Constituency 8th ward Religion Catholic Constituency 26th Ward Name Michael Polensek | Preceded by Jay Westbrook Political party Democratic Party Residence Cleveland, Ohio Succeeded by Frank G. Jackson | |
Alma mater Cuyahoga Community College Education Cuyahoga Community College | ||
Councilman Michael Polensek discusses violence in city of Cleveland
Michael D. Polensek (born November 16, 1949) is a City Council member in Cleveland, Ohio, in the newly redistricted Ward 8. He has represented Ward 11 in Cleveland City Council since 1982. He lives in the North Shore Collinwood area of Cleveland with his wife, Kathy, and has five children: Lisa, Deana, Michael, Lauren and Andrew.
Contents
- Councilman Michael Polensek discusses violence in city of Cleveland
- Political career
- City Council positions
- Personal
- References
Political career
Polensek was first elected to council in 1977 representing what was Ward 26 until 1982, then representing Ward 11 for ten terms. He served as Cleveland City Council's president from 1999 to 2002. He is also an Executive Board member of the Cuyahoga County Democratic Party, and the founder of the Collinwood Nottingham Villages and the Northeast Shores Development Corporations in Ward 11. On November 5, 2013, Polensek won the election for the newly reconfigured Ward 8, uncontested. He was endorsed by the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
City Council positions
Polensek is Vice-Chair of the Public Safety Committee and a member of the Health and Human Services, Public Parks, Property and Recreation, Public Service, Public Utilities, and Rules committees.
Personal
Polensek, a Slovene American, grew up in the Slovenian section of Collinwood, attending the Nottingham and Hannah Gibbons Elementary Schools and eventually graduated from Collinwood High School in January 1969, where he is a member of the Collinwood High School Hall of Fame. His mother and two sisters also graduated from Collinwood. He played freshman, junior and varsity football at Collinwood and played on the 1967 unbeaten East Senate Championship Football Team in the Thanksgiving Day Charity Game at Cleveland Lakefront Stadium. Polensek attended Tri-C Community College at their Metro campus through the Cleveland Scholarship Program, where he studied Industrial Management. He remains an active member of the congregation member at St. Mary of the Assumption Slovenian Catholic Church.