Investing in Our Community

Jasmin Santana was born, grew up, and now raises her family in Ward 14. She ran for City Council after seeing residents displaced for developments and money meant for the ward spent elsewhere in the city. In her first term on City Council, she brought millions of dollars back to Ward 14 for improvements to buildings, streets, parks, and beautification projects and became the only woman on city council leadership, serving as Majority Whip. 

In the next four years, Jasmin is committed to: 

 Increased Affordable Housing

• Ensuring funds are available and distributed to residents threatened with eviction due to COVID-19
• Building on existing pilot programs to create new affordable home ownership opportunities through new construction and rehabilitation
• Expanding affordable housing options for seniors so our parents and grandparents can age in place

Improved Infrastructure

• Additional investments for beautification projects to improve streets and sidewalks in more neighborhoods
• Increased funding for parks and greenspace in Ward 14, including tree plantings to increase the tree canopy throughout the ward
• Continued debris removal in addition to stepped up enforcement of illegal dumping code enforcement 

 Safer Neighborhoods

• Addressing recruitment and hiring processes in law enforcement toward the goal of a more inclusive and prepared officer corps
• Advocating for the integration of social workers and other behavior health professionals in resolving calls to police, in addition to clarifying which calls other departments and agencies should attend to (e.g. animal control, finding shelter for homeless, parking enforcement)
• Increased community policing efforts that build trust between our public safety personnel and residents
• Supporting additional training for law enforcement, including: interpersonal communication skill development, training for weapon-less defense and arrests, and training on implicit bias
• Partnering with law enforcement on ways to build trust with the community, including but not limited to: officers on foot and bike patrols, community block watch programs, more interaction with young people

Healthier Neighborhoods

• Building on the success of programs to empower women such as S.E.E.D.S., create more opportunities develop young women as leaders in their communities
• Improving resident access to city and local health resources, including assistance for non-English speaking Clevelanders
• Focusing city resources on those most severely impacted by COVID-19, including seniors, to ensure they have access to the health care they need. Additionally, targeting funding to address the existing race disparities in our local health care delivery.

More Community Engagement

• Making city government more accessible to all residents by creating additional opportunities for residents to meet with council and city staff, including direct dialogues with city leadership
• Using the successful resident involvement in the Clark-Fulton redevelopment as a model for future planning to ensure residents are never unfairly displaced and community needs are always considered
• Working with city leaders to improve service response times for safety, urban forestry, debris removal, and social services