Akron Life December 2023

telling her about changes he wants for Akron. After he won his coun cil seat by a landslide in 2019, Meeker saw him grow into being a politician while beginning to work toward change. In early 2020, he spoke at a Leadership Akron event, and he asked Meeker how he did. Although he spoke with eloquence, she admitted he said “you know” a lot. He quickly fixed that and speaks with charisma and assuredness. “His speaking has changed, his confidence,” says Meeker. “It’s cool to watch how he can control a room now.” As a council member, he had big victories like helping to make the Right to Counsel program, which gives tenants facing eviction legal representation, a line item in the city budget. He also worked to solve even the smallest disputes. When some constituents were getting fined for having a boat in their driveway, Malik helped them find a solution. The homeowners were registered Republicans in their 50s who had never voted for a Democrat, but Malik made such a good impression that they donated to his campaign and even put up his campaign sign in their yard. “It was cool to see change in those hearts and minds,” Meeker says. “That’s the magic of him —talking to somebody and finding common ground is his superpower.” While shoe-leather campaigning for mayor, he kept hearing residents’ repeated concerns about wanting to feel safe. He listened, making safety the focus of his platform. Malik still thinks about when he asked middle schoolers at a Summit Lake summer camp, What would make you feel safer? He got a sobering answer: A middle school girl said , I wish we could all carry guns. “It knocked me out,” he says. “If young people don’t feel safe, we’re not going to make any progress.” Another pivotal moment for Malik came in the wake of the 2022 kill ing of Jayland Walker, a Black man involved in a chase, by eight Akron police officers, who a grand jury declined to indict. After Walker died and following the release of the body cam footage, unrest broke out in Akron. “I’ll never forget those weeks,” Malik says. “It was difficult for the whole city.” It spurred him to help get Issue 10 passed, which created the Citizens’ Police Oversight Board to provide an external and independent review of Akron policing practices. Malik also fought for a co-responder model, in which plainclothes officers and a fire medic are accompanied by mental health or social workers on nonviolent, mental health related calls. It has been successful in Cleveland and Columbus and is set to be rolled out in Akron. His vision for equity also includes education. Akron Public Schools received 2.5 stars overall out of five on the Ohio Report Card. “We cannot be satisfied until our kids are getting the same number of stars they’re getting out in the suburbs,” he says at Robinson CLC. Plus, Akron is the only major Ohio city without a plan for universal pre-K, so that’s needed, he adds. The city is still paying off debts for its community learning center schools, and Malik vows to utilize them as intended community centers with activities for youth, health and legal clinics as well as vocational learning, bringing those resources within walking distance of all Akronites. He also hopes for Akron to plug into Summit Connects to bring fiber-optic internet to all residents. Malik wants to see downtown better serve people, including nearly 2,000 downtown residents, which is the most in his lifetime. He plans

to get a child care center and a grocery store built and find sustainable reuse for historic buildings and vacant offices. Malik wants to see equi table developments and get public feedback. “We should not be moving forward with any big initiatives until people have an opportunity to weigh in,” Malik says at Robinson CLC. He’s been meeting with Horrigan weekly to understand the inner workings of Akron’s government and plug into ongoing tasks like hir ing a new police chief since Steve Mylett is retiring Jan. 1. Malik has also met with other diverse mayors including Cincinnati mayor Aftab Pureval, an Asian millennial man, and Cleveland mayor Justin Bibb, a Black millennial man, and talked with Lima mayor Sharetta Smith, a Black woman. He’s gotten inspiration for initiatives to implement like Lima’s program to cut down on mowing city-owned vacant lots and Cleveland’s work on targeting gun trafficking and getting guns off the streets. His actions go beyond meetings, getting hands-on at organizations like Open M, an Akron nonprofit that distributes food and provides health care and employment services. Inside Open M’s warehouse Sept. 15, Malik, dressed down in track pants and a Nike pullover, places red peppers in grocery bags and chats with two volunteers. Outside, a line of cars fills Princeton Street to pick up groceries. CEO Julie Carneal calls for everyone to circle up and leads a prayer during which she prays that God blesses Malik’s leadership. Two days earlier, Malik spoke about a more equitable and sustainable future for Akron as part of a panel and fundraiser for Open M, which last year provided over 880,400 pounds of food to over 50,600 people, health care during over 1,000 patient visits, holiday gifts and food to 170 families and direct employment support to nearly 150 people. Volunteering at impactful organizations like Open M means a lot to Malik. “It’s important to get out from behind a desk and help with your own two hands,” he says. MALIK IS TRYING TO ANSWER as many audience questions as time allows at Robinson CLC. One woman gets the mic and challenges the then-presumptive mayor. I’ve heard you speak on mental illness, but you forgot about hearing and visual challenges. … There’s a special need for … a mayoral advisory commit tee to address problems. “I’ve worked with constituents who have various forms of disabilities. We realize the world and society is not built for that, so we all have a responsibility,” Malik says, vowing to follow up with her and appoint a diverse cabinet. “In our city, we want to have racial, gender, geographic representation … and that includes those with disabilities.” Promising to deliver change is a big charge. To have residents hold him accountable, he plans to post his administration’s goals and progress online. His transparency includes his own mental health. He has shared that he sees a counselor once a month and that he still has a lot to process surrounding losing his mom, and in many ways, his dad.

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akronlife.com | DECEMBER 2023