No Mistake, Cleveland is Where it’s At with Mayor Justin Bibb

David Martin: This is the good government show.

Justin Bibb: One of the reasons why I ran for mayor was to bring bold, dynamic, visionary leadership to this great city. We have laid a strong foundation to not only change the perception of Cleveland around the world, but to change the everyday lives of the residents that I have the honor of serving every single day. My campaign slogan when I ran was Cleveland can’t Wait.

But what I’ve learned in this job is that in order to go far, you have to go together. Because if you go fast, you’re going to go alone. And I believe given all the dysfunction we see every single day in our state legislatures and in Congress, in D.C., the future of our nation, the future of our democracy is going to come from America.

City halls. I live this city that I love, and while I lived in New York, I lived in D.C.. I lived in London. Nothing beats transformed your hometown. I’m.

David Martin: Welcome to the good government show. I’m your host, Dave Martin. On this episode, we’re heading to Cleveland, Ohio and have a good conversation with Mayor Justin Bibb. At 35 years old, he’s the second youngest mayor in Cleveland’s history. Now in his second year, he’s hit the ground running. He’s already brought good government changes to Cleveland, and he’s working on making Cleveland a better city for the entire city and the region.

And Cleveland’s got a lot of work to do. And Mayor Bibb outlined the ways he is working to bring the city back. He has a vision he calls a 15 minute city where anyplace in the city can get to work, do some quality shopping, and find green space. That sounds like good government to me. And of course, this is Cleveland.

And the mayor’s first love is the Cleveland Cavaliers. So he talks basketball and other Cleveland sports. So join me and Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb right after this.

The Good Government Show is sponsored by our code. That means our community. Our code has found a way to make government more effective. Our code provides the o u r platform, and this is an app that blends in-person and digital interactions to connect people with their government, their county, their town, their state. The Our Code app transforms meaningful conversations into reliable data.

They can turn results into projects and programs. The community has essentially already approved. It’s sort of like a flash poll by phone, but without the call. And in real time and wherever community members are, maybe they’re at their house or their office or, whether out just talking about local issues. maybe the choice is between putting in more local busses or expanding the bike lanes.

Our co can get you an answer immediately with O, you are. You can engage your citizens or any group, learn what they want, and build programs and policies that advance your county, your job creators, your constituents. So visit our co.com. That’s o u r co.com and learn how they do it. And while you’re there book a demonstration.

Welcome mayor Justin Bibb of Cleveland, Ohio to the good government show. It’s great to have you here and and an impressive office.

Justin Bibb: Thank you. All right. I try my best.

David Martin: Well, tell me a little bit about that office that looks. You got a fireplace back there. You got a big mural fireplace.

Justin Bibb: That doesn’t work, I don’t believe. Oh, too bad. I’m going to get my public facilities. team on it one day soon so I can light this thing. But, city Hall was built in 1916. It’s part of, a grand civic plaza built by the famous Chicago and, David Burnham, who had a famous quote, make no little plans.

And so I think that’s, a big part of my ethos in philosophy of how we’re trying to fuel a comeback right here in the great city of Cleveland, Ohio.

David Martin: Well, let’s talk about that for just a little bit. I mean, the unfortunately, Cleveland has a reputation or a nickname. The mistake on the lake. How does one come into office with that already hanging over your head? Because that’s still a phrase people use when they talk about Cleveland. Right?

Justin Bibb: Well, I’d say, David, that that term is quickly becoming outdated. Good. Because of the work that we’ve been doing over the last two years and really over the last decade to really change the trajectory of Cleveland and, northeast Ohio. I’m the first new mayor in nearly two decades. And one of the reasons why I ran for mayor was to bring bold, dynamic, visionary leadership.

to this great city. And as we think about future trends and what our post-pandemic world is going to look like, I think cities like Cleveland are going to lead, the next chapter of America’s recovery from the work we’re doing in health care and advanced manufacturing. With all the reshoring happening, coming back to United States, the work we are doing, to truly make Cleveland one of the only two waterfront cities in America, to the leading, cutting edge work we are doing as well to make Cleveland one of the safest big cities in America.

And so we have laid a strong foundation to not only change the perception of Cleveland around the world, but to change the everyday lives of the residents that I have the honor of serving every single day.

