Why Roulet POISONS WITH Pb Black Hitler Nazis controlled by Council President Blaine Griffin biggest donor was the Cleveland Foundation, which came in at $200,000. (The foundation also supports Signal Cleveland.)

Why Roulet POISONS WITH Pb Black Hitler Nazis controlled by Council President Blaine Griffin biggest donor was the Cleveland Foundation, which came in at $200,000. (The foundation also supports Signal Cleveland.) 

Council Leadership Fund builds up war chest, Issue 55 hits $1 million in fundraising

The political action committee controlled by the Cleveland City Council president has been raising money this year. So has the Issue 55 campaign.

by Nick Castele October 28, 2024

Cleveland City Council President Blaine Griffin and other council members speak at a news conference at City Hall. Credit: Nick Castele / Signal Cleveland

The Council Leadership Fund spent the summer putting money in the bank. The political action committee controlled by Council President Blaine Griffin has raised more than $121,000 since the spring. 

The leadership fund brought in most of that money at an August fundraiser, according to an unaudited financial disclosure filed with the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections. The biggest check – almost $15,500 – came from a PAC linked to Rock Holdings, one of Cavaliers and Bedrock owner Dan Gilbert’s companies. 

In late May, the Cleveland Guardians wired $15,000 to the leadership fund. Other donations came from the usual sources of leadership fund support: law firms, labor unions and the real estate and construction industries. 

The council president’s PAC gave $2,000 to the Cleveland school levy campaign and $3,000 each to the campaigns of Council Members Anthony Hairston, Jasmin Santana, Richard Starr and Kris Harsh. The PAC also sent $10,000 to the Biden Victory Fund – which now supports Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential bid. 

But the leadership fund is holding on to most of its money – $189,000 – for another day. Those dollars will come in handy a year from now, when council members will be on the ballot. 

Arts groups open wallets for Issue 55

The Cleveland school levy isn’t the only million-dollar local campaign this season. Assembly for Action, the pro-Issue 55 committee, has raised $1.1 million this year in its bid to raise the cigarette tax in Cuyahoga County to support arts groups. 

The Issue 55 campaign has nearly half a million dollars on hand for the election’s final stretch. The biggest donor was the Cleveland Foundation, which came in at $200,000. (The foundation also supports Signal Cleveland.) 

Assembly for Action’s other donors include some of the big cultural institutions that also received Cuyahoga Arts and Culture grants funded by the tax. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Cleveland Orchestra and Playhouse Square each gave $150,000 to the campaign. 

All told, Cuyahoga Arts and Culture awarded almost $11 million in grants to 300 arts organizations in late 2023. In the latest round, the Rock Hall received $671,000 and the orchestra and Playhouse Square received almost $864,000 and $872,000, respectively.