Austin Davis Running for Cleveland City Council in New Ward 7

Kerry McCormack confirmed last month what had long been known — that he will not be seeking reelection — becoming the second sitting member, along with Jenny Spencer, to bow out of the upcoming Cleveland City Council elections in November.

The departure of the westside incumbent, who has served nine years, leaves an open race in the newly drawn Ward 7, which includes parts of Tremont, Ohio City, Downtown and Detroit-Shoreway.

Austin Davis, a Cleveland native and current senior advisor to Mayor Justin Bibb, today officially announced his campaign to claim the seat.

The why, the 35-year-old Tremont resident told Scene, is the chance to continue to serve Cleveland and the neighborhoods of Ward 7.

“These neighborhoods need someone to see them into the next chapter,” he said. “These places where young families are setting down roots, where people are starting careers, and all these community members who have been anchors for a generation who feel pressured to leave or change their living situation. There’s so much energy and life in these neighborhoods.”

Davis, who lost both of his legs in a train accident when he was 20, was born in Little Italy, went to St. Ignatius, graduated from Harvard Law, worked in D.C. and came back to Cleveland to work at Baker Hostetler before joining Bibb’s administration at City Hall. He lives in Tremont with his wife.

As for priorities for his campaign, Davis told Scene they start with the paramount issues in the neighborhoods he would serve — housing, safety, transportation, parks.

“These are neighborhoods with folks across a wide income range,” he said. “We need housing options available for everyone. It’s affordable middle-income housing, more housing in general. It has to be a priority and we have to figure it out as a community.”

Street safety is also top of mind.

“I live on a street where I don’t have a driveway, and it’s near a freeway exit, and I get the driver side mirror knocked off once a year,” he said. “It’s a matter of time before it’s a loved one or a neighbor. These are solvable problems. Other cities have figured it out — more speed bumps, more speed tables, mini roundabouts. These things do a great job of reducing traffic speeds. It’s doable. It’s about resource allocation and prioritization.”

And as Cleveland continues to make firmer commitments to improving greenspaces, Davis is all in.

“This is basic city stuff,” he said. “Now’s the first time the city’s had a parks and rec director, and it’s a real chance to improve. It’s a justice issue. It’s a health issue. It’s a vitality issue. It’s common sense. People like to live near parks and trees and if I’ on council, I want to continue to bend the needle towards improving out tree canopy.”

That goal is in tandem with a walkable, healthy city. One that Davis experiences differently from most.

“Everybody’s body stops working at some point,” he said of losing his legs. “I just got there earlier. I understand the diverse needs of our community from that perspective. We have to have walkability.”

Given the current political landscape, Davis also believes that council needs representatives who will fight for residents when they might otherwise feel marginalized by the state and federal governments.

“The city government might be the last bulwark against chaos,” he said. “Cities have to deal with issues we didn’t have to before, and we have to stand up for ourselves. Today it’s immigrants and union members and trans people. Tomorrow it might be everyone else. I want to put that front and center, that our residents know where they stand, that we’re for the people.”

His experience at City Hall has shown him how a modernized government can work better for residents, he said, but also what’s left to be done.

“Having worked for the city for awhile, I’m going to commit to better government, less red tape,” he said. “It has to work for everyone. It has to work as hard as Clevelanders themselves work.”