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TWO DAYS BEFORE THE
filing deadline and months after the rumors began, former mayor, congressman and presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich declared for the 2021 Cleveland Mayoral race.
Standing before the script Cleveland sign in Tremont – where, Kucinich reminisced, it all began – Kucinich said that the city of Cleveland needed both a “steady, experienced hand” and a leader with “bold, visionary ideas” as it emerges from the pandemic and a period of sustained violence and poverty.
The particulars of his platform will be released in detail in the coming weeks. But Monday, Kucinich chose to focus on what he said was the most pressing issue in Cleveland today: safety.
On that topic, Kucinich’s stance was qualified, striking a balance between pro- and anti-police factions locally. We must support the police who risk their lives every day on the one hand, he said, but “question police and take appropriate disciplinary action” when they violate internal rules or breach civil rights.
Kucinich said that the moping by current leaders about violence was no solution. Action is required. He pledged to hire 400 new police officers and 100 new police assistants to be more responsive to crime. He also wants to create a “Civic Peace Department” and launch a nonviolence curriculum in the Cleveland schools – a variation on a proposal he dreamed up 20 years ago in congress – which he said would address all forms of violence in Cleveland.
Kucinich was the youngest mayor in Cleveland’s history, serving from 1977 to 1979 during a tumultuous era in which he famously refused to privatize the Municipal Light and Electric Company, now CPP, under immense personal and political pressure. If elected, Kucinich would become the city’s oldest mayor. He is exactly four days younger than Mayor Frank Jackson.
Kucinich’s current campaign hashtag, #LightUpCleveland, is a reference both to his Muny Light history, his plan to literally brighten streets with brighter streetlights, and his view on the city’s need for an attitude adjustment.
“I am ready from day one to take the city in a new, upbeat, can-do direction,” he said. When asked what took him so long to formally declare his candidacy, he said, “It’s right on time.”
A recent Baldwin-Wallace poll found that Kucinich enjoys more name recognition than any other candidate in the race.
Elsewhere on the mayoral beat, candidates Sandra Williams, Zack Reed and Justin Bibb filed their
petitions at the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections last week. Assuming at least 3,000 of their submitted signatures are valid, they will appear on the Sep. 14 primary ballot.
Bibb noted that his signatures were gathered by 235 volunteer circulators and said that the effort was indicative of his campaign’s grassroots appeal.
“Residents told us they want to see new leadership and a fresh perspective in City Hall and I’ll be that Mayor,” Bibb said in a press release. “Clevelanders are looking for a leader who will fight for our future with a sense of urgency and energy that we are missing right now. I believe I am the right leader for the right time and our moment has arrived.”
In a phone call from the BOE, Bibb told Scene that in the coming weeks, he plans to continue attending fundraisers and meet and greets and knocking on doors citywide.
“We’re hitting the pavement as hard as we possibly can,” he said, “spreading the word that Cleveland can’t wait for new leadership.”
Council President Kevin Kelley will reportedly file his petitions Wednesday. Kelley released a statement after Kucinich’s press conference.
“This election is about the future,” he said. “Our city has made great progress in digging out from the dark days of the past. We cannot afford to go back.” -Sam Allard
Cleveland Activists Demand Accountability for the Murder of Vincent Belmonte
“You about to lose your job, Larry McDonald!”
Through the cracks in the hot pavement and into the rustling trees, on May 31, these words reverberated through the neighborhood surrounding East Cleveland City Hall.
Almost five months after the murder of eighteen-year-old Vincent Belmonte by East Cleveland police officer Larry McDonald, activists and organizers gathered at Heritage Middle School to demand accountability.
On Tuesday, January 5, 2021, Sgt. Larry McDonald fired three shots at Belmonte, hitting him in the back. McDonald’s body camera footage, obtained by cleveland.com, shows the moments leading up to the shooting and the moments following, suggesting McDonald turned off his body camera while he murdered Belmonte. According to police, Belmonte was driving a stolen car, fled from officers, and threatened them with a gun. According to Belmonte’s family, Belmonte borrowed the vehicle from a friend. And if he was so threatening, they wonder, why did all of the bullets hit him from the back?
“If proper action had been taken against [Larry McDonald] years ago, my son would still be here,” Belmonte’s mother said to the crowd gathered outside the East Cleveland Police Department.
Throughout his career, McDonald has received a number of complaints about excessive force and lack of probable cause. He was laid off in 2006 due to his reckless behavior but rehired in 2008. In 2020, he was put on probation for releasing a woman from jail in exchange for a date and investigated for stealing marijuana from the department’s evidence locker.
The rally, held on Memorial Day, commenced with a land acknowledgment from Chrissy Stonebraker-Martinez, co-director of the InterReligious Taskforce on Central America.
Then the emcee invited Kareem Henton, Co-Founder of Black Lives Matter Cleveland, to speak. “I’m sorry to make this family relive this again and again, but it cannot be lost on anyone that Vincent was shot in his back,” Henton said. “I struggle to find how someone fleeing law enforcement is a danger to law enforcement. I struggle to understand how it is that a law enforcement officer with a known record for his deviant behavior, and was on probation at the time, can be given the benefit of the doubt by East Cleveland’s [leadership].”