David Martin: Okay, so you’ve hit on a couple of topics I wanted to get into a little bit. One is downtown waterfront revitalization. certainly. That’s good government. Tell me what you’re trying to do and what the goal here is. And how that perception is playing out in town.

Justin Bibb: Yeah, well, the world is taking notice. The Washington Post just featured, our downtown recovery, in their paper several months ago as, a model for the nation in terms of how to prioritize parks in public space and convert, former office buildings to new residential apartments as we reimagine our central business districts coming out of the pandemic.

And I believe any city that’s gonna thrive with a thriving urban core has to go from a central business district to a community business district where people can live, work, and play. And a 24 hour, seven days a week kind of environment. And that’s really our goal for what we’re trying to do in the core of our downtown.

We’re working with Dan Gilbert on a nearly $4 billion renovation of the Cuyahoga riverfront. That riverfront that once caught on fire.

David Martin: Over.

Justin Bibb: 50 years.

David Martin: Ago.

Justin Bibb: Is now a model for America in terms of how we have cleaned up our river and our waterways and around advancing sustainability and climate resiliency. And it’s going to be a hub for new growth and new economic development over the next five, ten, 15 years to the work we’re doing on our lakefront. You know, Cleveland is home, to Lake Erie, which consists of nearly 20% of the world’s, freshwater.

And so here on America’s North Coast, we’re going to have a lakefront where people can see themselves. And any time of the year where we’re going to have new shops, new restaurants, new apartments, and new amazing public spaces for all of our residents. And so it’s that work that’s going to position Cleveland well, for this next chapter.

David Martin: So I have one friend in Cleveland, and I talked to him a little bit before we spoke. It was two questions that come to mind. after that. One is there is a perception, apparently among at least one citizen that the downtown core area needs, you know, more than just a splashy new waterfront. How are you addressing that?

Justin Bibb: I couldn’t agree more. you know, our waterfronts are a key part of that new vision for our downtown. but this plan also consists of enhancing our core. It’s our short a quarter shore strategy. So in the core, we want to do a couple things. Number one, enhance safety and security. Number two, more protected bike lanes where we’re prioritizing, people over cars to drive more density and foot traffic on our streets, to accelerating the work we’ve done historically to convert, legacy office buildings to live, work, play, communities to attract and retain new residents.

nearly two decades ago, no one lived in the core of our downtown. Now we’re on pace to have nearly 30,000 residents living downtown 24 hours a day, seven days a week. And we are the hub of majority of all. The new job growth in the state of Ohio is coming from the core of downtown Cleveland. So our short of core to shore strategy is comprehensive.

It prioritizes economic energy and a more foot traffic, but it also prioritizes world class public spaces and world class amenities because those are the key ingredients. Having a thriving downtown. as we think about our post-pandemic.

David Martin: Future and how does that spread out to other areas of the city of Cleveland? Not just that, that core area?

Justin Bibb: Well, you can’t have a thriving city without a thriving core. And, the work that we are doing in our core of our downtown is responsible for nearly 70% of our general revenue fund. And so, that economic energy is going to also be transforming our neighborhoods, because of this president, our president, Joe Biden, we’ve used our historic investments from the American Rescue Plan to make critical catalytic, investments in our neighborhoods from a new $50 million site fund to take a thousand acres of vacant land in our city, not just in downtown, but in every part of our city.

We’re taking that brownfield land and turning that land in to shovel ready job sites to attract or retain new companies in our neighborhoods. Truly creating a walk to work agenda. Before the pandemic, we were ranked one of the least connected cities in America, and we’ve used $20 million of American Rescue Plan investments to raise an additional nearly a half $1 billion to lay broadband and and fiber and every part of our city.

And we’ve used over $40 million to have more workforce and affordable housing units, and our city as well, too. So we have an all of the above approach to growing our economy to put people and neighborhoods first. And it’s that agenda that’s fueling Cleveland’s comeback as we come out of the Covid 19 pandemic.

David Martin: And you grew up in Cleveland, do you get back to your own ways? Yes.

Justin Bibb: To go in ways. I’m a son, of this great city, born and raised in the southeast side. Although my parents were divorced when I was four years old. I spent a lot of time, loving this city and living this city. And as I say, as mayor, I live this city that I love. And while I lived in New York, I lived in DC.

I lived in London. Nothing beats transforming your hometown.

David Martin: So you get back to your old neighborhood.

Justin Bibb: I often do.

