CLEVELAND — Cleveland City Council President Blaine Griffin publicly released his proposed new ward maps at a press event Tuesday afternoon.
“We now have a map that is very close to being completed and will, at best, have minimal changes moving forward,” Griffin said.
Because of population decline in the city over the past decade, council is dropping from 17 to 15 members. And, a recently announced statewide election in May has fast-tracked the deadline for the finalized map, now due in early January, rather than April. Council members must vote to approve the new map before it’s official.
Griffin said he wants to be transparent throughout the once-in-decade redistricting process, which is why he sought resident input and is now publicly releasing his proposed new ward map.
“This council redistricting process was fair, transparent and accomplished several objectives that we were required by law to do,” he said.
Ward 12 in the Slavic Village area, which is currently represented by Rebecca Maurer, was one of the most divided, and it appears council members Mike Polensek and Anthony Hairston will be facing off to represent a united Collinwood come 2025.
“There are people there that potentially may run against all of us,” Griffin said. “Once again, these are not our seats. We don't own these seats. I just want to make sure that I defend the process.”
Griffin brought in Triad Research Group to facilitate the redistricting process. The firm’s founder, Bob Dykes, said changes in boundaries are based on federal voting rights requirements and where the most population loss is occurring across the city. He added the wards may not look like perfect squares because of the shape of the city.
“If you compare the shape of Cleveland to some of the major suburbs like Lakewood or Euclid or North Olmsted, you can see that those are roughly rectangular blobs, whereas Cleveland is not,” Dykes said. “Cleveland has, if you will, for protrusions or fingers.
Council members viewed a slightly different version of the new map a few weeks ago, prompting Ward 12 representative Rebecca Maurer to speak out in a November council meeting, accusing Griffin of gerrymandering. In response, Griffin said he was encouraged by council members to get rid of Ward 12 because they don’t trust Maurer.
The exchange brought on a barrage of public comments the following week, calling on the council president to release the maps before they’re finalized — to give time for more public input.
Tuesday, Griffin said any changes made to the map at this point will be minimal, but those interested in giving their input can do so by calling (216)714-3006 or submitting an online comment at clevelandcitycouncil.org/redistricting.
Council has paused meetings for their winter recess, but are expected to resume on January 6th, when they’ll have to vote on the map to meet the board of election’s deadline.