Three Things We’d Like to See at the State of the City

As a speaker, Mayor Frank Jackson will never be confused with Tony Robbins. But the three-term mayor and his soft-spoken manner will be squarely in the spotlight March 9 as he gives the annual State of the City Address. No matter what he says (or how he delivers it), the speech will be significant, laying out the case for an unprecedented fourth term, which Jackson announced he is running for Jan. 31. You won’t want to miss it. Here are three things we’d like to see. 

Book Learning: Mayor Frank Jackson’s signature issue is education. That’s reflected in State of the City speeches in recent years, with the mayor’s Cleveland Plan for Transforming Schools usually getting top billing. The plan has improved many district indicators. But success where it matters, in academics, is still elusive. In 2016 voters gave the district a four-year extension on this particular homework assignment. Regardless of who is in office for that time, we’d like to hear Jackson’s outlook and expectations. Extra credit if Jackson mentions this year’s graduating class, who were in first grade when he became mayor.

Same Old: The mayor has used several formats to deliver his annual speech, including a podium and sit-down interviews. Last year he used a TED Talk style, pacing the stage as he read from a teleprompter. It suited him. Jackson is not a gifted orator, but the free-form format let him comfortably punctuate his speech with characteristic hand waves and gestures. He should use it again this year. Although we’d add one thing: Get the poor man a stool for the breaks. We can’t take another year of silences filled by awkward pacing.

Future Proof: Jackson often alludes in his speech to a “great city,” a utopian Cleveland to strive toward. But he rarely gives shape or substance to that vision. In his speech Jackson must paint a picture of that future. Cleveland’s challenges will surely continue. But the mayor birthed a city that, at least in its psyche, is moving past decades of despair. It finally feels as if we have a fighting chance. In his speech, the mayor should harness that hope and toss out the old booster saw of “changing attitudes.” Instead, he should answer one question: What city should we create?