Angelina Steiner, candidate profile for Lakewood City Council 2025 election

All responses have been submitted by the candidate.

Candidate name: Angelina Hamilton Steiner 

Candidate contact: friendsofangelinasteiner@gmail.com 

Candidate age: 44 

Candidate’s stated party affiliation: Democrat 

Position Sought: Member of Council At-Large 

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government? No, not currently, however, my father is a retired Cleveland Police Officer and spent 25+ years serving Cleveland residents and collaborating with non-Cleveland Police Departments and federal agencies. 

What is your educational background? 

I have a master’s in public administration and a bachelor’s in political science. I also have a professional credential as a Certified Research Administrator (CRA) and I am Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt certified. 

What is your occupation? 

Higher Education 

Do you have any previous experience as an elected official?  

Yes, I am currently a Member of Council At-Large after being appointed in January 2025. 

Why are you seeking office? 

Lakewood faces challenges and will continue to face challenges that will take courage and innovation to address. From ensuring Lakewood remains livable, to challenges in our ability to home rule, to impacts of climate change, not to mention the challenges of being a highly sought-out and desirable community that is built out. We need leaders that are inquisitive, ask questions, challenges in a manner to learn and understand, think outside the box, and aren’t afraid to trailblaze. We need proactive leadership, not reactive leadership. We need visionary leaders that have the soft skills to manage, collaborate, and lead. We need leaders that understand resiliency as they have had to live and experience harsh realities and as a result, have become resilient. Lastly, we need compassionate, caring, and empathetic leaders. That is why I am seeking office, to equip Lakewood to be able to face its challenges and to face the challenges with solutions. 

What do you think the single most pressing issue facing city council is? 

The single most pressing issue facing City Council are the issues with ensuring that Lakewood remains a community that residents are able to remain in. I know of families that are being and have been priced out and families that want to move here but are unable to. City Council, alone, will not be able to address this. We must work with the Mayor/City Administration and other vested organizations, individuals and county and state representatives to address these challenges and develop and enact solutions. 

What differentiates you from other candidates? 

Outside of my educational background and experience which is directly relevant to local government, what differentiates me from other candidates is my unique and diverse experiences, my resiliency, and my out of the box and innovative thinking. My spirit is naturally curious, questioning, innovative, entrepreneurial, and collaborative by nature. I seek to connect and bring people together, which is perhaps my greatest strength. I am often times the person that people will come to when they do not know an answer, because if I do not know the answer, I know where to or how to find the answer and I work to connect that person with the answer or the people that know the answer. I do not stand on knowing all of the answers, but I will stand on I know how to use my research skills, inquisitive nature, and quick thinking to be able to find the answers. 

Please summarize your campaign platform. 

Invest in Our Public Spaces and Parks  

• Create vibrant, accessible public spaces for everyone.  

• Expand and strengthen the Park Ambassador Program.  

• Bring master park plans to life with community input and engagement.  

Expand Women & Minority-Owned Businesses  

• Celebrate and grow Lakewood’s diverse business community.  

• Build strong partnerships to expand and strengthen opportunities.  

• Champion policies that help women- and minority-owned businesses thrive.  

Support for Vulnerable Community Members  

• Provide families with greater access to quality childcare.  

• Expand summer and wrap-around care programs.  

• Improve connections between service organizations, residents, and volunteers.  

Advance Safe and Accessible Transportation for All  

• Develop inclusive solutions to improve safety across all transportation modes.  

• Implement transportation solutions through education and community collaboration.  

• Craft legislation to prioritize safety, equity, and ease for every commuter.  

Keep Lakewood Livable  

• Ensure Lakewood has housing choices for all stages of life.  

• Strengthen relationships and opportunities between landlords, tenants, and homeowners.  

• Modernize codes and policies to protect affordability and quality of our housing stock. 

What past experiences indicate that you’ll succeed as a councilperson? 

My entrepreneurial spirit and mindset has driven me to be results oriented through grassroots organizing. A Lakewood City Councilperson should be strong in problem-solving, be a proven leader, have effective communication, be able to collaborate with others, and be creative. I have exhibited all of these, through previous efforts where I co-developed youth programming from the ground up, creating a curriculum and program, gaining financial support and growing the program to reach over 500+ youth, lending in getting the attention of Congressional Leaders in Washington willing to provide federal support of the program. I have successfully written and co-written grants securing greater than $3 million, to support a myriad of projects and activities at two institutions I was previously employed at in addition to my role as a research administrator where I have worked with researchers and project staff to submit local, state, federal, and foundation grants totaling millions in support in addition to ultimately having to work in the management and the compliance of these grants indicating successfully being able to navigate competing and varying guidelines, expectations, and rules and regulations. Here in Lakewood, I have developed and overseen the growth of Madison Court Community Coalition (MC3), representing an alternative response to a violent act, bringing together the community resulting in a now Madison Park Master Plan; My work on the Community Health Needs Assessment and my pushing for an action plan, resulting in the Community Health Action Team (CHAT); and lastly my service on Charter Review Commission and advocating for a better way to vote in Lakewood, and bringing together varying opinions, and finding common ground, to recommend Ranked Choice Voting in Lakewood for Lakewood City Council to bring to voters. I derive community driven solutions; embody creative problem solving; and exhibit decisive advocacy. 

Is there anything else voters should know about you? 

I have always been passionate about service, serving the public, and making a difference. I volunteered as a middle school and high school kid in the community, which extended into college. I have always been driven by the desire to serve. Not everyone is built to serve. Serving takes a lot of sacrifice, dedication, and commitment to the community. I believe in unifying the community, bringing people together, and that we truly have more in common than our differences, but we must celebrate differences as this is what makes us unique and brings value to conversations; allows for wisdom to be shared; and builds bridges.