CLEVELAND —  In the next election cycle, Cleveland City Council candidates will be vying for 15 seats, down two from the current 17 members.

What You Need To Know

  • Cleveland City Council recently hired local firm Triad Research Group to start the redistricting process and draw new ward maps

  • According to 2020 census data, the city of Cleveland is experiencing population loss, and because of that, council must drop from 17 to 15 seats

  • Over the next few months, consultants will be meeting with each council member for input and potential maps will be shared with the public for feedback in the fall before council moves to vote

  • Council aims to approve a new ward map by Jan. 1, 2025

The council recently hired local research firm Triad Research Group to start the redistricting process and draw the new maps.

“We’ve had a lot of population loss in the city of Cleveland,” said council president Blaine Griffin. “And, because of that, that’s one of the reason why we’re dealing with these lines, and there’s gonna be some movement, especially in the areas that have lost a lot of population.”

As council president, Griffin was responsible for choosing the consulting firm who will lead the process.

According to their website, the firm is based out of Westlake.

“The team is diverse,” Griffin said. “The team has had experience in doing this before. This can actually be very contentious if it’s not done the right way, so we really wanted to make sure that we had people who had experience.”

City council has dropped seats a few times in recent history. In 1981, the body went from 33 to 21 members. In 2009, from 21 to 19 members, and in 2013, from 19 to 17 members.

The lead analyst on the Triad Team, Bob Dykes, served as a redistricting consultant in each of those instances.

Over the next few months, the group will be meeting with each council member for input, and potential maps will be shared with the public in the fall before council moves to vote.

In order for a map to be approved, it must get a majority vote, or nine members’ approval.

Griffin said there will be many opportunities for the community to give feedback, and more details on how will be shared soon.

“We want the community to really give their input across this process,” Griffin said. “And we believe that we have a process that everybody is going to be proud of at the end of the day.”

He’s hopeful the new map will be approved by Jan. 1, 2025.

Council is forced to redistrict because of a 2008 charter amendment supported by voters that calls for the number of wards to be determined by population.

It also mandates the total number of wards be odd-numbered, not to exceed 25 wards or fall below 11.

The primary election for wards with 2 candidates is Sept. 9, 2025, and the general election is Nov. 4, 2025.