CLEVELAND — Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb has promised to reform and transform how Cleveland does business with a goal of making City Hall more efficient and modern.
That mission includes changing how the mayor travels around town. (Every Cleveland mayor receives city protection and a driver for city business.)
Gone, however, are the days of chauffeuring the mayor in an old Ford Crown Victoria, the once iconic cop car known for its reliability and horsepower. Former mayor Frank Jackson’s security detail used one to transport him.
Bibb is now using a late model Chevy Tahoe, which typically seats seven people.
Sources have told 3News that the vehicle was transferred from the city’s Department of Safety, where the SWAT unit has used such vehicles in the past.
Cleveland’s Chief Communications Officer Sarah Johnson told 3News the mayor is delivering on his promise to talk with city workers and business and community leaders, therefore, he spends a lot of time on the road. She said the mayor requested the larger vehicle to accommodate meetings on the go. She said the vehicle was not a special purchase but transferred from the Department of Public Safety. (The vehicle, like any that is used for the mayor, must be equipped with special radio and lights.)
On the campaign trail, Bibb was a proponent of public transportation, biking and even scooters. He often shunned his car and promoted green alternatives to driving. Johnson said that hybrid vehicles of this size are pricey. And she said smaller and more efficient vehicles would not accommodate enough staff.
You can take a look a Bibb’s schedule in this 3News story published earlier.
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