Mike Rogalski Running for Cleveland City Council in New Ward 7

Unlike the other candidates running in the open race for the Ward 7 seat, Mike Rogalski has some harsh words for Kerry McCormack and Jenny Spencer, the outgoing near westside incumbents who both announced they will not be running for re-election.

“It’s time to take back our ward,” he told Scene. “This is an opportunity to bring about the change that I hear from residents who have been completely ignored for years.”

Rogalski prevously ran against McCormack in 2021, finishing a distant third behind the sitting councilmember and challenger Ayat Amin.

But, he said, he’s taken lessons from that campaign and sees a different landscape this time around with the open seat.

“The last time I ran, realistically there was no chance of winning, but I was attempting to make myself known to the people in the community,” he said. “I’ve remained involved since then and I wouldn’t be doing this again if there wasn’t a need or desire for change.”

Rogalski points to gentrification as the chief issue facing the ward, which includes Tremont, Ohio City, Detroit Shoreway and a slice of downtown.

“It’s decimated the fabric of the ward over the past 20 years, and that’s upsetting to residents,” he said. “It’s displacing all sorts of people, it’s not allowing people to remain in the neighborhoods. It’s upended places that have always been tight knit.”

He points to city planners and previous councilmembers as part of the cause, largely because the residents he’s heard from have felt their concerns have fallen on deaf ears.

“They were ignored, maligned, suppressed,” he said. “It’s all about new investment at any cost.”

Especially when it came to former councilmembers’ opposition to things like participatory budgeting ballot issue, which he said enjoyed widespread support on the near west side but no support from the city council reps of those neighborhoods.

“I think it’s important that whoever is representing the new ward actually does what the residents want.”

Rogalski plans on continuing to listen to residents to further concretize his agenda.

“I’m going into this with an open mind,” he said. “It’s not what you want. It’s what they want. They know best what they need.”

Bibb advisor Austin Davis and enterprise manager Mohammad Faraj have also declared their candidacies in the ward.