Clevelanders have spoken. Last week, Signal Cleveland published the results of My Cleveland Agenda, a community listening project that surfaced the priorities of more than 170 people across the city ahead of November’s election.
The insights offer a range of perspectives on what Clevelanders want from their elected officials: politicians who will take public safety seriously, invest in local infrastructure and institutions, and show concern for the next generation of the city’s residents.
My Cleveland Agenda is a collaboration between the Journalism + Design Lab, Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C), Neighborhood Media Foundation, and Signal Cleveland. The project employed four community listening fellows, local residents with a range of perspectives and experience, to interview their neighbors across the city and produce a people-centered agenda ahead of the upcoming election.
“No one understands the needs, frustrations and hopes of Cleveland residents better than Cleveland residents themselves,” said Emma Sedlak, a fourth-generation Clevelander and one of the community listening fellows. “This deep well of local knowledge and passion is a powerful resource — one that elected officials too often neglect.”
The fellows were joined in their efforts by community media publishers in the city — The Lotus, the Erie Chinese Journal, Profile News Ohio, and La Villa CLE. Coordinated by the Neighborhood Media Foundation, they produced a series of stories that elevated perspectives from the communities they serve:
- Lessons in Leadership: Lincoln-West Students Help Shape ‘My Cleveland Agenda’, La Villa CLE
- My Cleveland Agenda Results and a Perspective On Voting from Bassel Abdallah, Profile News Ohio
- Community Voices Ahead of November 2025, The Lotus
- 我們心中的亞洲城, Erie Chinese Journal
People interviewed for the project made a resounding call for investment in public infrastructure. “Our streets are damaging cars and hurting local pride,” said one resident.
Others lamented the prevalence of violence in the city. “You want to be able to go outside; you want to feel safe.” Some residents talked about the importance of investing in schools, libraries, and other public institutions. “Kids need spaces to explore their skills and creativity,” one resident said. “They need to feel supported and challenged to be their best selves.”
While the community listening portion of the project has concluded, J+D Lab, along with our partners in Cleveland, are seeking to spark more conversations around the agenda. To do that, we’ve created a guide to help more people share their priorities with each other ahead of the election.
This is the second fellowship cohort that the J+D Lab has facilitated with our Cleveland partners to help surface community priorities and needs ahead of local elections. Last fall, we hosted our inaugural cohort for participants who completed our community journalism certificate course with Tri-C.
My Cleveland Agenda is modeled after a similar effort that J+D piloted in Oakland in 2022 and 2024 through our community hub, the Oakland Lowdown, in partnership with nonprofit newsroom The Oaklandside and Oakland North, a publication of the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism.