City of Cleveland, TV20
Interim Director of Public Works Michael Cox announces retirement after 50 years.
Michael Cox, the longtime Director of Public Works and one of former Mayor Frank Jackson's closest political allies, announced Monday that he would retire on April 4. Mayor Justin Bibb asked him to serve in an interim capacity for 90 days, Cox told members of City Council's Municipal Services & Properties Committee, and he is honoring the request.
Cox said that his first day of employment with the City of Cleveland was Apr. 4, 1972. "I got here even before Polensek," he joked, referencing the quotable dean of City Council. "I was 22 years old with an afro."
The Apr. 4 retirement is therefore a symbolic one. It will give Cox exactly 50 years of service to the city of Cleveland.
Cox said that he grew up in the Outhwaite housing projects and that he has devoted his entire adult life to the city.
"I hope that I made some things happen that would not have happened if I hadn't been there," Cox said. "I appreciate serving with all of you. It is time for me to turn it over to a younger person to get things done."
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