In what was surely the least enthusiastic announcement of all time, Jackson sort of mumbled through his key points and said he didn’t even need the job. What? The 70-year-old Mayor admitted that he’d disregarded five full pages of reasons not to run, reasons he’d written down on a personal ledger to help him make up his mind.
“I only had one reason for running,” he said, “and that is the people you see behind me.”
He gestured to the gathered crowd of family and friends, plus City Councilman Matt Zone (the safety committee chair), Cleveland COO Darnell Brown and former council president Marty Sweeney, who hastened to get a “Frank! Frank! Frank! Frank! Frank!” chant going for the cameras.
“This is not an academic or philosophical discussion for me,” said Jackson, who lives in the Central neighborhood near Tri-C. “When I speak on an issue, I speak from the heart and the experience of my life and my family.”
He said the issues he faces are issues that all Clevelanders face, and he couldn’t — in good conscience — walk away from them.
The emphasis on residents and their struggles echoes, no doubt unintentionally, his key challenger in the race, Ward 10 Councilman Jeff Johnson. Johnson announced his candidacy last month on a platform of returning investment to the city’s neighborhoods. He has been a vocal critic of Jackson’s leadership, in particular the ways in which Jackson has prioritized corporate interests behind the scenes (Johnson has mentioned subsidies for the Cleveland sports arenas and the Playhouse Square chandelier as notable examples). But the ongoing refusal to open Public Square to bus traffic, a decision that Jackson has repeatedly claimed rests on safety — despite opposition from riders and authoritative accounts that his claims are preposterous — has been the most recent, flagrant assault on “issues that Clevelanders face.”
Jackson balked at Johnson’s characterization, and said he’d be committed to the same priorities he’s been repeating for more than a decade: the health of the school system; the safety of residents; and the equal distribution of resources, what he calls looking out for “the least of us.” His success on those key areas have been mixed.
The safety department may be the biggest challenge for the next Mayor, whomever it is. Not only have homicides risen to historic levels — an issue that councilman Zack Reed, if he intends to run, will no doubt emphasize — but the police department has never been more embittered, thanks to the reforms of the Consent Decree that officers feel cripple their ability to effectively police.
In addition to Jackson and Johnson, the current heavy-hitters in the race, six additional candidates have pulled petitions from the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections. Scene conducted an exclusive interview with one of them, the enterprising first-time politician Ja’Ovvoni Garrison, and will run highlights from that conversation next week.
Here are the video highlights from Jackson’s announcement, as assembled by Cleveland.com.
This article appears in Feb 1-7, 2017.
For Frank Jackson, it’s a great gig — look, his grandson would be badgering him for fifty bucks or so numerous times per day……..so, the best way to deal with this family nuisance is to have taxpayers build him a dirt-bike park.
No more years! Don’t vote for this over hyped do nothing man. Did he do some good? Yes 8 damn yrs agao. His time has come and gone. Listen very carefully to why he is running. He said nothing of substance. Only the blind and the very dumb are going to run to the polls and vote for this clown. Let us not forget the black pack aka black lackey pastors that are going to stand in solidarity and support this guy. The same group that screamed how ineffective his leadership is regarding the police department.
If he gains 4 more years, purchase some tissue because all of you will have 4 years of tears.
He mumbled his way through the announcement with a pronounced lack of enthusiasm? Wow! How NOT surprising! He’s just the guy this city needs as mayor for the next four years. FRANK NEEDS TO RETIRE. We need… well, I was going to say “new” energy, but in reality, ANY energy would be good at this point. Frank refuses to hold anyone – his staff, his department heads, contractors for the city, ANYONE that does business with the city, the schools (administration and board), the state – accountable for anything, so the residents, people who work here and business owners in Cleveland routinely are screwed over and our tax money squandered. And shame on Matt Zone for supporting this lackluster candidate. He knows better.