Cleveland’s New Ward 7 Takes Shape

On July 14, 2025, Cleveland City Council hopefuls for the newly redrawn Ward 7 (formerly Ward 3) joined local media outlets at City Church in Tremont.

The panel was organized by The Tremonster, The Plain Press, and La Villa CLE, and featured candidates Mike Rogalski, Austin Davis, and Mohammad Faraj in conversation with journalists Rich Weiss, Bruce Checefsky, and Ronaldo Rodriguez Jr.

The candidates answered questions on critical neighborhood issues, including housing affordability, community development corporation (CDC) funding, and neighborhood growth.

Personal Histories Shape Platforms

While all three candidates rooted their campaigns in lived experience, their interpretations of service, power, and representation differed.

Austin Davis spoke about surviving a traumatic accident that left him a double amputee, crediting his family’s working-class roots and Cleveland’s community support for his recovery. “My family’s hard work attitude definitely helped me get through that,” said Davis.

“I jumped to public service when I had the opportunity three years ago to serve as an attorney and advisor at Cleveland City Hall, under the then new Mayor Justin Bibb, to work on some big projects like gender pay equity, smoke shop regulation, cracking down on illegal guns, and slumlord work. I’m really proud of that kind of stuff.”

Mike Rogalski spoke of his experience growing up in poverty and as a caregiver for his chronically ill mother. He underscored his firsthand knowledge of what it means to have unmet needs and be ignored by systems that claim to help.

He believes that some city workers and CDC staff come from more privileged backgrounds and may lack the experience needed to truly understand and support the most vulnerable residents. “I understand what it’s like. I generally know how to help people. I know where to meet them where they’re at,” said Rogalski.

Mohammad Faraj, the son of Palestinian immigrants, pointed to his professional background in consumer protection and anti-money laundering as preparation for public service focused on problem-solving, oversight and accountability.

Faraj said that his experiences converge in a political vision where government is responsive, transparent, and committed to those who are often overlooked.

“I have five priorities: accessible city services, dependable infrastructure, reliable public safety, flexible development and sustainable small business. This is a platform that strives to improve the lives of every resident and it’s a commitment to the belief that local government should be accessible,” he said.

CDC Funding Cuts a Shared Concern

All three candidates expressed concern over looming potential federal cuts to Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding, which supports Cleveland’s CDCs.

Davis described Ward 7 as blessed with high-capacity CDCs and recounted personal experience working with Tremont-West and serving as co-chair for the South of Jefferson Block Club.

Rogalski called the situation “a wait-and-see deal” but emphasized his objection to a merger of Ohio City Inc. and Tremont-West.

Faraj stressed the importance of ensuring CDCs remain funded, noting rigid federal guidelines limit current flexibility in how CDBG funds are used. “It is very important to make sure that they’re able to do exactly what they exist to do,” he said.

While there was consensus that funding should continue, there was no clarity on what accountability should accompany it. “It could be problematic,” said Rogalski.

Development Divides

All three candidates agreed that housing affordability is a top issue. Their approaches diverged in clarity and substance.

Rogalski was blunt in his critique of tax abatements and tax increment financing (TIF), metaphorically calling them “gasoline on a fire” in neighborhoods like Tremont. His direct perspective as a cost-burdened renter gave weight to his views. “Every time that I moved, it’s because my rent went up to a point where I could no longer afford to stay there,” he said.

His overarching message: current tax incentive structures are contributing to Cleveland’s housing crisis by inflating rents, encouraging displacement, and diverting public resources to those already well-off.

Faraj supports stronger renter protections, cautioning against policies that disproportionately favor landlords and property owners. He also raised concern about the impact of declining federal support, warning that local city services may struggle to keep up as pressures mount.

He links housing stability to public safety, arguing that ensuring people have secure, affordable housing is not just an economic issue but a core component of a safe and healthy community.

Davis offered the most data-driven take, citing Cleveland’s record rent and property value increases, and proposing “all-of-the-above” solutions: affordable housing, public housing, and market-rate development.

His support for a citywide affordable housing bond and the Near West Land Trust stood out as actionable ideas. Yet his broad “yes to everything” framing risks sounding like political hedging, sidestepping harder questions about displacement.

On neighborhood development, all three candidates agreed that residents deserve more voice in the city’s project approval process.

Davis suggested that community planning should shift upstream to avoid ad-hoc development battles. “I’d rather see the community get together and develop master plans. What do we want? Let’s create rules and predictability together so we can determine what our own community should look like on the front end and let that play out so we don’t have toxic fights every month for new developments, and then ultimately have them approved no matter what,” said Davis.

Rogalski decried what he described as “fake negotiations” between developers and residents, where plans are presented with built-in concessions to create the illusion of compromise. He argued that Cleveland’s development process often excludes residents, enabling city officials and developers to manipulate outcomes.

Faraj said that he believes residents are not anti-development, they simply want meaningful, equitable involvement in the process. He called for stronger community benefits agreements and greater accountability for developers receiving public incentives, stating firmly that resident consultation “isn’t negotiable.”

Quality of Life and Public Safety

Public safety, particularly pedestrian safety, also dominated discussion. Davis highlighted traffic calming as a key priority, citing the need for speed tables, raised crosswalks, and curb extensions.

Faraj linked public safety to broader quality-of-life metrics such as clean streets and walkability.

Rogalski criticized what he viewed as one-size-fits-all urban planning and called for city services and recreation programs tailored to Ward 7’s growing number of families and older residents. “Urban planning is not a science, it’s an art,” said Rogalski.

Accessibility and Equity

In response to a question about ensuring broader community representation, the candidates all expressed a commitment to inclusive governance. Davis emphasized universal solutions benefiting all neighbors, including those in public housing. He even provided his phone number: 216-302-4568.

Rogalski spoke against tokenism and pointed to the organic diversity within his campaign supporters. Raised in majority-minority communities, Rogalski said he feels more comfortable in diverse settings and intends to lead in a way that reflects that personal background.

Faraj seriously engaged with the structural problem of who gets heard and who doesn’t in Cleveland politics. Rogalski’s framing of wealthier residents wanting to help but “not knowing how” risked sounding paternalistic, while Davis’s response leaned heavily on technocratic solutions over power-sharing.

A Race Worth Watching

The new Ward 7 is one of Cleveland’s most diverse, most economically stratified, and most politically charged. “In Cleveland’s Ward 7, progress is driven by the residents,” said Faraj.

Ward 7 is a microcosm of Cleveland’s contradictions, historic and redeveloping, affluent and under-resourced, organized and overlooked. Navigating that complexity will require clear policy, political courage, and a deep understanding of how power operates in Cleveland.

Each candidate brought distinct concerns. While none articulated a fully cohesive long-term vision, Davis came closest, laying out proactive strategies. He possesses institutional knowledge and policy fluency. Rogalski provided clarity on structural problems. Faraj offered humility, heart, and a systems-oriented approach.

In a race defined by complexity, the candidate who can turn insight into action, and community into co-governance may ultimately shape the path forward.

Submit your questions for the candidates here: bit.ly/Ward7CLE

To view the discussion in full, visit the Neighborhood Media Foundation's YouTube page here.

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La Villa has partnered with My Cleveland Agenda, a community listening project gathering residents’ priorities and questions ahead of the November 2025 election. In partnership with Tri-C, Signal Cleveland, and local media, we’re amplifying Clevelanders’ voices to shape a community-centered agenda. Click here to complete a short survey.

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