David Martin: Too. Saw a family that lived there.

Justin Bibb: A lot of family that still lives there.

David Martin: So they let you know what you’re doing. They say you’re not.

Justin Bibb: Well, not not just them. Yeah, but when I’m at the barbershop, grocery store or church, that’s the best poll I can get on how I’m doing as mayor.

David Martin: And and, are they, generally speaking, pretty supportive?

Justin Bibb: I think all across the city there is a ton of excitement and momentum about the work we have been doing to change the perception and the trajectory of our city, and we’ve done it by making hard choices, hard choices when it comes to a public safety, hard choices when it comes to housing the unhoused, hard choices when it comes to addressing our youth mental health crisis.

All those things are critical ingredients for successful city long term.

David Martin: You talked a little bit about, security, safety in the downtown area as an area that you’re working on. I read a little bit about what’s happening. apparently you’re, you’ve got a few programs. You’ve been criticized a little bit for hiring less police officers, but then you’ve countered that by paying the ones that are there more to stay.

And there’s something called a rise program. Can you give me your sort of, overall image of what?

Justin Bibb: Well.

David Martin: I would say, like.

Justin Bibb: you know, one of the things that I uncovered when I took office in 2022 was we didn’t have a data driven approach to how we thought about staffing and our vacancies. And we had money, millions of dollars, sitting on the sidelines for ghost jobs that we can never fill. And we weren’t realistic about it.

David Martin: Like, what kind of,

Justin Bibb: jobs in public safety, whether it’s fire, police, EMS, jobs in public works, community development, economic development, across the entire enterprise, city hall. Okay. And I believe it’s so important that we have a data driven approach and use good fiscal budgeting tools to have a structurally balanced budget. And the first mayor in a long time that’s going to have nearly three consecutive structurally balanced budgets in a row, which allowed us to have an increase in our bond rating.

And it’s showing the fiscal, markets that, Cleveland understands how to manage its budget and manage its balance sheet. And so, we’re investing historically in the men and women of our police department. I just negotiated a nearly 25% pay increase for every member of our police department. New incentives, new signing bonuses, new fast track promotions for folks who have a college degree or prior military service to join our ranks of our police department to really address the shortage, we’re seeing not just in Cleveland, but all across the nation when it comes to, law enforcement, positions.

We’ve also done creative things around technology and good intelligence. That is the new modern way of policing. Using good data, using good intelligence, and using smart technology to cut down on violent crime. Everything from putting five new crime analyst in all of five of our police districts to expanding our ShotSpotter technology system. Because in many parts of our city, David, folks aren’t calling 911, and we need to still be able to get those shell casings to really close down.

David Martin: Because they don’t trust the police or because they don’t have an access to it.

Justin Bibb: Or all of the above.

David Martin: All of the above.

Justin Bibb: That without that good. intelligence with those shell casings, it doesn’t allow us to solve our homicide.

David Martin: Well, your dad was a police officer. I mean, I read. Is that. That’s correct. And this must give you some perspective on the job it does.

Justin Bibb: And, you know, as a working class black kid in this city, as a son of a cop, but as someone who’s experienced a racism in law enforcement, I get both sides of it. Sure, we can have smart, aggressive law enforcement, but also hold police accountable when they step out of line. And that is my basic philosophy when it comes to, policing.

And since I took office, we’ve seen a decline of homicides, every year. And we’re going to keep our foot on the gas when it comes to.

David Martin: Is your dad still is your dad? So with you.

Justin Bibb: my dad passed away seven years ago.

David Martin: Otherwise, he would be probably the first call you’d make when you had all these questions. Yeah.

Justin Bibb: He still comes to me every now and then.

David Martin: it strains you out, I’m sure.

Justin Bibb: yes.

David Martin: What do you say? That sounds like good government. I mean, it sounds like, to me, doing the right thing and putting the right resources in the right places. But you have critics. What do you say to them about, you know, the fact that some people just want more cops?

Justin Bibb: I want more cops to. But we have to do it in a fiscally responsible way, because without being smart and having a data driven approach about how we’ve really tackled these historic, chronic ghost vacancies, we’ve couldn’t have afforded to give the men and women the largest paying Chris in modern history. Money does not grow on trees, and someone with the but the law degree and an MBA who’s worked at some of the best financial institutions in the world.

