Introduction, from Chris Demas

To the Citizens of Ward 18 (soon to be Ward 16) and the City of Cleveland,

Short Introduction

Thank you for stopping by my blog. For those of you that do not know me, I'm strictly a product of NorthEast Ohio. I was born and raised in BrookPark, and graduated from Midpark HighSchool in Middleburg Heights. I attended Case Western Reserve University where I obtained my Bachelor’s of Science degree in Chemical Engineering, and my first job out of school was as an engineer at the Sherwin Williams’ technical center on the river behind Tower City. I worked at Sherwin Williams several years before going back to school at the Cleveland State University Marshall School of Law. While attending law school in the evenings, I worked as a law clerk with the firm Pearne & Gordon, LLP, located downtown on East 9th. I graduated from Cleveland-Marshall in May of 2008, passed the bar that summer, and was admitted to practice law in the State of Ohio in November of 2008. Currently I am an attorney at Pearne & Gordon practicing Intellectual Property Law, that is, patent, trademark and copyright law.

I have lived in the Cudell neighborhood on West 85th, just north of Detroit, for the past 5 and ½ years (6 years this August). I love that it's close to downtown where I work, it's close to beautiful Edgewater Park and it has a diverse and vibrant population. It offends me deeply when those who do not live in the city question why I would ever want to -- and it saddens me every year to witness this great City’s steady decline. I LOVE MY NEIGHBORHOOD!

We are in tough economic times, but I believe we are a hard-working and energetic people, and I believe that hard work and directed energy can pull the citizens of Cleveland (and Ward 16) out of this current decline.

Why I am running

Cleveland has been facing a declining population, loss of industry, diminishing home value, and a poor primary education system for some time. Now, we are facing difficult financial times that further threaten our jobs and our homes. We cannot continue the ways that have perpetuated our decline and expect to make it through these times smoothly. What our ward and our city needs are new ideas and new energy.

By many accounts, our current councilman has been an honorable steward of our ward for 30 years, reacting quickly when problems arise. However, our city is changing. Not only are our wards shifting, but new and energetic people are trying to rebuild our city, in Tremont, West 65th & Detroit, Kamm’s Corners, East 4th Street, etc. If we want to continue to force a Cleveland renaissance, we must get behind proactive people. I would like to be a proactive leader for the city and our ward.

As a proactive leader, I vow to put my time, money, network, ideas and any other means at my disposal into one goal, service to the ward and city. If elected, I will:

• Work to attract new business to our ward while maintaining the business currently here,
• Stay visible and accessible in the community by, for example, frequently biking or walking the neighborhoods to be available to anyone that would like to stop and talk,
• Be an active volunteer in our neighborhoods and promote volunteerism in our citizens,
• Strive to keep our citizens informed of programs that may be of assistance,
• Work to promote and found new recreation, volunteer or side job programs and any other programs to keep our youth active and productive members of the community.

In addition I vow to fight for term limits for our elected leaders. It is my firm belief that the best civil servants are those who serve out of a sense of duty to their fellow citizens, rather than as a career objective. Term limits can fend off the potential for corruption and the problem of stagnation in government, while promoting in those seeking civil service a true sense of duty to the community. For these reasons I vow, if elected, to pursue no more than two terms in office.

I would like to hear what you think. I will be out in the community all summer, walking door to door to meet you. Please let me know your thoughts for the community then, or provide your comments to me at demas4w16@gmail.com. If you look to the right, you will see a poll question. Check back from time to time for a new poll; get an idea of what the rest of the ward thinks.

I hope to meet you soon, and please, remember to vote Chris Demas for Ward 16 Council.

Sincerely,

Chris