Former Ward 8 Councilman Bill Patmon takes on Frank Jackson at the polls this election. How do you unseat a man supported by the biggest pockets in town? Well, having a real plan to save the city from itself is a good start.

The Independent: What’s the bottom line?

Bill Patmon: Cleveland is not well positioned for anything but continued decline. We have to change our direction. This is a very critical time for the city. You can’t lose 6,000 people a year. We have to change direction. We have to start now. It’s not something that can wait. I live on East Blvd, one of the best streets on the East Side. I now live next to a vacant house that has been vandalized by scrappers.

I: As councilman, what did you do to help the city?

P: What we used to do was real politics. Yes, there’s a rich man getting richer, but there was always something in it for the community. The Cleveland schools system benefited in the Browns stadium deal. You don’t have that anymore. What was the community getting out of the Ameritrust deal? We’re not even involved in the MedMart deal. Why wouldn’t Mayor Jackson get involved in the biggest economic deal in city history? We wouldn’t you want to be in on that?

I: Development around here equals cost overruns for donor-friendly construction companies.

P: I believe in oversight. As councilman, I questioned contracts and budgets. I challenged everything that came across my desk. That’s what got me in trouble with Mike White He called me a “serial questioner”. How is that a bad thing?

I: What’s left to develop?

P: For anyone to prevent lakefront development on the East Side is pound foolish. The community’s access to the lakefront over there will be gone if the port moves. You’re not going to be able to walk over to the lake. There are security issues with a port that keep the community from getting too close. Qua 55 is evidence of what is possible. You have NBA, NFL stars and doctors living there. It’s very upscale. What would happen if we could develop all along our lakefront? How would that change our city? Our economy? The ramifications are enormous. The port plan flies in the face of pure logic.

I: Where do you find new jobs?

P: Cleveland still owns its utilities. We don’t need to wait for private companies to invest in green energy to provide jobs. We can do it ourselves. We can drive the process with our own utilities. We can be the example for the rest of the country. We’re in a better position to do that than almost any other city. But what do we have? One windmill?

I: Schools?

P: We have to fix our schools. My plan is to break the school system into five districts, each one managed by a superintendent who answers to a chief superintendent. A citizen advisory board will recommend people for these positions, and those advisors would be made of board members and parents. The user would have an impact on the system. In Cleveland, right now, if there’s a problem with management within a school, we say, ‘We’ll fix it next semester’. We’ll have the power to fix these problems within weeks.

I: One more innovative idea, quick.

P: One of the problems is we don’t welcome people when they move here. There are welcome centers for immigrants in Philly, Pittsburgh, Chicago. We need a center that interacts with the Croatians, the Hispanics, the Asians, who are moving here, to make sure they have what the need, that they have access to city incentives. If we make them feel welcomed, their families back home will follow. This should be a planned growth for Cleveland.

I: Is the city doing as well, financially, as Mayor Jackson suggests?

P: He’s balanced his budget. How did he do that? You estimate a surplus for next year and roll it into this year. But if there’s a decline in taxes, the budget is only really balanced in the beginning. But Mayor Jackson pounds his chest and says we have a balanced budget. I disagree with that. It’s electioneering.

I: Every time we turn around, the FBI is bringing down another local official. How do we keep you out of jail?

P: It’s the person’s character that prevents corruption. It has nothing to do with the size of the bribe. You have city housing inspectors getting $100 kickbacks. And you have other officials accused of taking tens of thousands. You can take a campaign donation from a contractor once. It’s the request that follows that initial donation that gets you more. I won’t take their money because I can’t promise them anything. This is how it works. You hear the talk. People ask you to come into a meeting with a developer. ‘I want you to meet somebody,’ they say. That’s where it starts. Those little closed-door meetings. I don’t do little meetings. I don’t even want to hear about that stuff. Once you say no, you get a reputation and they stop asking.