Next, Antoine Tolbert of Chasing Justice LLC added to Henton’s sentiment.
“In East Cleveland, we see a failure of leadership from top to bottom,” he said. He then invited the audience to call out the names of victims of police violence with him as he poured out water from a water bottle. “Tamir Rice, Timothy Russell, Desmond Franklin, Marissa Williams, Tanisha Anderson,” they shouted out. The list goes on.
“Chasing justice is no longer about holding the police accountable. We want the prosecutors. We want the judges. We want the attorney general. We want the certification officers. We want everybody who has failed this community. They’ve got to go,” Mariah Crenshaw, Chasing Justice LLC’s founder, exclaimed after explaining the affidavits her organization filed against various Cuyahoga County police departments for misconduct and corruption. “Larry McDonald is only doing what they let him do. [Mike] O’Malley, and everyone protecting McDonald, have got to go!”
Next up were Alicia Kirkman, whose son, Angelo Miller, was murdered by Cleveland Police in 2007; and Brenda Bickerstaff, whose brother, Craig Bickerstaff, was murdered by Cleveland Police in 2002.
“This is the fight of your life,” Kirkman turned away from the crowd to address Belmonte’s mother directly. “I’ve been in this fight for fourteen years. Every day, I’m figuring out how I can get [patrolman] John Lundy convicted of murdering my son.”
Both women encouraged members of the crowd who are registered to vote in the city of Cleveland to sign the Citizens for a Safer Cleveland, or the SaferCLE, petition for a ballot measure that expands the investigative and disciplinary powers of the Civilian Review Board to investigate police misconduct, and establish a permanent Community Police Commission to be given final authority on disciplining police officers.
“We need 7,000 votes to ensure justice. We’re going for 10,000,” added Bickerstaff. “If you can’t come to me, I’ll come to you.”
The Belmonte family led a march from Heritage Middle School to the East Cleveland Police Department building on Euclid Avenue and Marloes, where marchers and organizers in cars blocked the intersection.
Members of the family took turns giving remarks about their final days with Vincent and demanding accountability, while sage was smudged and passed around. The crowd repeated chants, waved signs and heckled officers watching from their vehicles and the roof of city hall.
After the crowd dissipated, Kareem Henton’s message lingered. “When you leave here,” he told the crowd, “take on the responsibility of bringing others into this struggle. When we show up again, I want to see these numbers triple and quadruple.”
-Emma Sedlak
Cavs G-League Squad Moving from Canton to Cleveland, Will Play at Wolstein
The Canton Charge, the Cleveland Cavaliers minor league affiliate, will move from Canton to Cleveland next season and play its regularseason home games at the Cleveland State University Wolstein Center.
The ‘G-League’ franchise, which the Cavaliers acquired in 2011 and which has called the Canton Memorial Civic Center home for nine seasons, is moving closer to its parent club to give both teams
DIGIT WIDGET
35
Number of people shot, in 22 separate shooting incidents, in Cleveland last weekend. It was one of the most violent weekends of an already violent year. Three people were killed.
600 ft.
Approximate height of possible Sherwin-Williams HQ skyscraper in downtown Cleveland, (as reported by @ NEOtrans). If correct, the building would be the fourth tallest in downtown Cleveland, trailing only its Public Square neighbors: Key Tower, Terminal Tower and 200 Public Square.
$22.1 million
Total 2020 compensation for Kevin M. Stein, CEO of TransDigm, $13.6 million of which arrived via stock dividend equivalent payments. (Stein was the highest-paid executive on Crain’s annual list of highestpaid CEOs in the region.)
260,000+
Doses of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine administered at the CSU Wolstein Center mass vaccination site over the course of its now-completed 12-week run.
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greater operational flexibility.
“We want to thank Mayor Bernabei, the City of Canton and our Charge fans and partners for a decade of excitement at the Civic Center,” said Rock Entertainment Group CEO Len Komoroski, in a press release. “When we acquired the franchise and relocated it here to Northeast Ohio, our goal was to create the best operation and experience in the G-League, both on the court and off. We’ve had success working towards both those goals and that remains our commitment and focus.”
The G-League season is expected to begin in November. As in recent years, several players on the team may be “called up” to play for the Cavs at various points throughout the season. The proximity to Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse and the Cavs’ practice facilities in Independence will make for a safer, smoother experience for players, coaches and staff.
The City of Canton is naturally very sorry to see the team flee to the CLE.
“I am, of course, disappointed that the Charge will no longer be playing in Canton,” said Canton Mayor Thomas Bernabei, in the release. “We had open and professional conversations with Charge management about extending their lease and staying. However, their move is stimulated by a desire to be in much closer proximity to the Cavaliers’ core center of operations. We worked hard at keeping them here, but I appreciate their openness in our conversations, respect their decision and sincerely wish them well.” -Sam Allard
Cleveland Bites!
The United States Postal Service released its annual dog attack data last week, revealing that more than 5,800 USPS employees were attacked by dogs in 2020. Cleveland, which no longer counts itself among the top 50 U.S. cities by population, is nevertheless number four in total dog attacks, with 46.