It’s all about responsible budgeting to make sure we’re delivering on the basics for all of our residents.

David Martin: We met in Washington, DC at the Conference of Mayors, where you were hosting a symposium on, government in the arts. and so what is Cleveland? How is Cleveland turning artistic?

Justin Bibb: Well, Cleveland has always been, we have been at the vanguard for arts and culture for, years, from the fact that we have one of the best orchestras, top five.

David Martin: In the world, I thought I could start with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. But keep going.

Justin Bibb: We’re the home of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Will be hosting the induction ceremony. Right. this fall, which I’m really excited about to the fact that we have the second largest theater district and the country outside of Broadway.

David Martin: Now that you’re the mayor, have you got, like, the backstage tour at the Hall of Fame?

Justin Bibb: I have, and, you know, some of the most renowned artists in the world are from Cleveland, from Tracy Chapman to Bone Thugs in Harmony to Machine Gun Kelly to Kid Cutie to Halle Berry to Steve Harvey, the list goes on. So Cleveland is a Mecca for the arts.

David Martin: And what was the the you know, I think as I recall, the the symposium that you hosted talked a little bit about ways that you can integrate arts and arts programs, but also, you know, city beautification. What’s happening with that both in Cleveland and around the nation?

Justin Bibb: Yeah. Well, you know, I think the arts and culture are a key driver of, our economy, especially in underserved communities of color in our city. And so, we use $3 million of American Rescue Plan funds to create a transformative arts fund to really invest in public art projects, particularly in distressed neighborhoods in our city. So we’ll be giving out grants, at the low end of a quarter million dollars to up to a half of $1 million to really support creative, transformative neighborhood arts projects.

Because, once the arts gets going in a neighborhood, then a coffee shop opens, then a restaurant opens in a speakeasy might open and someone might buy a couple houses or redo a block or take over vacant land. It’s those basic things that go a long way with turning around neighborhoods and giving people hope that their city is working for them and reflects their culture, reflects their values, and that’s all reflected through the arts.

David Martin: So we’re in Cleveland. We have to talk a little bit about sports. Yes. You did. You did you have by the.

Justin Bibb: Way my Cavs our number two and the Eastern Conference right.

David Martin: Now okay.

Justin Bibb: Donovan Mitchell is putting on. So my Cavs might make a deep run in the NBA playoffs this year.

David Martin: Well let’s talk about the Browns who did not make it deeper on. Did you did you did you use it.

Justin Bibb: To talk about the Browns.

David Martin: Did you lose anybody to another bear on a bet this season?

Justin Bibb: no, I didn’t lose money on myself. first online sports bet was, in the Browns playoff game against the Texans. And I lost 20 bucks. So I did the app immediately after that loss.

David Martin: Well, but, Cleveland’s got a great sports, history. now, I guess, people I have, they finally embrace the guardian’s name.

Justin Bibb: Slowly but surely, it’s taken us all some time, I’m sure.

David Martin: I mean, they were they were the, the Indians for a very, very, very long time. Yeah. next year you’ve got a new manager.

Justin Bibb: We do. I’m excited for.

David Martin: So, did by any chance you do get to throw out the first pitch ever? have you done that?

Justin Bibb: Haven’t been asked yet. Haven’t made the cut yet. Maybe one of these days. Tom Hanks beat me out last, a couple years ago for opening Day. First pitch. So, I got some more work to do, I guess.

David Martin: I was talking with a friend of mine here in New York, and he’s a big Mets fan, and I said, I said, how do you get to throw out the first pitch? Because you win the election? so.

Justin Bibb: Yeah. Well, I’m still waiting on my invite.

David Martin: All right. Well, good luck. to the, Cleveland Guardians. we have somebody who’s ready to throw out the first pitch and, which brings us to, you know, Parks and Recreation. From what I read, you’ve spent a significant amount of money in doing this. It looks like there’s a lot of work that needs to be done in Cleveland parks.

How is that progressing?

Justin Bibb: It’s a big part of our, efforts to continue to put our people in neighborhoods first all across the city. for the first time in our history, we have done a comprehensive master plan and assessment of every park and rec center. And that data told us one very important thing that nearly half of our residents aren’t going to our parks or rec centers because they don’t feel safe and they don’t feel like they’re high quality.

