Greater Cleveland native and out LGBTQ+ candidate Stephanie K. Thomas has announced she will run in the May 2026 Democratic primary to represent residents of District 3 as a member of Cuyahoga County Council.
With a clear focus on working-class Clevelanders, Thomas’s campaign platform includes a county-wide rent control initiative, expanded senior services, increased resources for home ownership and open office hours to help constituents connect with her directly about issues and ideas in their own neighborhoods.
Thomas is a longtime housing advocate, progressive Democrat and member of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) who currently serves on the Cuyahoga County Board of Homeless Services.
“I’m running on basic things that I think are actually achievable,” Thomas told The Buckeye Flame. “I’m not hoping. I know we can make these things happen.”
Shifting political trends
This year, Thomas spotted what she calls a “good window of opportunity” to run for office, noting a series of victories for Democratic Socialists and women candidates across the country.
In New York – where Thomas lived and worked as an architect between 2002 and 2019, earning a degree in architecture from Pratt Institute – Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s historic victory as a Democratic Socialist has signaled a larger political trend that Thomas hopes to capitalize on.
In Cleveland, Democratic Socialist Tanmay Shah won the race to represent residents of Ward 12 as a Cleveland City Council member. Shah’s ward would be part of Thomas’s district, which covers the West Side of Cleveland from West 45 Street to West 117th Street.
Additionally, Democratic Socialists contributed to an expansive Gender Freedom Policy in Lakewood.
In total, District 3 includes all of Wards 11 and 12, as well as parts of Wards 7 and 14, and the entirety of Brooklyn and Linndale.
Thomas’s opponent is Democratic incumbent Martin J. Sweeney – a former Ohio State representative and Cleveland City Council president accused of sexual harassment by Cleveland City Council clerk Emily Lipovan in 2007.
Serving diverse demographics
In the West 90s and 100s, thousands of Arab immigrants have established a cultural hub colloquially known as a “Little Arabia.” Thomas, who is Lebanese, said she is excited by the possibility of serving such a culturally, socially, economically and religiously diverse community.
As co-founder and president of the LGBTQ+ housing non-profit Shelter the People Cleveland, Thomas said she understands the barriers many of her constituents face when it comes to housing, health care and human services and more – because she has faced them herself.
She said she feels a personal connection with Democratic Ohio gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton.
“She was homeless as a kid and I was homeless in my late 20s,” Thomas said. “We’re both professionals on the ballot who have struggled, so we actually know and understand our constituents.”
Thomas told The Buckeye Flame that she has been out as an LGBTQ+ person since the 1990s, but doesn’t strongly identify with any particular word or label.
“It’s funny because RuPaul has this famous line about using the whole box of crayons and not just which color of the rainbow you are,” Thomas said. “That’s also true when we work with our community.”
“On the West Side of Cleveland, we’re already doing great work. There’s no reason we can’t continue doing great work and promote and partner with other people doing good work,” Thomas added. “I’m just really excited to be able to be on the ticket to represent the LGBTQ+ community, the community of progressive Democrats, Democratic Socialists and all of the morals, ethics and values that we all hold dear.”
Rent control, development and labor relations
Thomas also plans to introduce a bold, countywide rent control measure to benefit the 59% of Clevelanders currently living in rental housing.
The initiative would limit rent increases to 1.5% per year.
“If you sign a multi-year lease, that’s even a smaller percentage of increase over the course of the lease,” Thomas said. “It will also help when an out-of-town landlord buys a property. They can’t just paint it, kick everybody out and raise the rent $500.”
Having managed major architectural projects and code and zoning compliance for more than a decade, Thomas said she is also qualified and excited to tackle new development opportunities across District 3.
“Before I moved home [from New York], I worked on almost all the largest developments in New York City that happened between the years 2008 and 2019,” she said. “Including the High Line and Barclays Center.”
“This part of the West Side of Cleveland is next in line for some large development,” Thomas added. “When we start doing that, I’m going to be the best person to be able to negotiate that boundary between the developer and all the people that we need to serve here in Cleveland with our majority non-white, majority low-income community.”
Thomas also plans to propose a Cuyahoga County Labor Relations Board (CCLRB).
The State Employment Relations Board (SERB) administers the Ohio Public Employees’ Collective Bargaining Act – which gives public employees the right to form a union and collectively bargain for fair wages and working conditions.
Similarly, a county labor relations board would help facilitate investigations into unfair labor practices, conduct fair union elections and determine appropriate bargaining units throughout Cuyahoga County.
“We have to do better to protect our health and human services workers,” Thomas told The Buckeye Flame. “The federal government essentially decapitated the National Labor Relations Board, but we can do [labor relations] right here at home.”
“Let’s keep it local,” Thomas added. “We know our people. We know the work that we’re doing and we know what they need.”
Senior services and homeownership
“Seniors are the largest rising demographic population of people to become homeless,” Thomas said. “While I’ve been canvassing, I’ve met a lot of very, very depressed, very alone seniors. So we are going to do whatever we can to support them.”
District 3 already boasts strong senior services, but Thomas said she plans to expand them even further – then beyond her district to the rest of the county.
Boosting home ownership across Cleveland’s West Side is also a priority for Thomas.
“Homeownership is so huge,” she said. “Being able to own your own home sets you off on a lifetime of stability – it’s also helping to build generational wealth.”
She plans to expand current county programs that help promote homeownership and cultivate existing relationships with financial institutions to help promote small grants for Clevelanders looking to purchase homes in District 3.
“We’re already in the community working with people to gain financial stability and to do financial planning so they can check off all the things on the list they need to buy [a home],” Thomas said.
Addressing accessibility
A large part of Thomas’s campaign platform seeks to address accessibility – both in terms of resources and programming and in the elections and governing processes themselves.
“In general, my existence within the community, my professional experience, my life experience is so diverse,” Thomas said. “There is not a person that I can’t have a face-to-face conversation with and find something we have something in common.”
“For public comment, [Cuyahoga County Council] uses a lottery system, so you’re not guaranteed to speak,” Thomas said, which can be confusing and upsetting for residents hoping to voice their concerns and ideas. Thomas has seen that frustration first-hand, and plans to give residents a voice by hosting weekly open office hours at a physical space in District 3.
“If there’s something going on, if people want to tell me what’s going on or just have an honest one-on-one conversation, we can do that,” she said.
“I’m trying to meet as many working folks like myself as I can,” Thomas added. “If they go to my website, my phone number is there. People can actually call or email me and set up a time to meet.” 🔥
Ignite Action
- To learn more about Stephanie Thomas, or to support her campaign to represent District 3 as a member of Cuyahoga County Council, click here.
- To follow Stephanie Thomas’s campaign on facebook, click here.
- Thomas is hosting a series of informal gatherings called “Friends Circle with Stephanie,” where community members “share ideas and talk about the issues that matter most to Cuyahoga County.” To learn more, or to RSVP, click here.
- To learn more about Shelter the People Cleveland, or to access housing resources in Cleveland, click here.
- To find your Cleveland Ward, click here.
- To find your Cuyahoga County District, click here.
- To check your Ohio voter registration status, click here.
- If you are a young LGBTQ+ person in crisis, please contact the Trevor Project: 866-4-U-Trevor.
- If you are an transgender adult in crisis, please contact the National Trans Lifeline: 877-565-8860
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