Why State Rep. Juanita Brent is Running for Cleveland City Council in New Ward 1 Against Joe Jones

State Rep. Juanita Brent Credit: Ohio Statehouse

There are more than a handful of interesting races for city council in Cleveland’s new 15 wards this year ahead of the September primary and November general election. There are two open seats, brand new challengers, two incumbent-vs.-incumbent races, and the possibility that Mike Polensek will, for the first time in what feels like a century, not return to council.
Among the most interesting contests is Ward 1, where incumbent Joe Jones is running for reelection after a year of controversy. Jones, of course, was the subject of a city council investigation into multiple allegations of misconduct that produced a series of embarrassing headlines as well as new policies and training for all councilmembers.

Challengers Aylwin Bridges and Marc Crosby quickly entered the race.

But as the petition deadline drew near in June, and after months of speculation, so did Ohio House Representative Juanita Brent, who is termed out of her seat at the statehouse.

Why, and why so late?

“Ward 1 has been home for my entire life,” she told Scene. “All of my experiences from childhood to adolescence to adulthood have been around this community. My whole life has been here, and when I thought about what my life will look like down the road, I looked at other opportunities, even out of state, but everything kept coming back to pouring into the place that has poured so much into me. It was never about the incumbent. It was about how can I make this change here.”

Brent followed the footsteps her late aunt Vermal Whalen, who raised her and her siblings after mother’s death, into the statehouse, in the same seat. Growing up, she learned community politics, local leadership, and became enmeshed in her block and ward.

With her new move, she acknowledged there’s a difference between running for a state seat and a city council seat.

“Every door counts,” she said. “The turnout for the midterms or presidential, being a state rep you get the pleasure of running on those cycles. City council races don’t get the same turnout. You’re courting people who might not have voted in primary elections before.”

But the very reason she said she’s running is one of the reasons she believes her campaign will be successful.

“The biggest challenge is making folks feel seen and bringing connection between City Hall and the community. It can sometimes feel like the ward against the city. It should feel like a connection between the ward and city. My basic platform is making sure people have a safe, clean, connected Cleveland.”

And she has a unique viewpoint on how the Bibb adminstration operates, having worked with the mayor from her seat in Columbus.

“He’s had meetings and brought us all together, very often,” she said. “He’s been intentional in contacting us about different issues, making sure we know he’s open and available. He’s brought a lot to the table, and I hope to be able to see more of that in this role.”

With the state budget process behind here, Brent said she’s now ready to fully jump into campaign season.

“This is home,” she added. “And the biggest thing is people want to feel connected to the city. People want pride in their community.”

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