And so, we are working on a financing plan to address that on a short and long term basis. But this also fits into my vision to make Cleveland one of the only 15 minute cities in North America. I don’t care where you live in our city, whether you’re downtown, East Side, or West Side, you should have a world class park, a world class rec center, a world class grocery store that sells fresh fruits and vegetables, and a job you can walk to or get to within 15 minutes.

And that’s a big part of our city planning agenda right here at City Hall.

David Martin: After you get done with this episode, hear more good government stories with our friends at How to Really Run a City for mayors Kasim Reed of Atlanta and Michael Nutter of Philadelphia, and their co-host, journalist and author Larry Platt talk with guests and other mayors about how to really get stuff done in cities around the nation. Check them out where you’re listening now or through their nonprofit news site, The Philadelphia Citizen.

Dot org slash podcasts.

You been, two years as mayor of Cleveland? this is your first elected office, correct?

Justin Bibb: It is.

David Martin: Okay, so two your two years in, but you’ve been studying this for a while. You grew up in Cleveland. from where you sit, defined good government.

Justin Bibb: Good government does a couple things. Number one, one that focuses on equity and changing the conditions of our neighborhoods so that every resident can achieve their God given potential. I think number two, a good government is data driven, but also one that prioritizes resident and stakeholder voice. And then thirdly, there has to be a what I call a pragmatic sense of urgency.

my campaign slogan when I ran was Cleveland can’t wait. But what I’ve learned in this job is that in order to go far, you have to go together, because if you go fast, you’re going to go alone. And so we not only have a sense of urgency, but we’ve done it in a way to bring people along to achieve our big, bold agenda to advance, Cleveland’s future.

And so, that’s been my Northstar since I took office, over two years ago. And that will continue to be my Northstar as I prepare for my reelection in 2025.

David Martin: I forgot to tell you, we are now into the good government questionnaire, where we are getting to the heart of your philosophy of government. So. So this is all, it’s all on you now. so two years in, how do you you how do you judge your success? You mentioned, you know, conversation in the barbershop. What else do you look for?

Justin Bibb: Well, you know, I want to look for more cranes in the sky as I joke around across town. I want to make the crane the new official bird of Cleveland. So we’re trying to encourage more development all across our city. I want to see a more business starts, particularly with minority owned businesses, to make sure we’re actively closing, the racial wealth gap.

And the last thing I want to see is bringing more people inside of City Hall and broadening our coalition for change, because government can’t do it alone. I saw that very clearly. With the work we’re doing around public safety, we need more residents, more leaders in the faith based community, more activists. All our stakeholders need to show up and help us make Cleveland a safer city.

That’s why we we spent $10 million of American Rescue Plan funds to create one of the first ever neighborhood safety endowment funds to invest in grassroots interventions and organizations. We’re fighting the good fight in our neighborhoods, making our city safe.

David Martin: At the end of the day, what kind of do you go through to say, yes, I had a good day. I move the ball forward. Do you have stuff like that in your mind?

Justin Bibb: You know, my philosophy is this I try to hit as many singles and doubles as I can a day as mayor, and before I go to bed, I ask myself, did I win the day? And so I want more. I want more W’s and losses. And to me that’s my own internal evaluation tool to evaluate my progress.

David Martin: So how should the people of Cleveland hold you accountable? What should they be looking for? What would you like them to be looking for? To decide if you’re doing a good job?

Justin Bibb: More vacant lots mowed, more abandoned homes tore down or rehabbed? more companies, whether they’re small companies or large companies growing or expanding or coming, to Cleveland. But at the end of the day, this work, it’s not about public policy. It’s not about passing pieces of legislation. It’s not about ribbon cuttings. It’s about hope. It’s about optimism.

it’s about giving people the confidence that Cleveland is moving in the right direction and that this still is a city where the American dream is real, within reach and possible for as many people as possible. And that’s what gets me up every single day as mayor of the city that I love so much.

David Martin: And if people think you’re not doing that, what should they do?

Justin Bibb: Keep holding me accountable.

David Martin: Keep at it. How?

Justin Bibb: Keep at me.

David Martin: How.

Justin Bibb: And keep giving us feedback about what we can do to improve.

David Martin: You’ve been in office for two years now. As mayor, what would you like people to know about what it’s like to be in charge of the city of Cleveland? the mayor of the city, about how government works. What would you like them to know that they probably don’t know.

