Fannie Lewis – A Cleveland Original and a Treasure

[Algorem]

http://www.clevelandleader.com/node/6398
Submitted by Roldo Bartimole on August 11, 2008 - 1:58pm.


...At another long meeting about two parking garages the city eventually built for Gateway, Lewis had trouble with the demeanor of then Council President Jay Westbrook and Finance Chairman Jim Rokakis. They gave little time and much disgust to the few public protesters who wanted to speak against the proposal.

I wrote that Westbrook “gave Lewis a look of condescension, asking her if she had finished in such a manner that the question took the tone of a put-down.”

Lewis was having none of it. “Quit being facetious with me,” she told Westbrook and then “caught him where it hurt, his past.” Westbrook had been a radical when he entered Council. “You and I came into this Council screaming about the same things (corporate rip-offs of public money).” Then she had a warning, “Don’t play me cheap.”

At the same meeting Lewis predicted what would and did happen with the garages built for Gateway – huge losses for the city in the millions of dollars each year...



http://www.myfoxcleveland.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=7179856&version=5&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.2.1

STATEMENT FROM CONGRESSMAN DENNIS KUCINICH:
"Words cannot express how sad I am to hear about Fannie's passing. Fannie Defined the role of councilperson; Ward 7 was Fannie's ward. The people of Ward 7 have lost a strong defender of their economic and social rights.

"I knew and worked with Fannie for more than 35 years. She rose from being a neighborhood activist to becoming Mother Lewis. She was not just a councilperson-- she was truly the mother of her community. As that mother, she was filled with great love and caring for the members of her community, her extended family that number in the tens of thousands. Her heart was always open. She made sure everyone had food, shelter, clothing and spiritual guidance.

"Fannie was outspoken in making sure that public transportation served everyone in the community. As mayor, I tapped Fannie to serve on the board of the Regional Transit Authority, but her appointment was blocked. As the citizen advisor to the Model Cities program, Fannie fought to ensure that the community received the reources it deserved.

"Fannie was a dear friend, and I will miss her deeply. Her passing is a great loss for the City of Cleveland. My thoughts and prayers are with her, her family, and the people of Ward 7.


What she said
http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/121852990116050.xml&coll=2
Tuesday, August 12, 2008

...

On politics:"If you go out in the middle of the lake and there ain't no boats around, and a boat full of snakes passes you by, I guess you've gotta get on that boat."...



On plans to raze subsidized apartments, in 1982:"We've survived the rats, the roaches and the riots, and we will survive Reaganomics."


Outspoken, revered councilwoman Fannie Lewis dies
http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2008/08/fannie_lewis_dies_at_82.html
Posted by Mike Tobin August 11, 2008 09:00AM
Categories: Breaking News, News Impact

CLEVELAND -- Fannie Lewis, who went from welfare recipient to one of the city's most outspoken and recognizable politicians, died this morning. She was 82.

The Bible-quoting Lewis was never one to suffer fools. At one time or another, she clashed with virtually every powerful politician in the city -- often in memorable fashion.

Lewis called Mayor Michael White a demon. She labeled Councilman Joe Cimperman a "Judas goat" after the two feuded over a building in her ward. When Mayor George Voinovich proposed putting a mental hospital in her ward, Lewis said Voinovich was crazy and that any black person supporting him should be banned from the black community.

She died about 12:10 a.m. today, Council President Martin J. Sweeney confirmed in a phone call this morning to The Plain Dealer. She had been in and out of the hospital since last September...

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