Mayoral Candidate Marty Gelfand’s Answers
Qualifications for Office
After high school I joined the Navy, serving 6 years of active duty in the submarine force. After college and law school, I served the people of our region at the federal, state, county, and local levels. My service includes: 16 years as a Congressional Staff Counsel; 8 years in private law practice representing criminal defendants, abused, neglected, and alleged delinquent children, and victims of domestic violence in our state and local courts; and 9 years as Councilman-at-Large in South Euclid, before my family and I moved back to Cleveland Heights in 2020. Since 2021, I’ve been a Cuyahoga County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, currently serving in the Child Support Unit.
What motivated you to run for mayor? Please give specific examples.
When I was first elected to South Euclid City Council, the mayor, who did not support me, called the next day to congratulate me and say that although we weren’t on the same team yesterday, we were on the same today, the people’s team. If there was anything I needed to know or do for the people, I should contact her or any of the department heads. For the next 9 years, that’s what i did. I was surprised and disappointed that the incumbent mayor in Cleveland Heights discouraged communication among the council members and department heads. I’m shocked at how difficult it is to contact City Hall. The people are not being served as they should be. I have the experience and ability to lead and the willingness and wisdom to listen to the people.
What qualifies you for being mayor of a city with more than 400 employees and a $105 million budget?
As a Councilman in a neighboring suburb, I received the mayor’s budget every year. I scrutinized every line item of every budget for 9 years. Each department head, safety chief, the judge, and the mayor, were gracious enough to sit before our Committee of the Whole, sometimes for many hours, to articulate their visions for their sections of the government and answer our questions. I have the experience to know what I know and to know that I don’t know everything. I intend to hire a great administrator and department heads. I will treat them and their staff with the respect and dignity to which they are entitled. I will work with them as a team and depend on the whole team. And I will never stop listening to the people of Cleveland Heights.
What actions would you take to foster a productive relationship with City Council? What would you expect from City Council?
The 7 Members of City Council are citizens who worked hard to get elected by the same people who elect the mayor. Collectively, they are a co-equal branch the same government, not a rubber stamp for the mayor. I know every current Member of Council and get along well with all of them. That won’t change if I’m Mayor. I intend to meet with the Members regularly to identify our shared visions and work out issues where we might disagree. Currently, the relationship between Council and the Mayor is horrible, much of that due to the incumbent Mayor’s misunderstanding of the necessary interconnection between the 2 branches of government. I would work to undo any formal and informal obstacles that block the 2 branches from working well together.
Beyond zoning, what do you think is the most effective role for city government in redevelopment of properties such as Severance, Noble-Mayfield Triangle, and Park Synagogue?
I am supportive of the public engagement processes underway for Severance and Park Synagogue. Severance has been a lost opportunity for decades. I look forward to collaboration between the owners and the city, based on the process led by Future Heights and Mpact. I am also optimistic about the Park Synagogue planning process because of the public engagement that led to the inclusion of historic and environmental preservation as well as development opportunities. More public engagement is needed to realize the best uses for the Noble Road district. When we talk about development, we need to also focus on preserving the unique housing stock and commercial buildings we already have that make Cleveland Heights a cool and attractive home town.
Beyond zoning, what do you think is the most effective role for city government in redevelopment of properties such as Severance, Noble-Mayfield Triangle, and Park Synagogue?
A budget is the Mayor’s and Council’s collaborative vision for the city in specific line-item terms. It is like a contract with the Mayor making an offer and Council, after fully evaluating and maybe changing some terms, accepting the offer. The lack of a good faith offer for the 2025 budget was one of the reasons I am now running for mayor. I congratulate Council on taking on a much larger role in creating the budget than should have been necessary. The 2025 budget has the elements I believe are needed to make it through this hectic year. If elected, I will engage closely in the 2026 process with a clear eye toward 2027. I will pay particular attention to housing, recreation, roads, safety, and the needs of our commercial districts.