Jackson, Reed Battle For Cleveland Mayor's Office

CLEVELAND, OH – Voters in the city have a chance to make history next week, when they choose if they will give Mayor Frank Jackson a fourth term and make him the longest serving city executive. Or, will they favor his opponent, 16-year Ward 2 city councilman Zack Reed as their next mayor.

Jackson, the 57th mayor of the city, has been in office since 2006. In this campaign, Jackson has touted his record as mayor and his performance in the city.

"This is about the future of the city of Cleveland," Jackson said during a pre-election debate earlier this month at the City Club of Cleveland. “I believe Cleveland has bright future, a good future. …We’ve spent the at last 12 years working so we could be in the position to have a good future and bright future."

Jackson’s next term, if elected, he says will be about "completing things we’ve begun." That list of items includes education, economic development, neighborhood development and safety.

But, it’s those exact items that his challenger, Reed, has focused on during his campaign. In campaign ads, as well as the City Club debate, he has criticized Jackson’s leadership of the city schools, for which the mayor oversees. Reed also has knocked Jackson for the murder rate in Cleveland and a neglect of the city’s neighborhood.

"When you elect me as mayor of the city of Cleveland, you’ll have a safer city," Reed said during the City Club debate. "And, a safer city means a city that will be thriving with jobs (and) economic opportunities."
Reed has pledged to hire 400 new police officers to address the murder and crime rates in town. That’s a statement that has helped him garner the endorsement of Cleveland Police Patrolmen’s Association.

Reed also criticized Jackson for closing Public Square to bus traffic "without one community meeting." During the City Club debate, Reed charged, "that’s one man who believes he didn’t get elected mayor, that he got elected a dictator."

Reed has not been a stranger to controversy. The Jackson campaign has targeted Reed’s driving under the influence arrests. Questioned during the debate whether that was a low-blow for his campaign, Jackson said it was not an issue of Reed’s drinking and driving, but an issue "about judgment and accepting responsibility, and holding themselves accountable for actions. … This is not an office that has little or no pressure to it, this is an office where you have to make relevant decisions. You have to do something."

Reed responded to Jackson’s charge: "I did do something ... I went and I got help. I went to the rooms of (Alcoholics Anonymous). So when someone tells you that I didn’t do anything, I did do something. I spent 28 days in rehab. ... I have faced up to the fact that I made a mistake."

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Jackson has won the endorsement of the Democratic Party in the non-partisan race. He also has won the endorsement of Cleveland’s only newspaper. In it’s endorsement, the newspaper chastised Jackson for not opening public records, including those on a proposal to lure online retailer Amazon to locate its second headquarters in the city. “Jackson cares about this city and its future,” the editors wrote.

“He can continue to be the change-maker, the opportunity-generator and leader this city needs – if he is also willing to change."

Images from City Club of Cleveland Debate

Watch the full City Club of Cleveland Debate: