CLEVELAND — Cleveland City Councilman Mike Polensek will challenge fellow Councilman Anthony Hairston in the newly drawn Ward 10 during the general election on Nov. 4.
For months, Polensek said he debated whether to enter the race.
In a letter to residents and during our interview, Hairston said Polensek said he would "step aside" and support Hairston if new ward boundaries reunited Collinwood, which was split during the last redistricting process.
According to Polensek, he said he would "consider" retirement and never made any promises to hang up his hat.
"Did they have it written in blood? Did they have my stamp that I was going to leave? Hell, no!" Polensek said.
Cleveland City Council President Blaine Griffin said he will back Hairston, which means Hairston will receive funds from the Council Leadership Fund.
In his letter to residents, Hairston said Polensek also made a commitment to Griffin "to not seek election this term."
"They didn't notice that I pulled petitions in June to run for re-election?" Polensek said. "I had to guarantee that my community was going to be protected and it's being protected now because whoever gets elected has got to work for it, it's not handed to them on a platter."
"Power, at times, is something that people just don't want to let go, right?" Hairston responded.
Polensek said he made the decision to run again after attending a forum with council candidates for other wards. He said their statements, including comments about the failures of capitalism, concerned him.
"Some of the things they were proposing ... I was extremely troubled," he said. "That we should be engaged more in the Middle East issues, that the flag should change, a new flag should go up at city hall, and all this stuff, capitalism is dead."
"I'm concerned about the city, what the city council could look like, if some of these extremists got elected," Polensek said.
He said he also received pressure from residents to remain on council and wants to complete neighborhood projects in his ward, including the parks, playgrounds, roads, and the redevelopment of the former National Acme site.
Polensek currently serves Ward 8.
He was first elected to council in 1977.
He said he is unafraid of losing the race for city council.
"If they want to retire the old lion with a new younger lion, they're going to have to work it real hard because the old lion's teeth are still very sharp," Polensek said.
"We all have our shortcomings, right?" Hairston said. "Nobody's perfect, including the lion with, the old lion as he says, with the sharp teeth."
Hairston said the next Ward 10 councilman should be prepared to work for the city for more than the next four years.
"We all respect and appreciate the work that Councilman Polensek has put in for the last almost 50 years, but at some point, we have to think about not just the next four years, but many years after that," Hairston said.
Hairston said he has focused on finding solutions for his ward during his time in office,
"I don't always point the finger, correct?" he said. "It's easy to just say what's bad."
He pointed to funding a ground crew to maintain vacant properties and spending beyond the "standard ward allocation to resurface more residential streets."
He also said he helped secure $10 million in housing funds for Collinwood and other neighborhoods, championed the demolition of the long-abandoned General Electric Site (GE), and has revitalized public areas throughout the ward.
Hairston represents the current Ward 10.
He was elected to city council in 2017.
He served on the Cuyahoga County Council from 2014 to 2017.
Here is Hairston's full letter:
