Currently holds the office of Akron City Mayor until December 31, 2027.
Candidate for Akron City Mayor in 2023 Ohio General Election.
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Get StartedWe will also take action on the deteriorating police station building. Within six months of becoming mayor, Shammas will decide on a permanent path forward for the Harold K. Stubbs Justice Center – either fully renovating the building or selecting a new location. Learn more
Our Living Together plan will prioritize bringing a trauma-informed approach to the work of city government, whether it be targeted programs for youth violence prevention or simply responding to citizen requests. Learn more
Often, we ask officers to respond to calls that do not require an armed police response. Our Safer Together plan will include developing a program in which mental health workers and social workers respond to low-risk, non-violent calls alongside officers, when it is safe and effective to do so. Learn more
Our Safer Together plan will be based on working collaboratively with community organizations, neighborhood groups, and schools to make long-term, meaningful investments in youth recreation and arts, job training and career exploration programs, mentorship and peer outreach, and mental health supports, as well as reentry supports and other specific interventions for youth involved in violence. Learn more
Our Safer Together plan will make sure our APD has adequate staffing and resources by attracting and retaining officers with fair pay and by improving support programs for officers. We will not defund the police. Learn more
Shammas helped lead the charge for Issue 10 – an independent citizen’s advisory board approved by voters in November 2022, as one step toward building trust and strengthening accountability. Our Safer Together plan will make sure Issue 10 is thoughtfully implemented and will take further steps, like providing more funding for training, requiring body cams for officers on SWAT detail and off-duty jobs, and working with APD to review practices around traffic stops, police chases, and more. Learn more
Our Safer Together plan will ensure that every one of our patrol officers has the bandwidth to devote some of their time to these proactive approaches. We also will pilot at least one police substation to support community policing efforts. Learn more
Our Working Together plan will work with Akron Public Schools to truly open up our Community Learning Centers on evenings and weekends, so that every Akronite is within walking distance of an in-demand certificate or skills training program. In addition, we will build deeper partnerships with all our neighborhood Community Development Corporations, where we’re seeing exciting innovation right now. Learn more
Our Working Together plan will modernize our outdated city website, ensure language accessibility, and streamline permitting and contracting processes, so that we avoid miscommunication, bottlenecks, and delays. Learn more
Through our Working Together plan, we will ensure downtown residents and workers have access to basic amenities like fresh groceries and childcare, find innovative, financially-sustainable re-uses for historic buildings and vacant office space, and partner with Downtown Akron Partnership and our small and large businesses to improve the perception of downtown. Learn more
Across the country, the COVID-19 pandemic uncovered longstanding obstacles to employment, from accessible and affordable childcare, to transportation, broadband access, safe housing, and healthcare access. And as with so many other social trends, we see these issues impacting low-income workers and communities of color at a disproportionate rate. Our Working Together plan will innovate ways to remove these barriers for workers, including creating affordable childcare options downtown and in our neighborhoods that are easily accessible through public transportation, and alternative transportation models like rideshare programs to locations not on the bus route. Learn more
We will aggressively seek funding at the regional, state, and national level, in partnership with private industry, to support local research and development. Learn more
We will double down on the collaborative work of Elevate Greater Akron, making sure that resources and staff time are focused on the city’s key role in driving progress on equitable economic opportunities, the future of downtown, and neighborhood-based workforce solutions, while also seeking to bring the University of Akron into the core Elevate Greater Akron team. Learn more
We will prioritize investments in the economy of the future – especially our local polymer and advanced materials industry, as well as supply chain infrastructure for the Central Ohio Intel microchip plant, and green energy jobs. Learn more
We will work alongside all downtown partners to staff and fund a downtown Community Development Corporation to coordinate real estate development activities. Learn more
Our Learning Together plan seeks to prioritize our city government’s relationship with UA and Stark State. We will seek to make off-campus and downtown a safe and inviting area for students by prioritizing foot patrols and other community policing strategies (as reflected in our Safer Together plan), advocate for seamless transitions between APS, Stark State, and UA, and make sure that the university’s academic priorities are helping drive our community’s economic development strategy, and vice versa (as reflected in our Working Together plan). Learn more
As a community, we must make citywide, universal pre-K our collective goal - to support families and give kids the strong academic start they deserve. It is a moral imperative and an economic necessity. As Mayor, Shammas will work to build a permanent, sustainable partnership to get this done. Learn more
Our Learning Together plan pledges to partner with Akron Public Schools to finally fulfill the promise of the CLCs as neighborhood centers outside of school hours, building on the lessons of the United Way Family Resource Centers and the I Promise School. Learn more
We also will hire a cabinet-level staff member focused on environmental sustainability who will coordinate efforts across city government, from electrifying our fleet of city vehicles, to improving our recycling process, reversing the loss of our tree canopy, creating green building standards for new development, examining Akron’s land use policies and regulations, and finally, tracking our city government emissions and setting a goal for reductions. Learn more
Our Living Together plan will get us back on track by joining Power a Clean Future Ohio, a coalition of statewide, nonpartisan organizations that is currently working with every other major Ohio city, providing free services to advance clean energy and the environment. Learn more
Additionally, through our Working Together plan, we will prioritize green energy jobs as a key component of building our economy of the future. Learn more
Our Living Together plan will continue the important work of improving Black maternal and infant vitality through education and community support. Learn more
We also will partner with local healthcare institutions and non-profit organizations to emphasize preventative health measures, fight chronic diseases, and implement the Age Friendly Akron plan to make sure our aging adults feel fully supported. Learn more
We will partner with the Akron Municipal Court to improve the current housing mediation program. Learn more
Our Working Together plan will prioritize rebuilding our neighborhoods by testing better financial tools like gap financing and loan guarantee funds so that residents can directly access private loans to rehab older homes or build new infill construction on vacant lots. Learn more
We will also modernize how we enforce housing code violations, moving away from pen-and-paper inspections and restarting the city’s mandatory inspection plan to hold irresponsible housing providers accountable for unresolved, egregious living conditions. Learn more
Our Working Together plan will prioritize public engagement at the beginning of the development process, so that residents’ ideas and concerns are heard before projects are finalized between city staff and developers. Learn more
Homelessness is a dangerous and disempowering situation for those experiencing it, and it is clear that our community needs more shelter options. We will work with the Continuum of Care coalition to thoughtfully consider new options, like additional emergency shelters and tiny homes. Learn more
Our Living Together plan will implement the Right To Counsel program that Shammas has championed on City Council, so that tenants facing eviction have legal representation, reducing homelessness and saving taxpayer funds for social services. Learn more
We also will commit to joining Summit Connects to ensure the County’s fiber project reaches all homes in Akron, removing internet connectivity as a barrier to both workers and students. Learn more
Across the country, the COVID-19 pandemic uncovered longstanding obstacles to employment, from accessible and affordable childcare, to transportation, broadband access, safe housing, and healthcare access. And as with so many other social trends, we see these issues impacting low-income workers and communities of color at a disproportionate rate. Our Working Together plan will innovate ways to remove these barriers for workers, including creating affordable childcare options downtown and in our neighborhoods that are easily accessible through public transportation, and alternative transportation models like rideshare programs to locations not on the bus route. Learn more
We also will partner with local healthcare institutions and non-profit organizations to emphasize preventative health measures, fight chronic diseases, and implement the Age Friendly Akron plan to make sure our aging adults feel fully supported. Learn more
Our Living Together plan will continue the important work of improving Black maternal and infant vitality through education and community support. Learn more
View your personalized ballot, check your voter registration, make a plan to vote, and research every name and measure on the ballot with BallotReady.