Justin Bibb: That change takes time, that even the most simple issue, like fixing a pothole, requires many parts and pieces. and the other thing I would say, and President Biden has echoed this many times, being mayor is, is probably one of the hardest jobs in politics because we are on the front lines every single day from grieving with a young mother who has lost their son or daughter to gun violence, to grieving the family of a member of our police department who has lost, a son or daughter, on the line of duty, to working with that developer to navigate City Hall to, you know, allow them to grow and develop

and grow their company. All those things we touch as mayors. And I believe, given all the dysfunction we see every single day in our state legislatures and in Congress, in D.C., the future of our nation, the future of our democracy is going to come from America. City halls and my opinion.

David Martin: Are you able to get out into the public? Are you able to walk around?

Justin Bibb: I’m out and about, but.

David Martin: I’m in New York. The guy’s got, you know, five cops around him constantly. Are you able to do that to your drive yourself to work?

Justin Bibb: Dude, I don’t I don’t drive my they don’t let me driving. but, I make sure I can still.

David Martin: Is there a reason why you’re not allowed to drive or.

Justin Bibb: Is it just safety? Safety protocols? but.

David Martin: are you able to go to the hardware store, the grocery store or the.

Justin Bibb: Barber shop? I was at the grocery store last night, okay? I didn’t get an orange juice and oatmeal and bagels for breakfast, so. Okay. I try to live as a normal of a life. Is I possibly.

David Martin: Can we able to get it out of the store pretty quickly, or did people stop here?

Justin Bibb: Go sometime?

David Martin: Sometimes there was a guy to talk to his wife about. Let me go to the hardware store. And he was. Because. No, you turn into a ten minute project into a three hour day. So no, you’re not going to the hardware store. who is your political hero? Who inspired you to do this? And how did that come?

Justin Bibb: It wasn’t an elected official, okay? It was my my my late grandmother, Sarah Pressley, who passed away at the ripe young age of 93.

David Martin: Oh, my.

Justin Bibb: she started the first, street watch club on my block in the early 1990s, when crack and gangs were ravaging our neighborhood. And I saw how she brought people together. I saw how she gay people hope that their neighborhood meant something. And I saw how, whether it was the mayor or member of city council or the police chief, how they respected her and how because she had pride in her neighborhood.

And we lived in one of the poorest census tracts in the city. But she still had pride because it was her home. And she inspired me to run for mayor. And you know, by the grace of God, before she passed away, she was able to vote for her grandson to be the youngest black mayor in Cleveland history, knowing that she came from the Jim Crow South to come to Cleveland to pursue her version of the American Dream.

And so my story, grandma’s era story is only possible in this country, especially in cities like Cleveland, Ohio.

David Martin: How did you manage to stay out of trouble? I did, you had a shovel.

Justin Bibb: You let’s just say I had strict grandparents and strict parents.

David Martin: All right. Okay. Well, your dad was a cop, so I’m sure he’s raised more than once. Yes. Was it was it hard growing up in a in a neighborhood like that where it.

Justin Bibb: Was it was.

David Martin: Challenging where you had a lot of, you know, there was a long Cleveland has a long history of, corruption, of crime, of. And you grew up in all that. Was it hardest to avoid it?

Justin Bibb: It was hard. but I had a lot of neighbors who also looked out for me. and.

David Martin: And if they told your grandma what you did.

Justin Bibb: I was going to get it when I got home.

David Martin: Okay.

Justin Bibb: So there was accountability everywhere.

David Martin: Well, growing up, did you did you want to be buried? Did you want to be president? Were you president of the student body with your college president or your class?

Justin Bibb: Well, my first love was basketball.

David Martin: Okay.

Justin Bibb: I was going to be the next LeBron James. I quickly realized that was not in the cards.

David Martin: I stood next to you. You’re not LeBron James.

Justin Bibb: It sucks. Thanks, Dave.

David Martin: Sorry about you. You still.

Justin Bibb: Got a good I still got a good jump shot.

David Martin: Though. All right. Well you you did. You look tall sitting in your chair. Good.

Justin Bibb: Yeah. But, I fell in love with with governing and campaigns, and the rest is history.

David Martin: Okay. I have never been to Cleveland. I have plans to come to Cleveland. Take me out. Where are we going? What are we having? What’s the dish in Cleveland? what’s common sense?

