Dozens of Cleveland residents gathered Monday on Shaker Square to demand that City Council "fix" President Blaine Griffin's proposed maps redrawing ward boundaries to eliminate two of council's 17 seats.
Griffin has defended the process as being fair and transparent, citing multiple public forums ahead of the maps' release.
But residents at Monday's rally argued the opposite.
"There were a lot of deficiencies in this community feedback process in terms of timing, in terms of notice, in terms of how the community was to give that feedback," said Ted Waddell, a 29-year-old resident living in Cleveland's Detroit-Shoreway neighborhood. "We’re all kind of painted into a corner at this point, but council knew that going in. They had time to do this better."
Waddell and other residents take issue with how fast council is moving to meet a deadline for using the maps in the November 2025 election.
City Council is expected to introduce and vote on the maps at their Jan. 6 meeting. The proposed maps were presented to the public on Dec. 10, and have since been slightly altered. There has not yet been a public hearing on the legislation.
The city's charter requires council to redraw ward boundaries using U.S. Census data every decade. Due to population loss between 2010 and 2020, Cleveland will lose two seats.
Councilmember Rebecca Maurer, whose current Ward 12 would be split into six pieces under the proposed maps, joined the chorus of resident grievances at Monday's rally. Maurer has vocally opposed the maps since viewing a version of them last month. She later accused Griffin of gerrymandering, a process in which politicians manipulate boundaries for their own political gain.
"What we have right now with council members drawing their own maps is a recipe for politics to get in the way, and that’s exactly what we’re seeing this time around," Maurer told Ideastream Public Media on Monday.
At a Nov. 25 meeting, Griffin rebuffed Maurer's comments in a fiery response, saying some members of council had concerns that Maurer was not a "team player" and they did not trust her. Maurer told Ideastream those comments are evidence that she is being pushed out.
Griffin maintains there was no gerrymandering. Earlier this year, City Council contracted Triad Research Group to lead the mapmaking process. Griffin said he was not involved until late in the process to incorporate council feedback and concerns.
Aside from Maurer, no other current City Council member attended Monday's rally. Former Councilmember Jay Westbrook was in attendance, condemning the maps as "shameful."
During an appearance on Ideastream's Sound of Ideas program earlier this month, Griffin confirmed that he asked all council members if they planned to retire or not seek re-election. So far, only Ward 15's Jenny Spencer, whose current ward would also be significantly altered under the new maps, has publicly announced intention to vacate her seat after her term is fulfilled.
If every member of council were to run in the ward in which they live, the new maps would pit incumbents Michael Polensek against Anthony Hairston, Griffin against Stephanie Howse-Jones and Maurer against Richard Starr.
But candidates are not required to run in the ward where they live. Maurer said it is too early for her to consider where she would seek re-election if the new boundaries are approved.
All council seats are up for election in November 2025.
