Local Leaders React to bin Laden's death

Cleveland Heights Patch asked leaders in Cleveland Heights to respond to the news from President Barack Obama that U.S. forces killed Osama bin Laden. Here's what they said. 

Cleveland Heights Mayor Ed Kelley: 

"I was fortunate to be watching TV with three of my four sons and my wife.  We got to watch it all together. The bottom line is that it needed to happen, I’m glad it happened, and hopefully it will help us move toward more peace in the world we live in. Bin Laden had to pay for his sins.

"It’s a great day to be an American, and I think in the end this will help us continue to be a superpower around the globe. 

"There may be some bumps in the road in the next few weeks and months, but in the end it’s progress ... It also gives President Obama more credibility as a leader around the world." 

Cleveland Heights City Council Member Bonita Caplan: 

"It’s great they got him, but the cost was huge. Probably tens of thousands if not more got killed doing this. We’ve been looking for him for how many decades through how many presidents? I’m glad it’s over, but whether it will make any difference, who knows. The personal and financial cost of these wars is difficult to balance with whatever successes there are."

Cleveland Heights-University Heights School District Superintendent Douglas Heuer:

“Hopefully this will bring a feeling of closure and relief to the families who have suffered as a result of the attacks on this country on Sept. 11, 2001, and to those who lost life and limb as a result on the battlefield.”  

Cleveland Heights City Council Member Cheryl Stephens: 

"The loss of someone who creates anger and nurtures anger is a good thing for the world. He may have started his life somewhere else and seen some of the wrong things that our country has done, but by and large Americans are very good people.  The sustained anger that these people use to wreak havoc on our lives is not what we want for this country or any country.

"I’m hoping with the loss of his leadership that things get toned down, and we have a way to approach things in a much more measured and compromising way."