Ward 9

About Kevin Conwell

Councilman Kevin Conwell has been a member of City Council since November 2001, representing Ward 9 which includes most of Glenville and part of University Circle neighborhoods. 

Councilman Conwell has championed economic development in his ward and has been a vocal activist on social service issues, advocating for needy families, disabled people, the elderly, and the unemployed. His passion for the musical arts and bringing that exposure to children is also a core belief. As a cancer survivor, he uses his love of music to help raise money and awareness encouraging early cancer screenings.   

Recently, he sponsored legislation for the city's Transformative Arts Fund to establish a $3 million fund for public art projects and initiatives led by artists. Councilman Conwell believes in the power of art to transform communities and the city.

For this and other work, the Americans for the Arts and the National League of Cities recently awarded the Councilman its Public Service for the Arts Award for arts advocacy, working tirelessly to expand access to the arts for Clevelanders. 

Councilman Conwell has and continues to host a program to give low-income families donated musical instruments so that their children can learn the fundamentals of music. The program -- Play It Forward Cleveland -- started as a pilot in the city's Glenville neighborhood. Councilman Conwell, himself a drummer, knows the value of music education. The program is in collaboration with the Cleveland Orchestra; Arts Cleveland; Center for Arts-Inspired Learning and the Cleveland Metropolitan School District.

Councilman Conwell also brought 311 to Cleveland. The origins of 311 go back to 2003, after Councilman Kevin Conwell attended a National League of Cities conference where he heard about other cities establishing a “citizens contact response system” they were all calling 311 (after 911) but a non-emergency number that connects callers to local government services and information. In October of 2003, legislation was passed by Council to hire consultants about implementing a 311 system in Cleveland. In the years since, it has been upgraded and enhanced.

He also sponsored several resolutions passed by council, encouraging the Cleveland Metropolitan School District to rename schools named after slave holders. CMSD responded and three schools have been renamed, with community input. The schools renamed include the old Patrick Henry, that is in Councilman Conwell's ward. It was renamed after Stephanie Tubbs Jones. Four other schools are slated to be renamed after the community weighs in on possible replacements.

The councilman also sponsored a resolution calling on Cleveland State University to consider renaming its John Marshall School of Law. CSU trustees recently announced they were going to change the law school's name. 

The Councilman has led a number of rallies and press events, calling for fair wages, benefits and strong labor unions to help working people.

Currently, he is actively engaged in major development projects underway near and along East 105th Street. The neighborhood has seen growth in public/private developments, as well as new housing rising from empty lots, as well as renovations of older buildings. 

Before being elected, Councilman Conwell was employed by the Center for Families and Children as Operations Manager for the “Fathers and Families Together Program” where he coordinated parenting classes and job placement services for fathers in several locations throughout the City of Cleveland. The councilman was honored as National Father of the Year at an event in Washington D.C.

Besides Councilman Conwell's three National Awards, he also received the 2003 City Cultural Diversity Award for his work with the differently abled community and the 2001 National Father of the Year Award for his pioneering of the Ohio Commission on Fatherhood alongside former State Representative Peter Lawson Jones. 

Councilman Conwell graduated from Glenville High School and earned two business degrees from Cuyahoga Community college. He earned a bachelor's degree in liberal arts from Kent State University and an MBA from Chancellor University.

Councilman Conwell and his wife, Yvonne Conwell, who is a Cuyahoga County Councilwoman, live in the Glenville neighborhood with their children, Kevin Jr., Krystle and Krystina.