly attended the City Council meetings, so running for a seat made sense.

“I've been here since I was a kid, so what better way could I spend my time than trying to help the city get on track?” he said. “So, you know, here I am.”

Over the next few months, the new mayor and council will lay the groundwork to be ready for Monday, Jan. 3, 2022, when the new government is seated, Cuda said. He anticipates the new governing body will mesh well, in part because everyone knows one another, he said.

“A lot of times when you get a new council, you get people that don't really know each other,” he said. “We all know each other, everybody who won. We're all on a friendly, first-name, call-you-up and talk-about-stuff basis, and I think that's going to go a long way.”

What’s more, the elected officials, like most Cleveland Heights residents, love their city, he said.

“We're so unique. And we're so aware of our uniqueness,” he said. “And it's like this kind of dream that you want to come true. You know, the diversity we have, and that kind of rich mix of people. We just want to make the government work. We want our government to be as good as the people who live here. That's what we want.”