Justin Bibb: We’re going to we’re going to go and, get a lot of good food from the West Side Market, hop over to eat, to to wake up and have a good cup of coffee, maybe check out a couple of galleries ethically when our museum. And then in the night, seeing the, world champion Cleveland Cavaliers do portray emotion about playing some good basketball.

David Martin: All right, I do know that Cleveland is the home of Chef Boyardee.

Justin Bibb: So yes, that’s. And Superman by the way.

David Martin: That’s my my Cleveland reference for food is Chef Boyardee. I guess there’s there are other better Italian style. Them. So we’ve talked about a lot of stuff and about a lot of things that Cleveland’s done. You’ve been there for two years. Yeah. You it’s called a good government show. Let’s bring it back to good government. Give me an example of something that you’re really proud of, that you’ve been able to do in the last two years.

Justin Bibb: Well, just last night, we passed, probably the most comprehensive, aggressive piece of housing legislation the city has seen in nearly three decades. It’s called Residents First. That’s going to help us crack down on, racist, predatory, out of state landlords. And like, investors have been preying on our neighborhoods for a long time. We have a new local agent law, that gives us more accountability to help people accountable in court.

We have a new point of sale inspection for vacant properties and new tools like civil tickets to crack down on dilapidated housing stock in our city. And so that’s just one example of us putting our people in neighborhoods first, by doing the hard stuff that’s required to make government work for everyday people.

David Martin: Mayor Justin Bibb of Cleveland, Ohio, thank you very much. It’s been a great view of Ohio. Thanks. It’s been a pleasure to talk to you. do you still fly basketball? Do you still get out?

Justin Bibb: I still do see you last weekend.

David Martin: Do you have a, like, league and city hall or. I.

Justin Bibb: Did, but my chief of staff got hurt, so we quit that league.

David Martin: It wasn’t your fault, was it?

Justin Bibb: No. Oh, now we you stick to golf internally.

David Martin: Where do you get your news from? Where do you get your state and local government news from? Because that’s getting harder and harder. And it’s essential to stay updated with your community. And it’s becoming increasingly important to know what’s going on in other cities and states, because they’re likely facing challenges that you’re grappling with, too, or you’re going to face eventually.

That’s why we’d like to welcome our new partner, route 50, to the show. Route 50 is a leading online publication covering state and local governments across the country. They’ve written about states protecting themselves against the rise in cyber attacks, counties using AI to better support citizens services, local responses to crumbling infrastructure and extreme weather, and much, much more.

There’s a lot there. It’s a one stop shop for issues affecting state and local governments and their residents. And that’s you. That’s all of us. Do yourself a favor and go to route 50.com to see the topics and solutions they cover, and learn what other people in government are doing. They also deliver a daily newsletter called route 50 today.

I see it in my inbox every morning. I check it out and you should too. Thanks again. Route 50. We’re excited to have you on board and being a partner here at the Good Government Show.

What is it the county government does? That’s the question county commissioners get asked the most. And the simple answer is everything on the Good Government show. We’re so lucky to have talked with so many county commissioners and other county officials that have shown us how effective county government is. County government dates back to get this 1634, making it one of the oldest forms of government in the United States.

Think about it. Roads. Highways. Hospitals. Schools. Recycling. Law enforcement. Water. Sewers, and most of the county. Those services are maintained by the county that’s county government. The National Association of Counties represents all 3069 counties across the USA. Naco helps county government work better together through things like sharing best practices. When county government works well, well, that’s just good government.

A new plan for housing called Residents First, and a plan to help people stay in their homes, and a program that cleans up urban blight and sounds like his first two years in office. Clevelander Justin Bibb is serving up good government for a city that really needs it. And good luck to his Cavaliers and the Guardians of the Browns.

Well, that’s our show. Thanks for listening. Be sure to share it with your friends and please like us and review us where you listen to podcasts. I’m Dave Martin. Join us again for another show when we talk with another government leader about the way they make government work for all of us. Join me again right here. This is a good government show.

The Good Government show is a Valley Park production. Jim Ludlow, Dave Martin, that’s me and David Snyder are the executive producers. Our show is edited and produced by Jason Stershic. Please subscribe then share us and like us and reviews. That’s the best way to make sure we’re able to keep telling these stories of our government working for all of us.

Then listen to the next episode of The Good Government Show.

**This transcription was created using digital tools and has not been edited by a live person. We apologize for any discrepancies or errors.