Cleveland mayor-elect Justin Bibb

Let’s hope that sometime before all the sweet potato, apple, and pumpkin pies are devoured this Thanksgiving weekend, Greater Clevelanders find time and space to send up prayers for Cleveland mayor-elect Justin Bibb and the daunting assignment he asked for and got: to lead the revival of our beloved town.

Prayers of Thanksgiving that he was strong and bold enough to want to take control of a City Hall that  for too long, has seemed content with rearranging deck chairs instead of charting a path forward out of the Bermuda Triangle of crony capitalism, industrial obsolescence, and socioeconomic stagnation this town began to drift towards nearly four score and ten years ago.

Prayers of Hope that he and his merry band of young brothers and sisters will stay strong enough and bold enough to do what must be done to revive a city and maintain faith with its residents, who finally succeeded in making themselves heard in this month's election. They said they want a more transparent, modern, and responsive government and an accountable police force.

The assignment is daunting: unlock and reimagine a City Hall focused on serving its citizens and businesses; relieve the place of those who have been there too long to remember why they came, who they are paid to serve, or are unwilling to retool themselves to be part of a forward-thinking administration. Find a way to deal with entrenched mini-bureaucracies like the Division of Police which, despite the best intentions of some and the long-range interests of all, had staunch resistance at the top to the necessary reforms mandated by the Consent Decree. [Goodbye Greg White!] Establish a healthy partnership with a new City Council apt to find its voice after so many years of deference to an administration that operated with a silent but steely authority.

And re-educate a business community grown accustomed to sloganeering, back-room negotiations, and relentless self-flattery as they fleece a town desperate for signs of rebirth and progress and substantive measures would to contribute to a healthier quality of life.

While delivering on his campaign promises will not be easy for the incoming Bibb administration, Bibb’s core team of political outsiders will have some key advantages. For one, they appear remarkably free of political IOUs. Few politicians gave the young idealistic Bibb, a hometown kid from the city's southeast side any chance to succeed, so few invested in him. Consider this: a poised, educated, articulate, scandal-free black candidate won citywide election without the public backing of a single black city councilman?

This phenomenon was due to several factors, including loyalty to others in the race, a misperception of the Bibb campaign's viability, and perhaps above all, an underestimation of the candidate himself. Only Bibb's own councilman, his contemporary and the one who knows him best, downtown's Kerry McCormack, supported him openly.

Bibb's resounding victory truly upsets the applecart, not to mention the town’s antiquated racial calculus. The situation is reminiscent of 2010, when the black political establishment found itself lost at sea, "with every traditional political lighthouse either adrift or under uncertain or foreign control."

That November, the one-term administration of Gov. Ted Strickland had been routed, the state House Democratic majority under one-term Speaker Armond Budish had disintegrated, the county had just elected as its first-ever county executive someone virtually unknown to the black political establishment, much less the electorate; the new Democratic Party chair, Stuart Garson, was disconnected from and disinterested in any sort of grassroots politics, and the 11th District Congresswoman, Marcia Fudge, had yet to complete a full term.

In short, local black Democrats were in complete disarray, without anchor or compass, so thoroughly lost they couldn't find their backside with either hand.

Today, as we write this, the 11^th District Congresswoman, Shontel Brown, has yet to complete a full month, the county executive is the lamest of lame ducks, and the area’s state legislators are all scrambling to adjust to new boundaries that may not — and certainly shouldn’t — survive court scrutiny.

Meanwhile, the local Democratic Party, on the eve of statewide elections of critical import, is its usual destitute and rudderless self. And although Brown has signaled her desire to remain as its chair, she may find it more than a notion to do so from Washington. Having just won her congressional seat after a tough campaign battle in a special election where she was fortunate enough to come out on top, she must now prepare for a 2022 reelection campaign in a substantially altered district.

So what does all this presage for the incoming Bibb administration, which must dwell in the real world of city governance and the practical world of politics? Based upon what we’ve seen and heard, we think the Bibb team sees a world of opportunity to make a huge difference and a big impact.

We will go out a limb with a few predictions:

1. The Bibb cabinet will feature some imported talent.

In his young career Bibb has crisscrossed the country numerous times, studied abroad, consulted with contemporary mayors, and interned for a future president. He has in the processed amassed a sizable network. We will be surprised, perhaps astonished, if he does not select some hot shots or whiz kids with impressive resumes and keen ideas to help catapult his new administration.

2. Fresh local talent will be given a chance to shine.

A lot of talent labors undetected in Cleveland’s community development corporations, other nonprofit institutions, and as junior workhorses in local law firms. Expect some of this talent to be given greater responsibilities. We’re thinking of folks like Evelyn Burnett, Will Tarter Jr., and Jessica Trivisonno, who’s already been tapped as deputy director of the transition team.

3. Campaign manager Ryan Puente will enter City Hall with Bibb but not as chief of staff.

Puente has impressed many the past few years with his work ethic, respect for elders, intellectual curiosity, and organizational skills. But he’s not suited to what Bibb needs as chief of staff. That person needs to have some nasty in him [apologies in advance if the pick turns out to be a woman], the ability to say “no” effectively. So it’s likely to be someone older than the new mayor who knows his or her way around City Hall, and has some familiarity with the town’s movers and shakers and a degree of comfort with them. And of course, superior organizational skills.

Puente’s political instincts will ensure that he and the mayor find a spot where he can be effective. He will of course remain one of Bibb’s most trusted confidants and advisors. He will be a two-way E. F. Hutton: inside or outside the administration, when he talks, people will listen.

4. Bibb and Council President-in-waiting Blaine Griffin will forge a healthy relationship.

Griffin, a former key aide to Frank Jackson, knows city government and folks on all sides town. He’s always wanted the best for his adopted city, and that won’t change, even though Bibb’s election and the political clock may make the older Griffin’s own mayoral ambitions less likely of fulfillment. He will provide some experienced counsel on the legislative side.

5. Bibb and Brown will find common ground.

There’s an inherent political tension for primacy in the black political community that was long submerged in local history. It didn’t exist of course, when Carl Stokes was mayor and brother Lou was in Congress. And Lou, with his ability to bring home bacon from a Democratic House, along with his probity and unbreakable community connections, was obviously never really challenged, even when other political giants — George Forbes and Arnold Pinkney — roamed local turf. They were together even when they weren’t together.

Despite having served in office for nearly a decade — she regularly touted her “experience in government during a pandemic” than any of her rivals — we think her intended path as Congresswoman is less foreseeable than our expectations for Bibb, whose administration we expect will be dynamic.

The importance of the Bibb-Brown relationship for the black community should not be underestimated. Brown's primary victory over Nina Turner in some ways seemed the death knell for black political power as it had been known in the 11th District since the heyday of the Stokes brothers. Even, or perhaps especially, if that is the case, the two positions, and in particular the Congressional seat, represent in fact and in theory the base of black political power in Greater Cleveland. They will need to find a way to be mutually supportive. 

There is an excitement that surrounds the incoming administration that hasn’t existed since at least the last century. It’s more a wish than a prediction to say we hope that the community will give the new administration a decent honeymoon while it finds its legs. There are some easy wins out there — removing the Jersey barriers from Public Square, hosting cabinet and/or council meetings in the neighborhoods — that will build good will and help to develop trust with the electorate.

Bibb’s campaign slogan — “Cleveland can’t wait” — was the truth. Neither can we.

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