by Officer Jim Carbone served the North Olmsted Community for nearly 30 years, working on the North Olmsted Police force in the High School, on the streets and most notably, running North Olmsted Safety Town for over two decades. His name is synonymous with safety in North Olmsted and still beloved here today after retirement. We caught up with him at J-Bella’s in Strongsville tonight as he began his campaign for Re-Election as Strongsville Councilman at Large.
Such luminaries at the event included Kee On Sports favorite, former Cleveland Brown and Head Strongsville Football Coach Jason Trusnik. It was a packed house on a beautiful night in Northeast Ohio as Carbone looks to continue what has been a tremendous stretch for him with City Council. Carbone won the Ward Three Councilman election in November 2012 and was then elected to Councilman-at-Large in 2018.
When I refer to Jim Carbone, I typically say Officer Carbone, not only out of habit, but out of respect. He started as a police officer in 1994 as a Deputy Sheriff in the Cuyahoga County’s Sheriffs Department. Then, in 1998 when I first met Jim Carbone, he started working with the City of North Olmsted in their Police Department where he remained until retiring in late 2023.
From there, he returned to the Cuyahoga County’s Sheriffs Department to be the special assistant to the sheriff. He has served all roles proudly and impactfully as a man of honor and respect. He is the perfect fit for city council.
He served and ran North Olmsted Safety Town for two plus decades and touched many lives along the way, including my own two daughters Maggie and Madelyn, now 8 and 11 years old. They loved Officer Carbone. I knew two minutes after watching him talk about the children and their safety just how passionate and genuine the man truly was, a rare trait in today’s day and age.
Our beat reporter Maggie McKee caught up with Carbone at the event and had a few words with him. McKee asked Carbone about his experience molding the youth of tomorrow at Safety Town, “It’s an incredible memory and feeling because I see kids come though safety town, and a lot of times I knew their mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters. To see the families grow throughout the years was a huge blessing for me. “, said Carbone.
McKee went on to ask Carbone what encouraged him to get involved with City Council originally, “I went to all 12 years of school in Strongsville City Schools and always wanted to be a part of the community. My Mom and Dad moved to Strongsville from two Italian Neighborhoods in Cleveland before coming here. That pride of being here that we saw from my parents rubbed off on myself and siblings as we grew up. We loved it here and wanted to be a part of it for life”, said Carbone.”
He went to explain what he wants to achieve if elected for another term with City Council, “Our number one priority is to keep a safe city, so we have to support our safety sources. We also want to have a good balance sheet and make good financial fiscal decisions to assure we continue to have our Triple A Bond Reading, which we are one of only about a dozen cities in the State of Ohio that even that, so we want to continue that.
Also, we want to make some smart choices with redevelopment projects such as some of the vacancies at the mall that come up often in conversation. Lastly, I want to continue to be a good voice for the community. That means I have to listen to the community, their wants and needs and I always intend to make their Vision my Mission, and that will continue over the next four years. “
I will close this story the same way we began it, with paying respect to one of the most courageous, genuine, kindhearted, compassionate and driven human beings I have ever met. When Jim Carbone says, “Your Vision is my Mission”, it is not just a slogan, it is a way of life, and he means it. His blue-collar Italian roots speak volumes about his character and the man he has become.
We were blessed in North Olmsted to have him as one of ours for nearly 30 years of service, best of luck to Officer Carbone!
