*******FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Coalition Mobilizes to Propose Tenant Protections Against Lead Poisoning
CLEVELAND (January 11, 2019) — A coalition of Cleveland community organizations is
mobilizing to propose a ballot initiative to protect tenants from lead poisoning. The coalition -Cleveland Lead Advocates for Safe Housing (CLASH) -- formed to take action that our region’s
public officials have so far refused to take.
“The public has waited for years through mismanagement, inaction, and inadequate measures
from our city leaders. All the while, more Cleveland children have been lead poisoned,” said
Rebecca Maurer, an attorney who is helping to draft the ballot initiative. “If City Council won’t
seriously consider proposed legislation to address the lead crisis, the time is right to take the
issue to the public.”
Under current law, Cleveland tenants are forced to use their children as lead detectors. There is
no guarantee that their home in Cleveland will be lead safe and they often have no way of
knowing there is a problem until their child is poisoned. Elevated blood levels have been related
to low educational attainment, impaired impulse control, and increased risk of interaction with
the criminal justice system.
The coalition’s proposed ballot initiative follows a plan similar to the one laid out by former
Cleveland City Council Member Jeff Johnson in Proposed Ordinance 990-17. The Coalition
believes the legislation will reduce the number of children being poisoned and take the onus off
of tenants, who may be at risk for retaliation from their landlords if they complain or attempt to
take legal action.
“Calls for universal testing and increased community education are a step in the right direction”
adds Yvonka Hall, outreach director of the Cuyahoga County Progressive Caucus. “But testing
children does nothing to help us find lead poisoned homes before they make a child sick.
Cleveland needs to step up and match its peer cities such as Rochester in adopting a primary
prevention model.”
The Cleveland Lead Safe Network (CLSN), which has been working to protect the interests of
tenants at risk for lead poisoning, assembled the coalition members. The coalition includes,
SPAN-Ohio, Black Lives Matter of Cuyahoga County, the Cuyahoga County Progressive
Caucus, Organize! Ohio, and Cleveland Democratic Socialists of America.
The coalition plans to collect signatures from Cleveland citizens and get the legislation on the
ballot in an upcoming election.
###
Contact:

 Rebecca Maurer
Maurer Law, LLC
Phone: 216-242-6672
Email: rebecca@maurerlawllc.com
Yvonka M. Hall, MPA
Cuyahoga County Progressive Caucus
Phone: 216-802-8101
Email: ymhall@msn.com