Reflections on Ward 14 Recall Election by a recall advocate

(Plain Press, February 2008) EL SOL DE CLEVELAND’s (Cleveland’s bilingual Hispanic newspaper) correspondent   Randy Michael had a chance to sit down briefly with Brent Thompson, one of the leaders of Ward 14 who instigated the recall movement pertaining to Councilman Joe Santiago. Brent was the owner of the now closed  LET’S WRAP coffee house and restaurant on the corner of W 25th and Clark. A former board member of Clark-Metro Development Corp., Brent was very vocal on the removal of Santiago from office. He speaks on the final results of coming up short of his group’s objectives.

Brent Thompson: The purpose of the recall was obviously to replace Councilman Joe Santiago, who we thought and still think that the average Ward 14 resident and especially the Hispanic residents feel that Joe does not represent them. Before the recall, all we heard on the streets was “our voices were not being heard at City Hall, or by the Councilman.” Our neighborhood opinions and thoughts were falling on deaf ears. But, although we lost the recall, so many positive results came out of the actions during the entire recall process.     

Never before has Ward 14 got so much exposure from the media. The recall drew so much attention to our neighborhood plights.  It’s certainly been a long time that Cleveland officials were walking down streets and knocking on doors to talk to our Ward 14 people. Ward 14 was re-established as a city focal point.

It was great to see the media reporting facts and figures about the area. It was important that our complaints became public record for all to see. We wanted City Hall to know that significant money that was supposed to be spent in Ward 14 and allocated to our residents in the form of services were going elsewhere to other wards. We needed this information to be known and hopefully the money drain stopped. July 2008, when money is budgeted out by the Councilman, will be the test. A lot of people have been saying that $47,000 is a lot of cash to spend on a recall. But, for Ward 14 voters, $47,000 is a small price to pay to make sure another quarter of a million doesn’t slip thru Ward 14 hands during the remainder of Santiago’s term in office.  

Personally, I feel that the City and Councilman are attempting to listen better to the Ward leaders and already I see improving communications and mediation processes better. We have had a few more boarded houses torn down and I see the police gang unit starting up again and back on the streets. I would like to think these actions came from recall complaints.  

We noticed that residents, who we felt were apathetic before and had given up hope that City Hall wasn’t listening to them, now have a feeling that the Ward has some empowerment.  The residents feel that they have some power and a voice that is loud. We have a say in what’s going on.   

To summarize, I don’t think we lost. Look at the positive side. Ward 14 has:
1). Established the fact that their elected officials’ actions will be scrutinized and that every resident has a voice that should be heard. This should be a wake up call to not only Santiago, but to City Hall as well. 2.) Made it known that there is Ward 14 money that is to be Ward 14 money and spent in our community; and, 3.) Some of our problems became part of the public record.

These are all positive results, and we call our recall actions a WIN for the Ward.

Editor’s note: The above interview is the first article to appear as part of a cooperative agreement between El Sol (Cleveland’s bilingual Hispanic Newspaper) and the Plain Press. We hope to continue to offer contributions from the staff of El Sol in the Plain Press on an ongoing basis.

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