Astonishingly, six Ohio cities — Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, Toledo, Dayton and Canton — were among the top 47 cities for dog attacks, more than any other state. (Ohio, in fact, trailed only California and Texas for total attacks statewide.)
Among larger cities, Cleveland was responsible for far and away the most dog attacks per capita, with one attack per 8,369 residents. Of the top 47 cities, only Dayton, Canton and Shawnee Mission, Kansas (outside Kansas City) had more attacks per capita.
Northeast Ohio continues to punch (and bite) above its weight class.
-Sam Allard
Op-Ed: John Marshall was Pro-Slavery Extremist Even by 19th Century Standards. Change CSU Law School’s Name.
Last December, Scene published my essay explaining why Cleveland State University should change the name of our public law school. I won’t rehash my entire argument here. But it bears repeating that the fourth chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, John Marshall, owned some 200 slaves and at one point auctioned off some of them to pay off his son’s debts.
Moreover, the Virginian slave lord subverted the rule of law. Even when statutes and precedents favored Black litigants, he always overruled the law whenever it conflicted with slaveholding interests.
It happens that Cleveland isn’t the only city with a law school named “Marshall.” The University of Illinois Chicago John Marshall Law School, and Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School, share our dubious distinction.
Now there are two.
For, on May 20th, The University of Illinois board of trustees voted to drop “John Marshall” from the law school. On July 1st it will henceforth be called The University of Illinois Chicago School of Law.
Mind you, The University of Illinois board overcame a significant hurdle. When The John Marshall Law School merged with The University of Illinois a couple of years ago, the University of Illinois agreed to keep the name “John Marshall” until August 2025.
The law school’s board decided to waive the agreement. And so the people of Chicago won’t have to endure, for another four years, a name that is no less infamous than the Confederate flag.
Make no mistake. “John Marshall” and the Confederate flag are cognate symbols. They diametrically oppose the rule of law.
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This buzzword gets thrown around a lot, “the rule of law.” In fact, the editorial board of The Chicago Tribune, lamenting the decision to expunge John Marshall’s name, claimed that he championed the “rule of law”.
But did he really?
First and foremost, we should understand the rule of law in terms of the social contract.
The Declaration of Independence framed our social contract in terms of equality and the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness… “That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed.”
Alexander Hamilton in The Federalist Papers argued that The Constitution must be established by the voluntary consent of the whole people.
Of course, “We the People” was limited to propertied white men at first. But the social contract has since expanded. As I write in 2021, we have had millions of Black voters and women voters, a Black president, and we now have a Black female vice president.
The point is, the social contract is based on the consent of the people. Ultimately, the rule of law is defined by the informed consent of the citizenry.
Abraham Lincoln had meant to include Black people in the social contract when he said that our nation “was conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.” Our sixteenth president was not perfect, but he was indisputably on the right side of history.
On the wrong side of history we find John Marshall and the Confederate flag, both standing for the proposition that white people are “more equal” than everybody else. Only white consent matters in their social contract. “Marshall” and the Stars and Bars symbolize a zero-sum game rigged for white people to win and for all other people to lose, especially Black people.
But the rule of law might still seem abstract to the reader.
And so I ask the reader to consider the rule of law from London’s point of view. In Scott v. Negro London (1806), London sued for freedom in Washington under a Virginia law prohibiting importation of slaves. A jury of twelve white men, some probably slaveholders, concluded London was free because he was illegally imported into the city. The trial court strictly construed Virginia slave law.
As legal scholar Paul Finkelman observed: “This result was consistent with other decisions from American state courts of the period that strictly applied statutes regulating slavery and at the same time liberally construed the common law in favor of liberty.” Marshall, nevertheless, reversed the jury verdict. He thus construed the statute for a pro-slavery result. In fact, he decided seven freedom suits and not one Black litigant ever succeeded.
Please pay close attention to what Finkelman just said. That Marshall was a pro-slavery extremist even by the standards of the early nineteenth century. Having read Finkelman’s Supreme Injustice, I can attest to that recurring theme throughout the book, of Marshall’s anti-Black and rabidly pro-slavery jurisprudence.
All this is to say that the movement to change schools named after John Marshall is not “cancel culture” run amok. The issue is not whether or not to “cancel” Marshall. The issue is whether or not he’s a symbol of the rule of law worthy to name our public law school. Especially now as our nation reckons with our not-so-distant past of slavery and genocide. Not to mention the City of Cleveland’s struggles with past and present segregation.
A couple of weeks ago, in light of the news out of Chicago, I asked the dean of Cleveland-Marshall about the time-frame regarding a possible name change. He told me to get back to him in September once the CSU board returns. “Marshall” yet and still graces the school’s entrance. Knowing what we now know about the man, our public law school may as well have a giant Confederate flag flying in front of it.
-Taru Taylor
(Author Taru Taylor tried not to let law school interfere with his education. He’s now in the process of unlearning how to think like a lawyer. Email him at tytaylor521@ yahoo.com for further discussion of this piece or whatever.)
