Basheer Jones

Basheer S. Jones (born October 25, 1984) is an Americans politician serving on the Cleveland City Council since January 2018 for Ward 7. The district includes the Hough, Cleveland, St. Clair–Superior, and the Asiatown, Cleveland. Jones is the first practicing Muslim elected to the Council.
==Early life and education==
Jones was born in Brooklyn, New York and moved between Cleveland and New York City numerous times as a child. He was primarily raised by his mother and attended Martin Luther King Jr. High School (Cleveland). He started writing poetry at 8 years old while homeless and has worked as a public speaker
He graduated from Morehouse College in 2006 with a Bachelor's degree in African American studies. He returned to Cleveland in 2008 to register voters and worked as a field organizer for the Barack Obama 2012 presidential campaign United States Presidential election.
==Cleveland City Council==
Jones was elected to the Cleveland City Council in 2017 for Ward 7 by a margin of 13 votes over incumbent Councilman TJ Dow, who he lost against in 2013 by 700 votes.
===Tenure===
His first action on the Council was to open the Imani Food Distribution Center, named in honor of his late mother.
Jones proposed Gun safety|firearm education for women in order to combat domestic violence.
Despite COVID-19 lockdowns|stay-at-home orders and limits on international travel during the COVID-19 pandemic, Jones travelled to Egypt with a friend in late 2020.
===Committee assignments===
Jones serves on the following committees
*Health and Human Services Committee (Vice Chair)
*Safety Committee
*Wrokforce and Community Benefits Committee
===2021 Mayoral campaign===
Jones announced he would run in the 2021 Cleveland mayoral election on May 6, 2021. In an interview with The Plain Dealer, Jones advocated for more transperancy in government through public comment, attracting international trade, and redeveloping Downtown Cleveland#Lakefront|Lakefront to be more accesible for residents.
A 2017 video in which Jones told a Howard University audience "Where's the men? Why are we not leading the women? They are not our leaders. I don't care what they say. They are not our leaders. We are their leaders!" was heavily scrutinized. He claimed the clip was "taken out of context", but opponents called it mysogynistic.
Ideastream reported that Jones had raised $362,748 as of July 30, 2021, which was the most money raised of any candidate. Donor's full names and addresses were originally not disclosed as required by campaign finance laws, Jones claimed this was a mistake and his campaign treasurer fixed it. The campaign gave $6,500 to Philadelphia-based Youssef Kromah, a University of Cairo student and activist that is a friend of Jones whom he had travelled to Egypt with, for "consulting". Sam Allard of The Cleveland Scene speculated that the money was actually used to pay for the trip or a $2,000 donation to an Egyptian orphanage Kromah claimed to have made with Jones.
==Personal life==
Jones has said his faith as a Muslim heavily impacts his views.
His residency within Cleveland has been questioned. He claimed his wife and kids live in South Euclid, Ohio|South Euclid while he lives in Cleveland, but he is linked to and has attended City Council meetings from adresses in South Euclid and Cleveland Heights.
Category:American Muslims
Category:African-American Muslims
Category:Cleveland City Council members
Category:1984 births