Over the past month, I provided four State of the City addresses, each including content specific to one of Lakewood’s wards, along with discussion of citywide issues.
All four 2021 state of the city virtual events are available to view online.
Please join me and some honored guests for an evening together, 5-6 p.m. June 23. Register online.
I hope you can be part of this event, which is virtual to allow many friends to attend while observing all cautions to sustain the community’s progress against the pandemic.
It has been a long time apart and I look forward to seeing you!
Special Guests:
A paid parental leave policy for city employees will benefit our community. This policy—nearly universal among other developed nations—is positive for families. It will also help Lakewood attract and retain the talent necessary for high quality services, as more Ohio employers begin introducing parental leave benefits.
Paid parental leave is also more than a benefit, however. I have worked throughout my time at City Hall to adopt this policy because it is an important commitment to equality and fairness.
From the moment people are born in this world, giving birth to another generation is ruled out for half, by biological reality. Society’s entire future relies on most women giving birth. We need to acknowledge our collective dependence on that, and provide paid leave specifically for birth and recovery, rather than treat them like things everyone may go through. The leave available to those who will never give birth is just not adequate for those who do.
I appreciate the support from City Council which has at last made this policy possible, after years of work.
As 2020 comes to a close, I am proud of the work we have done and am hopeful for what lies ahead.
There is no denying the tough times right now. The COVID-19 pandemic remains dangerous, and that means disruptions to life for months to come.
However, even with the backdrop of a once in a lifetime pandemic, we continue to move forward on many goals and projects. We have no room to slow down.
Awards and Recognition
We accomplished a great deal together as a community in October.
We completed our Census work—earlier than we hoped—but we still managed to improve our overall response rate in Lakewood compared to the last Census ten years ago.
Our 2020 street resurfacing program has come to a close. We improved 9 streets with over $1.7 million in materials and labor. We completed the installation of a new electric vehicle charging station near the intersection of Parkhaven Row and Detroit.
I participated in Power a Clean Future Ohio’s “Ohio Leaders for Climate Accountability Roundtable” to share the work my administration is doing to preserve and protect our environment. I also attended the kickoff meeting for Cuyahoga County’s Lakefront Public Access Plan, for which I serve on the steering committee. The goal of this Plan is to better access and utilize Lake Erie assets to improve economic opportunities and quality of life.
Continue reading “2020 Census and other progress”
Meghan F. George 
You must be logged in to post a comment.