CLEVELAND — Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb recently wrapped up his first year in office. As he prepares to introduce a plan to spend $40 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds at Monday's city council meeting, Bibb took a few moments to look back at 2022 with 3News anchor and managing editor Russ Mitchell.
"It's been an amazing first year in office," Bibb told Mitchell. "I'm so excited about the continued work ahead. In 2023, we're focused on continuing the progress we've made on violent crime. We also want to build on the momentum on our visions for the lakefront."
Although Bibb says he wouldn't do anything differently in his first year as the city's mayor, he talked about the importance of learning from mistakes. "The one thing I've learned is that as mayor, the buck will always stop with me. Even when I get a decision wrong, I need to be confident that I had the right intelligence and the right information to deliver for the residents of Cleveland."
Bibb added that the biggest surprise he had in the opening year of his term was "dealing with the issues of violence." He pointed to how the year bookended with fatal shooting of Cleveland police officer Shane Bartek on New Year's Eve 2021 to the hit-and-run death of Cleveland firefighter Johnny Tetrick in November 2022. "As the son of a first responder, that's been the hardest part of my job."
Just days after Gov. Mike DeWine signed sweeping elections changes into law, Bibb told Mitchell that "Ohio is going absolutely in the wrong direction when it comes to voting rights."
Bibb claimed just 20% percent of Cleveland residents voted in the last election, and his hope is that he can help that number rise. However, just last week the governor signed House Bill 458 into law, and it requires Ohioans to provide photo identification in order to cast their ballot. The legislation also limits ballot drop boxes to one per county, which has to be on the board of elections' property.
"Access to the ballot box is a sacred right in this state and a sacred right in this nation," Bibb told Mitchell. "We have a lot more to do across this country to protect the voting rights."
Bibb discussed his plan to distribute $40 million in ARPA funds to projects involving the Cleveland Metropolitan School District, the local economy, and even city hall itself during the interview. He also had the latest on the city's search for a new CMSD CEO, and thoughts on the future of FirstEnergy Stadium.
You can see Russ Mitchell's entire interview with Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb below: