Council committee advances two Port Authority reappointments after heated debate over prevailing wage and Cleveland priorities

The Mayor’s Appointment Committee voted March 24 to advance two reappointments to the Cleveland–Cuyahoga County Port Authority after a lengthy session in which council members pressed nominees on a 2024 change to the Port’s prevailing-wage policy, residency of appointees and how the Port would evaluate future projects that might affect Cleveland.

Telynda Thomas, a Cleveland resident and chair of the Port’s governance committee, and Jay Stephen Holmes, a long-serving appointee and past chair, each summarized their board work and said they have led or participated in strategic planning and oversight. Thomas noted she chairs the Port’s strategic planning committee and works with consultants including Deloitte and Third Space Action Lab. Holmes cited financing milestones, Irish Town Bend stabilization and a $96 million EPA grant he said supported port infrastructure electrification and an electric tow-boat project.

Council members repeatedly returned to the Port’s 2024 decision to remove a prevailing-wage requirement for Port-supported projects. "When the Port voted to take prevailing wages away, the optics of that is that you're taking the side of big business and big developers over the working-class," Councilman Casey said. Thomas said the board made an "evolved policy" decision after more than a year of data and context review and that reinstatement would be considered on a project-by-project basis. Holmes said he voted for the 2024 change and said bond-rating and competitiveness concerns were among the factors the board weighed.

Councilman Polensek pressed both nominees on whether the Port would finance infrastructure tied to the proposed stadium and development in Brook Park, arguing the move could rob jobs and opportunities from Cleveland if projects carried no mandates for Cleveland-based contractors. "All I see is poverty, despair, lack of opportunity," Polensek said; nominees replied no specific Brook Park project had been presented to the board and said they would evaluate any future financing on its facts and alignment with Port mission.

Nominees provided economic-impact figures from the Port’s annual reporting: approximately 27,000 supported jobs and about $7 billion in economic activity tied to Port operations, while the Port itself employs fewer than 100 staff. Council members asked for more local transparency; Polensek and others requested a list of projects the Port supported in the city, dollars and job estimates for those projects, and outreach materials for neighborhood businesses.

The committee took separate roll calls. For Telynda Thomas the committee recorded three yes votes and two no votes and advanced her nomination; the committee repeated the same 3–2 tally to advance Jay Stephen Holmes. Members opposing the reappointments said they could not support nominees who voted to reverse the prevailing-wage requirement; supporters cited the Port’s financing record and strategic work.

The committee lost quorum before addressing two additional nominees; the chair apologized and said those candidates would be rescheduled. The committee adjourned.

Votes at a glance: - Telynda Thomas (reappointment to Cleveland–Cuyahoga County Port Authority): committee recommendation advanced, committee tally 3 yes, 2 no. - Jay Stephen Holmes (reappointment): committee recommendation advanced, committee tally 3 yes, 2 no.

Next steps: Both nominations will move to the full council for final consideration; council members asked Port staff to provide a list of recent city projects supported by the Port and related data prior to the full vote.