Daniel Burns feels that the problems facing Euclid are urgent in one way or another, and Euclid needs solutions to those problems now, not four years from now when he’s possibly able to run for council. He went on to say, what work experience he feels would qualify him to lead a city with about 450 employees, is the experience he has in convincing people of the vision for the city, managing people, mediating people, the subordinates with tenants with their representatives which is also a critical management skill. He says he has a background in building people up, giving him the skills to oversee a city workforce of 450 plus people.
Continuing, Burns says the thing Euclid seems to forget that representing 50,000 people is usually an entry level job, where a mayor manages a set of directors who manage the people. He said the best way to manage people is to just walk around and see how they are doing, and what he can do to help. The same thing applies to the residents of Euclid. He says there’s a need to find good people to make one’s job easier and have a full-staff meeting to get the vision out there, and have people message the “manager” directly with their problems with their superiors to get that message out there, but the day to day stuff is managed by a hierarchy of people. Burns says at one time he managed a team of 50 people in a past job he had.
When asked what he would to differently with concerns facing Euclid, Burns made note that some cities across the nation are partnering with other cities to make better benefits packages, and says by doing that, there is a lower cost for the cities to pay for the benefits, where the money can be used elsewhere or provide better benefits.
Referring to road maintenance, and road safety, Burns says a lot of roads in Euclid have big wide-open curves where the speed limit is higher, then one has to slow down to a lower speed limit, so he feels that from one road to another, just make the roads have a good curve-out.
In terms of improving the housing market, get reallocation of resources. He says the city provides funds to storefronts to better themselves, and they should also use that money to fund housing rehabs. Euclid already has a housing rehab program, but the money is being used for storefronts, but if it’s used for housing, it can go towards generational wealth.
As far as crime in the city of Euclid, Burns’ says Euclid has a lots of police officers sitting inside their cars, but those police should be outside their cars talking to people. He also feels that the money the city spends on the police force should come back to the city one way or another. He feels that in other ways, like people helping a resident get a better job, generates more income tax, or helping that resident get a better job to add to their house. The best thing is investing in things that’ll help the money in the city go farther.
Burns feels that any public official must be in close proximity to the people in the community, whether it’s at a restaurant, a public event, or just being in a place where residents can just be with that person and ask questions about Euclid and what they think.
When asked what notable achievements has he accomplished that he feels would be integral for a possible role as mayor for Euclid, Burns’ says he was the first in his family to graduate from graduate school. He didn’t have anybody to help him or pay for college or help him through law school or help him pass the bar.
He says that almost every day he mediates between landlords and tenants. It is a daily lesson for him, how to advocate for opposing ideas, working to make the situation more palpable with compromise. Using an example, he says that would translate to people coming to a council meeting angry about something the council is doing and him mediating between his vision for the city, or the mayor’s position. Or mediating between two businesses wanting to share a parking lot. Burns’ says as an attorney, that 80% of the time, he’s achieved mediation success in the courtroom.
Burns says he loves the idea of a jail for Euclid, and he says when he talks to the people in power, their response is a jail is expensive and the efficacy is questionable. Maybe instead of a jail Burns says the police should do more GPS monitoring and house arrests. He says, though, that some people don’t care if there’s a prospect they would end up in jail or think they would never go to jail.
He feels that rec centers work, and he has no problem with them. In terms of paying for it, it comes down to budgeting issues and how to build a staff for it, it’s doable, go ahead.
Burns’ says as mayor, he would create a town hall atmosphere, where a mayor would invite and welcome new residents or businesses to the community. Euclid needs to have a mayor to lead things and be a proponent of youth engagement. He also feels that working with the council from the city side should be through strong relationships through representation, and he wants to be that representation.