John M. Hairston, Jr.

 

District Director for Congresswoman Marcia L Fudge, Ward 11

 

by Fesume Hailu, crew 2

 

 

“I believe god is first, family second, everything after that.” Have you ever thought about the most innovative person in Cleveland? No it’s not Josh Gordon or Kyrie Irving but, it’s John Hairiston Jr. He lives in Cleveland and helps Congresswoman Marcia L. Fudge and did many other things like work at NASA and being a teacher. He is the district director of both Summit and Cuyahoga counties. This helps him make Cleveland become a better place.

 

Mr. Hairiston has always thought respect was the most important part of learning, helping and caring. He was born in Johnson City, TN but at age 4 moved to Gary, WV.” I moved from a farming community to a mining community.” At the same time when he was 4 he traveled everywhere because his father was a moving preacher. Hairiston met many people and learned to respect people, no matter what skin color they were. So this lesson he learned about respect is what he uses as a district director for Summit and Cuyahoga counties.

 

Mr. Hairiston has worked as a teacher, 3 years at the board of elections, served as a chief of the communications officer for CMSD for 3 years, and worked at NASA. When he was younger he recalled he “wanted to be a funeral director, then wanted to be a lawyer, but I ultimately chose to be a teacher.” As you can tell his interests and talents are vast. When he worked for NASA he wanted to be “#1 in exhibits in science learning centers, and when Harvard chose the top exhibits he came in 18th out of 500!” Now as the district director he gets to give back to the city he cares about. So he plans to make Cleveland a better place.

 

John Hairiston Jr. is the district director of Summit and Cuyahoga counties. Hairiston believes it’s the best job that allows him to improve Greater Cleveland and its people. He said “My daddy and I talked about it all the time-it’s easy to serve and help others because God has put me in position of authority to help facilitate that. My mission is to help anyone I come in contact with.” So he has an open door policy. He will try to help everyone and not turn them down.

 

Hairiston is really trying to make this great city better. The minimum wage right now is $7.70 but he is trying to raise minimum wage to $10.10. He wants more voting rights- basically meaning he is working to expand hours of voting. This next one is important; he wants to make equal work equal pay which makes gender equality, finally! Next the Congresswoman and him want people to have more nutrition. 32% of adults are obese in Cleveland. This makes Ohio the 13th portliest state. They are also trying to help with student loans debt. 19% of adults in Cleveland have student loan debt. Mr. Hairiston also wants to help immigrants. In 2010 there were 390,000 immigrants but only 5% of that population was immigrants which dropped from 20% in 1930. They both want to find a pathway to citizenship-bring them out of the light so they can become acclimated and pay taxes. They are bringing more ideas to the table that could help immigrants. This shows Hairiston is pro- civil rights and works to improve economic equality and is trying to make Cleveland an ideal destination.

 

Mr. Hairiston is thinking about his future again.” Time for me to retire again.” He is looking for a good replacement. He knows the Congresswoman is very intelligent and he says you have to have everything ready for her but if you don’t you are going to have a hard time. “Marcia L. Fudge knows exactly what she wants, but don’t step out of line.”

 

Some advice he would give to Cleveland is to respect you. He believes that once you respect yourself, you can respect other people. Mr. Hairiston believes you can’t learn without respect, and don’t make excuses for non-performances. He also said do not lie to yourself.” The best way to get out of a hole is to stop digging in the hole.” His motto is: “I believe god is first, family second, everything else after that.”

 

Marcia is a democrat and is the representative for Ohio’s 11th congressional district and has served since 2008. The district she represents includes areas from Cleveland to Akron. She chairs the Black Caucus- it carries a lot of weight- able to influence a lot. Her work has put 2 billion in Cleveland’s economy but some people still don’t know her!

 

She appointed Hairiston to be the district director of both Summit and Cuyahoga counties on June 6, 2011. Marcia really thinks he is a really good worker and she respects him. “He is kind, and has a great sense of humor. He understands clearly that we are working for the people and not ourselves. He is capable and I trust him a great deal. He makes my life easier by taking care of issues and dealing with people that I often times do not have the opportunity to do as much as I’d like. He takes care of the issues while I’m in Washington. He runs the office here and he does a great job.”