Residents ask candidates to embrace environmental policy platform

We are Cleveland Heights and University Heights residents with a vision for a healthy environment within our own political boundaries and beyond. We are requesting that mayoral, council, and school board candidates incorporate environmental policies in their platforms.

We are looking for elected leaders who are knowledgeable about, embrace, and apply an environmental overlay to all policy proposals and actions. Each decision affecting the people and lands of our cities should have a documented and transparent review of how this overlay is applied. The overlay should include the impact on natural resources, environmental equity, and climate change.

Our cities are an integral component of Greater Cleveland’s ecosystem. We ask that candidates review and adopt appropriate elements of the "Cleveland Comprehensive Environmental Policy Platform: A Vision for 2021–2025."

Cleveland Heights has articulated elements of this vision in its own 2016 Master Plan that are unfulfilled. One goal, “Environmentally Sustainable Community,” (pages 149–59), is populated with local actions that should take priority as we face global climate change. The responsibility of elected leaders is to implement policy.

Local actions are vitally important to the global climate emergency. “Think Globally, Act Locally” is not just a slogan.

The participation of citizens in this process is essential. Our request for an Environmental Policy Platform is not to lay all responsibility for a healthy environment exclusively on elected officials and staff. Rather, we are asking for local leadership for local initiatives to engage and encourage residents and businesses to effect positive change in partnership with a coordinated plan among city departments.

[In addition to Peggy Spaeth, this request is signed by Alex Sitarik, Barbara Day, Barbara French, Brenda Bagby, Cari Hickerson, Carl Anthony, Catalina Wagers, Cathy Whelan, Cheryl Hanger, Cindie Carroll-Pankhurst, Christopher Shiel, Colleen Szekelyi, Deborah Van Kleef, Donald Vicarel, Elana Baldwin, Emma Shook, Eran Shiloh, Greg Van Niel, Isabel Trautwein, James Watling, Jeffrey Johansen, Jeremy Baldwin, Jim Lissemore, Jim Miller, John Barber, John Barrett, Kathy Petrey, Ken Petrey, Laura Marks, Mary Zenisek, Michael Morse, Natalie Elwell, Robin Koslen, Roger French, Sasha Barrett, Stephen Sedam, and Tom Hanger.]