Councilman Cummins Receives New Endorsements going into November 7th General Election

Pick’s up Mayor Jackson, Christian Omar Medina, C.A.M.E.O., and Stonewall Democrats

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Brian Cummins, 216-333-5453, citizensforcummins@gmail.com

CLEVELAND, 9/20/2017:  Today, Councilman Brian Cummins announced several new endorsements of his campaign for a 4^th term and re-election to Cleveland City Council’s Ward 14.

New endorsements have been received from Mayor Frank G. Jackson, Ward 14 Primary Candidate Christian Omar Medina, Cleveland Stonewall Democrats and the Cleveland American Middle East Organization.  The full endorsement list includes:

·       Cleveland Teachers Union

·       Cleveland Building & Construction Trades Council

·       The Plain Dealer, Cleveland.com

·       Mayor Frank G. Jackson

·       Christian Omar Medina, 2017 Primary Election Candidate, Ward 14 Council

·       Cleveland American Middle East Organization (C.A.M.E.O.)

·       Cleveland Stonewall Democrats

Upon receiving the endorsement Cummins stated,

“I appreciate the endorsements from these individuals and organizations. I will continue to work hard to serve our mutual interests for the benefit of our community and the City of Cleveland.”

In endorsing Cummins, Mayor Jackson stated,

"I support Councilman Brian Cummins for re-election because of his leadership and advocacy, which has led us to target the Clark-Fulton neighborhood for special bond funding over the next few years... one of only four projects to be selected for focused neighborhood investment. Councilman Cummins' experience and dedication serve the neighborhoods of Ward 14 well."

The Administration announced in July that it will target $4 Million to support the W. 25^th Street Corridor and related La Villa Initiatives. The initiatives began in 2010 when Cummins was elected to the new Ward 14.

Cummins’ work has been instrumental in initiating these projects.  He has worked closely with neighborhood organizations and leaders in the Latino Community in developing La Villa Hispana — a commercial and residential district that celebrates the Latino cultures of its residents and business owners. The district is centered at W. 25^th Street and Clark Avenue.

Cleveland City Council together with Mayor Jackson established a $25 Million bond fund for investment in neighborhoods in 2015.  The Mayor’s announcement in July followed meetings and lobbying by Councilman Cummins and partners and organizations including Councilman Joe Cimperman, the Hispanic Business Center, Detroit Shoreway Community Development Organization, Metro West Community Development Organzation, Hispanic Alliance and MetroHealth Systems.

Regarding the Mayor’s support Cummins stated,

“I want to acknowledge Mayor Jackson’s leadership and accomplishments. He has always valued using public funds to attract private funding and investment to projects of merit.”

Christian Omar Medina was one of three Latino candidates that ran in the Ward 14 Primary Election.  In making his endorsement Medina said,

"I endorse Brian Cummins because he is the most qualified candidate to do the job... In this election ethnicity is not a factor. Ethics, experience and integrity are. Councilman Cummins will continue bringing resources into our community. And he will build on established relationships to move forward important projects like La Villa Hispana and others... continuing progress for everyone in all of our neighborhoods."

Councilman Cummins was first elected to Council in 2005 to serve Ward 15, which was comprised of portions of the neighborhoods of Old Brooklyn and Brooklyn Centre.  In 2009 he won his second term to council to serve a re-districted Ward 14, which was made up of portions of Brooklyn Centre, Tremont, Clark-Fulton and Stockyard.  In 2013 Cummins won a third term and picked up portions of the West Boulevard neighborhood. Beginning in 2014 Ward 14 was extended westward from W. 17^th to W. 47^th to
W. 97^TH Street.  This year’s re-election marks the first time Councilman Cummins is running to serve the same geographical Ward boundries he has served in a previous term.

Councilman Cummins is a graduate of Cleveland State University. His varied career includes 6-years with National City Bank’s Trust Division, 10-years affiliated with the Peace Corps, as a Volunteer with his wife Gayle, and then time served as a technical trainer and Administrative Director. Upon his return to the United States in 2009, Cummins served as the Chief Financial Officer of the Community Shelter Board in Columbus, Ohio, before retuning to Cleveland in 2001 to serve as the Director of the Old Brooklyn Community Development Corporation. Councilman Cummins lives in the Historic Brooklyn Centre neighborhood with his Wife Gayle and daughters Adalyne and Tatum.

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2017 Ward 14 Street Improvements and street conditions rankings

Street resurfacing in Ward 14 will begin tomorrow, Tuesday, September 12th.

In addition to the City's Public Announcement, see below for a list and ranking of the worst streets in Ward 14 as well as the list of streets completed in 2015 and 2016.  The Ward 14 office works closely with the Department of Public Works and we conduct our own separate field inspection each year that are then compared with the City's lists to help determine what gets done each year.

If you have a question about the street ranking and status of pavement of your street, please call our office at 216-664-4238.

City Announces Neighborhood Street Improvements

Number of street improvement projects increase in 2017 

CLEVELAND – Improvements to City of Cleveland streets will begin (Weather Dependent) Tuesday, September 12th in Ward 14. Advance notice signs will be posted to advise the public of road improvements.  The following streets will be resurfaced and completed by the end of October 2017:

• W. 62nd Street (Denison Avenue – Storer Avenue)
• Mapledale Avenue (W. 36th Street – Pearl Road)
• W. 86th Street (Wentworth Avenue – Denison Avenue)
• W. 48th Street (House # 3590 – House #3609)
• W. 33rd Street (Denison Avenue – School Driveway)
• W. 56th Street (Denison Avenue – Eichorn Avenue)

One lane of traffic will be maintained for local traffic for the duration of each project and no detours are expected. Access to all businesses, residences and side streets will be maintained during construction.  On-street parking will not be allowed during construction.

