Councilman Santiago Addresses the Community (From November 1, 2007 Special Meeting of Cleveland City Council)

    I am standing up before you to officially announce that I am NOT resigning my seat in the face of a recall organized by Nelson Cintron, whom the voters chose me to replace in November 2005, after deciding that the former Councilman was not representing their best interests nor the best interests of the Ward and elected to vote him out of office.
I support citizen’s right to vote and am saddened that Cintron has not chosen to respect the 2005 decision of the voters.  I have a grave concern that this lack of respect for citizens through this recall effort is a waste of taxpayer money, since the taxpayers are the ones that foot the bill.  I am further gravely concerned that, should a recall be successful, Ward 14 will be left without representation for 120 days.

    The reasons given by Cintron for the need of a recall are shaky at best.  This recall is unprecedented and leaves every other councilmember vulnerable to the same distractions and harassment that I am receiving, making all of us targets to negative campaigning.  I have done nothing criminal or unethical that would warrant a true recall, nor will my integrity allow me to do so.   Since being elected, I have worked to address those issues most important to the residents of Ward 14; (1) quality of life in terms of safety and security, housing conditions and access to businesses that provide life’s staples; (2) the development of small businesses within the Ward 14 community; (3) building relationships with our schools’ CEO, principals and teachers to educate the children of Ward 14; (4) access to essential City services; (5) and moving toward self-sufficiency.

    For eight years, the Ward 14 community was neglected under former leadership, causing it to fall into a state of decay.  I understand that people are restless, but change doesn’t happen overnight.  I support a continual effort to better ourselves and our surroundings and realize that change requires patience.

    I have been accused of failing to fulfill a campaign promise to move into the Ward.  The house that I grew up in and currently reside in was historically in Ward 14.  My entire family, including my father, brothers and sisters, aunts, uncles and cousins all reside within Ward 14 and the surrounding neighborhoods.  My heart has always been in this community, but I never promised to abandon my childhood home, nor does the law require me to do so.  I feel that I am more than capable of serving in the best interests of the community have lived in for all my life. 

    I have been accused of not making myself available to Ward 14 residents.  Within three months of being sworn into office, I opened a Neighborhood office that is centrally located within the Ward and is staffed daily from 9-5.  My office staff and I have addressed over 10,000 concerns within this 22 month period since being elected.  I have provided residents with my home number, office number and email address.  I am very visible within the community attending block club meetings, the 2nd district community relations meetings and participating in neighborhood clean ups, graffiti removal and youth activities.  I have personally sponsored and participated in many youth events conducted within Ward 14 including a baseball team with the Roberto Clemente Little League, the Spanish Youth Center activities and boxing match which brought home the belt from a match held in Puerto Rico, Boys and Girls Club and at our 11 schools located within the Ward.  I have instituted monthly community forums that are open to ALL residents and televised on TV 23 for those that cannot attend.  The dates and times of this and other community meetings are advertised in my monthly news briefs, which also provide residents with other pertinent and timely information.  All this has been done within 22 months of being elected.  Furthermore, I am always happy to discuss residents’ concerns with them and make myself available to meet with residents in a timely manner.  Nelson Cintron runs an occasional, not well publicized ward club meeting that I was specifically not welcome to attend.  These sorts of meetings serve to fragment the community and I refuse to be a part of that. 

    It is unfortunate that parts of Ward 14, particularly the Clark-Fulton neighborhood, are faced with the harsh reality of an underperforming Community Development Corporation (CDC).  However, the accusation that I am attempting to deprive residents of the social services such agencies provide is false.  Just this year I had to transfer funds from my colleagues social service budget to support the social service needs of Ward 14.  I’d like to remind you that Nelson Cintron himself tried to close Clark Metro Development Corporation (CMDC) in 1999 and throughout his term, telling the Sun News that the CDC was a “’giant duplication’ of service and salaries” and saying that “the group should merge with Ohio City Near West or with Tremont West Development Corporation.”  However, since losing office, he has acted as a hypocrite and taken up the other side of this issue for personal gain, causing unnecessary turmoil throughout the community. 

    As a Council Member, I have no jurisdiction over the actions of Clark Metro, its elected board members or any other CDC for that matter.  The board that the membership elects has total jurisdiction and I urge the residents to hold them accountable for the failure of the organization.  However as a funder and as a representative of the residents of Ward 14, it is my duty to make an effort to support their best interests by holding the board and staff accountable for their actions.  Ward 14 is a working class community, one in which a majority of residents have limited funds. As such, Clark Metro’s membership fee makes it difficult for residents to truly be involved in the organization and only served as a deterrent to people who wish to be involved and join the organization.  I did speak to the board of Clark Metro and its president about lowering fees for membership or providing financing to ANYONE who wanted to be a member of the organization in my role as representative of Ward 14’s Clark-Fulton residents.  Clark Metro’s board agreed that I had raised a legitimate concern and waived the membership fees in order to encourage more community participation and membership.  Other CDC’s of Clark Metro’s size have a membership that is in the hundreds while Clark Metro’s membership included only 19 people, most of which were inactive – and might I add still does today, especially since efforts of accountability were thwarted by Nelson Cintron.    As Councilman, I am supportive of any efforts to give ALL of Ward 14’s residents a voice.
 
    Clark Metro is a organization that has been unable to meet either its own goals or those requirement set out by funders and the city of Cleveland.  Any interactions that I have had with Clark Metro have been focused on bringing this organization to a place where it is able to serve the residents within its service area and the Ward.  As a funder, allocating public dollars, however, I realized that I cannot continue to aid and support an organization that does not provide Ward 14 with the service residents deserve and has failed to make changes that would allow it to do so.  Any and all action I have taken concerning this issue has been in the best interests of the residents of the Clark-Fulton neighborhood and the Ward 14 community.

    I have further been accused of supporting businesses that a select few have taken issue.  I have no problem admitting that I support business and development within my community, particularly business that is locally owned.  None of the businesses that I have supported have done anything illegal or acted in a way that discredits the community or the city of Cleveland.  I will continue to support the development of my community.  We have the opportunity to slowly turn our neighborhoods around and actualize the potential that we have to be a vibrant neighborhood of choice for all those that choose to live, work and play in Ward 14.

    I will not back down from this challenge.  I pledge to fight for the right of Ward 14 residents to good Council representation, which I continually strive
to provide.  I will continue to fight for the right of Ward 14 residents to change and look to a more positive future.

    The supporters here in attendance today including Council Members demonstrate that I have been on a forward path to moving Ward 14 in a positive direction so that all of Ward 14 becomes a community of choice!

Thank you for this opportunity to speak before you today.