Ward 14

About Jasmin Santana

Ward 14 Councilwoman Jasmin Santana made history as the first Latina ever elected to Cleveland City Council. She represents the Clark-Fulton, Brooklyn Centre and Stockyards neighborhoods, along with a portion of Tremont.

Councilwoman Santana serves on multiple council committees and is Council’s representative to the City’s Community Relations Board. She also holds the leadership role of Majority Leader, serving alongside Council President Blaine A. Griffin. Beyond Council, she recently joined the United Way of Greater Cleveland’s Board of Directors, serves on the Say Yes Cleveland Operating Committee, and was appointed to the Cuyahoga County Women’s Health Commission.

Since her first day in office, Councilwoman Santana has remained deeply engaged in Ward 14, which is 48 percent Latino. She launched an affordable housing initiative; secured funding to rehabilitate and repurpose century-old industrial buildings. She is building on the momentum created in the Ward with the Pivot Art Center, CentroVilla25, Northern Ohio Blanket Mills, the Cleveland West Veterans Housing development adjacent to the now demolished former box company, and the renovation of St. Michael's School.

With these upgrades, all five local parks in Ward 14 will have experienced significant improvements over the past eight years—and more work is ahead. As a community centered around families, Councilwoman Santana remains committed to expanding parks and green spaces, while also prioritizing infrastructure improvements along Storer Avenue. She is also proud to co-sponsor legislation limiting the number of smoke shops in local neighborhoods. While she strongly supports small businesses, she believes communities thrive when they attract establishments that uplift and strengthen the area. This legislation helps maintain safe, family-friendly neighborhoods.

Before taking office, Councilwoman Santana worked as an outreach coordinator for the nonprofit Hispanic Alliance, focusing on public safety, lead abatement, and a range of social issues. She also worked at MetroHealth Medical Center, promoting health and nutrition education within the Hispanic community. While at MetroHealth, she helped establish Northeast Ohio’s first grassroots Latina breast cancer education program.

She is a founding member of SEEDS—Support, Engage, Empower, Develop, and Sustain—a women’s empowerment and leadership initiative. Her civic leadership has been widely recognized, including multiple features in Crain’s Cleveland Business for her activism and community impact.

Councilwoman Santana has served as a trustee for several social service organizations, including the Northeast Ohio Association for Hispanic Health and the May Dugan Community Center.

A graduate of Max Hayes Vocational School, she has pursued studies in nonprofit administration and public health through a dual program at Cuyahoga Community College and Cleveland State University.

She lives in the Jones Home Historic Neighborhood in Ward 14, which she has represented since 2018.