2017 Road Resurfacing Projects:
Mayor Frank G. Jackson’s enhanced budget, made possible by Issue 32, allows the City to embark on more street improvement projects in 2017 than previous years. Projects span all City neighborhoods and wards.

Highlights about this year’s road work:

• Street resurfacing began April 27 and will continue through the summer, weather permitting. The first resurfacing project was in Ward 4 on Parkview Avenue near the intersection of Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard.
• Potholes are serviced year round, weather permitting.  The Department of Public Works has increased its pothole crews from three to 10 as a result of the passage of Issue 32.
• This year, with the completion of the Pavement Management Study the City has a graded system that allows streets in the greatest need of resurfacing to be selected. The City is using the worst first approach to road resurfacing.
• City projects it will resurface 95 streets this year.
• City is also investing in preventive maintenance on recently resurfaced streets to extend roadways’ high condition rating  

For questions, contact the City’s Chief Construction Inspector, Ms. Traci Hartnett-Mercado at (216) 244-5636.

Editor’s Note: Road construction invariably presents hazards to the public. All travelers are urged to use caution in construction zones. Public safety and the safety of our workers is a top priority.

About the City of Cleveland 

The City of Cleveland is committed to improving the quality of life for its residents by strengthening neighborhoods, delivering superior services, embracing diversity and making Cleveland a desirable, safe city in which to live, work, play, and do business. For more information on the City of Cleveland, visit online at www.city.cleveland.oh.us, Twitter at @cityofcleveland or Facebook at www.facebook.com/cityofcleveland.  Also see the city's blog at Straight from City Hall
News and Information from the City of Cleveland

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W14 Street Resurfacing 2017 FINAL by Brian Cummins on Scribd

La Villa Hispana Action Plan approved by Cleveland City Planning Commission

La Villa Hispana's Action Plan as presented and approved at the October 21st, 2016 Cleveland City Planning Commission.

La Villa Hispana Presentation CLE Planning Commission 10.21.2016 by Brian Cummins on Scribd

The above action plan was developed out of work that started in 2012.  In May 2015, the La Villa initiative team began making a series of presentations to Cleveland Mayor Fran G. Jackson's administration and Cleveland City Council's Leadership.  The following is an early presentation of the planning and project developments.

La Villa Presentation Mayors Office 05292015 by Brian Cummins on Scribd

YOU ARE INVITED - AFFORDABLE HOUSING Ribbon Cutting for the $10 Million adaptive re-use of The Lofts at Lion Mills - Thurs. @ 3:00 pm

Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for the The Lofts at Lion Mills, 3256 West 25th Street,  Thursday, September 14th from 3:00 pm- 5:00 pm followed by delicious local food and festive music!

You are invited to Thursday's ribbon cutting of the Lofts at Lion Mills project - an $10 million rehabilitation project that creates 36-units of updated and affordable housing units.   The apartments with be available to those earning 30 to 60 percent of the area’s median income. And rents will range from $275 to $625 a month.

Come help celebrate the completion of this important project that helps provide new updated affordable housing in the Clark-Fulton neighborhood, injecting investment as part of our W. 25th Street Corridor project that began in 2010.

Since that time there has been more than $75 Million worth of investments on the corridor with recent projects that include  the $4 Million Fresenius Dialysis Clinic which is a partnership between Fresenius Company, MetroHealth, and the Cleveland Clinic and the Horizon Education Center - a new $4 Million early learning facility providing much-needed high quality early education seats to our community.  And most recently the city has designated Clark-Fulton and La Villa Hispana as one of the areas targeted for the Healthy Neighborhoods Bond Funding.

Stay tuned for an update on our speaker's list for this event and clear your schedule to come and help celebrate from 3:00 to 5:00 pm on Thursday.

REF:

• Update: iconic water tower retakes rightful place atop Lofts at Lion Mills, 5/19/2017, Karin Connelly Rice, www.freshwatercleveland.com
• Groundbreaking held for Lofts at Lion Mills on West 25th Street, 6/30/2016, By Stan Bullard, Crain's Cleveland Business.
• New Tax Credit Project Funded in Clark Fulton, The Lofts at Lion Mills Scheduled to Break Ground Early 2016, 6/19/2015. wwwbrian-cummins.blogspot.com

Lofts at Lion Mills Press Release by Brian Cummins on Scribd

POLICY FOR LOCAL PROGRESS, Case Studies & Best Practices from Around the Country

In 2012 I joined with 40 other progressive elected officials from around the country and together with support from organizations such as the Center for Popular Democracy, PolicyLink, AFL-CIO and SEIU International, the organization has grown to now support more than 600 elected officials, from 328 municipalities in 41 states.

Over the years Local Progress has helped pull together best practices from around the country covering issues including:

• Civil Rights - Policing & Justice Reform (see Toolkit for promoting Justice in Policing)  & Public Education (see education policy brief)
• Economic Justice (Paid Sick Leave, Development that Benefits Communities, Creating Green Jobs, Creating Living Wage Job & Reducing Mortgage Debt)
• Immigrant Rights
• Voting and Democracy

Recently Local Progress published the 2017 Policy Book.  Progress can be made locally, in our state and nationally.  Local Progress together with organizations such as Policy Matters and Ohio Organizing Collaborative work towards sustained improvements in living standards for working families.

Specifically in Cleveland, leadership training, organizing and community project development is being provided through programs such as Neighborhood Connections, Neighborhood Leadership Institute, and Cleveland Leadership Center programs.



Local Progress 2017 Policy Book by Brian Cummins on Scribd