Kandace Jones and Kimberly Sims are the only candidates running for a council seat in Euclid’s Ward 3. One of them will be the city’s first elected African American official.
SOUND: meeting hall ambience with smooth jazz keyboards UP & UNDER
There's something different in the sanctuary, this evening. The Providence Baptist organ isn't exactly playing church music, and the congregation facing Pastor Rodney Maiden is a little more diverse than his regular Sunday services.
REV MAIDEN: I want to officially welcome you to the candidate forum of Euclid Ohio.
There are 30 candidates vying for nine seats on Euclid City Council and most of them are here to make their pitch to voters at a forum organized by Providence Baptist Church and the League of Women Voters. Tomorrow's special election is the result of a Department of Justice lawsuit last year that determined that the way city ward lines were drawn had the effect of suppressing the black vote. Since the community was founded in 1796, Euclid has never had an African American elected official. Thanks to newly drawn ward boundaries, that will change tomorrow.
KANDACE JONES: Yes, I know, the election results will be history. But, that's not the reason why I'm running. If it happens, it happens.
Kandace Jones and her opponent Kimberly Sims are the only candidates running in Ward 3 --- one of eight new Euclid wards where there were previously only four. Both women are African American, which guarantees that voters will elect the city's first black official. Maybe more than one. There are several black candidates running in other wards.
SOUND: Candidates talking UP & UNDER
Over the course of a couple hours, each candidate gives his or her assessment of the state of the city, offering ways to address such issues as the growth of foreclosed properties… a loss of population… and what some have politely termed as a "lack of civility" between council and the city administration. A failed attempt to recall mayor Bill Cervenik and the federal lawsuit have turned City Hall into a fractious place. 13-year resident Francine James says it's frustrating.
FRANCINE JAMES: I think it's one of the reasons why we have not gotten to the problem of what really needs to be done in Euclid. There's been a lot of in-fighting, and I think that needs to stop. And I hope it does with the new candidates that are going to be voted in.
20-year resident Mike Maholic agrees that easing the friction in City Hall is fundamental to Euclid's future.
MIKE MAHOLIC: I always look at it, people don't leave a good community or a good neighborhood, they leave bad leadership. And that's exactly what's been happening. For twenty years, we have not had good leadership in this town. And our population proves it.
Life-long resident Patrick Delaney is the incumbent in Ward 6 and he thinks his colleagues on Council have gotten a bad rap.
PATRICK DELANEY: The legislative and executive body have to debate. From good solid debates come the best results. There's always issues. Local politics are very personal, and people tend to get emotional.
Patrick Delaney thinks it's going to take awhile for residents to get used to the new eight ward set-up. But Francine James says, the only way her city is going to grow is for people to move out of their comfort zones.
FRANCINE JAMES: Euclid is a great city and Euclid's full of a lot of people, of all races of all economic backgrounds, and we all live here and we all need to get along. And we need to have a council that represents everyone and not just a few.
Euclid voters will take the first step towards that goal when they cast their ballots tomorrow.