Aylwin Bridges Running for Cleveland City Council in New Ward 1

Aylwin Bridges, a Navy vet and retired consulting executive, had plenty to say about Cleveland City Councilman Joe Jones when he ran against him four years ago, and none of it good.

He lost that race but is now running for the seat in the new Ward 1, which includes Lee-Miles and Lee-Harvard and much of the current ward landscape, in a race likely pitting him against Jones once again on the southeast tip of the city.

And his previous complaints about Jones haven’t abated. In fact, he has more.

“The ward has been abused and left unrepresented,” Bridges told Scene. “Joe Jones is a chronic liar. He’s not transparent. And, as you’re aware, his current treatment of women at City Hall… that’s not the type of person I and several other people want to represent us.”

Bridges earned the endorsement of Cleveland.com’s editorial board back in 2021, which wrote the “longtime resident of the Lee-Harvard neighborhood provides the clearest alternative to Jones — someone who does his homework, who understands the importance of relationships in getting things accomplished and who knows his way around numbers to aid that persuasion.”

Bridges has remained active in the community since his last campaign, helping seniors maintain their properties — which, he says, he does for free — and speaking at city council on a range of issues.

A top priority, Bridges said, is to have proper development in the ward, both for housing and businesses.

“It’s about sustainability. The majority of residents are homeowners, and everyone’s on a fixed income, whether you’re making $50,000 a year or $100,000 a year, or less, or if you’re retired. There are seniors struggling out there who can’t maintain their property, and if you drive around Ward 1, there are all these homes that need new roofs, and they can’t afford them.”

Bridges bemoans the preponderance of vape shops and bars in what he calls a bedroom community, and says nuisance properties haven’t been dealt with by Jones.

“We’ve asked,” he said. “He won’t address it.”

Jones also emphasizes the lack of greenspace in the ward, and wants the city to be more committed to turning vacant lots into parks instead of focusing first and foremost on development.

Of which, he says, has mostly been on the back of Frank Jackson’s work and not spearheaded by Jones nor Mayor Bibb.

Public safety remains a chief concern in the ward and Bridges says Jones, despite previously serving as vice chariman of the safety committee before stepping down following the recent ethics investigation, continues to fail residents on that front.

From recruitment to retention to ensuring enough officers are on patrol each shift, Bridges says much work remains to be done.

Jones, he said, “doesn’t understand.”

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