Meet Cuyahoga County Council Pres. Pernel Jones! The Unlikely Superhero

If you're a fan of comics, then you'll definitely want to watch this interview! Council President Purnell Jones shares his love of comics with us, talks about his career in politics, and shares his views on Cuyahoga County. This is a great interview for comic book fans and anyone interested in politics. 40,000 comic books. Oh, hold on. Wait a minute. Did you say you got 40,000 comic books, man? Jesus, somewhere around there. What did you, where, how, you got 'em all? Chron, of like. They are, they're bagged and boarded. Mm-hmm. . Okay. Keep them protected. Mm-hmm. . And they're in boxes like drawers, like file cabinets, uhhuh, but hard cardboard boxes that are drawer shaped. Okay. And you stack them up five at a time. Mm-hmm. . And so you have a file cabinet, so it looks like a file cabinet and you line up along the wall. How long have you been collecting comics? I have been collecting comics since I. Five years old. Wow. It started off with a TV show. Mm-hmm. , if you remember back for those old enough, there was a super friends cartoon. Oh yeah. Right, right, right. Well, one day we were driving, mom was driving us by like a seven 11 or something and we went into the store and there was this turn style, of comic books. Mm-hmm. . And I saw Superfriends comic book, just like the TV show. Mm-hmm. . I said, oh, I want that. And mom bought it for me. And, you know, I'm five, and I barely know how to read. Mm-hmm. , she read it to me when I was at. Okay. That was my first comic book. I loved it. Mm-hmm. , I just loved everything about comic books. Mm-hmm. , and from then on I was buying them. I saved them. I kept everyone I ever had. I still have that one. It's probably worth about $3,, but it's a sentimental value to it of all the ones I have. Mm-hmm. And I've just been reading them ever since. How big have you ever got your collection too? Oh man, I probably got it, I have 40,000 comic books. Oh, hold on. Wait a minute. Superman was my favorite character. Well, I am first among equals Okay. Of the 11 of us. Mm-hmm. I lead our council the legislative branch of county government. Mm-hmm. in like every seventh grade. You know, history, government class, they teach you three branches of government. Mm-hmm. , the executive, legislative and judicial branches. I lead the legislative branch of county government. Mm-hmm. , we make the laws, and we write the laws for our governmental jurisdiction. Mm-hmm. we handle the budget. The finances of the county. That is our mandate. Okay. And outta you guys, how many county council members are there? What falls under health and human services? Health and human services mean you name a vulnerable population within this county. Mm-hmm. , it's our job to do something to help them with that, that fragile nature. Vulnerable populations aren't the poor. Mm-hmm. , we oversee all and facilitate cash assistance. Okay. We do that. People struggling with drugs and alcohol. Mm-hmm. , we deliver and do dollars to help with those concerns. Those incarcerated. Mm-hmm. . Okay. We have the, oversee the county jail. Mm-hmm. , but seniors. Seniors, it's our job to help them to continue to live independently. But we also have the responsibility of removing individuals from homes, if age has become to a point where they cannot live independently. So what do you mean by that? Okay. There comes a time for every person as they age when they're just not able. To take care of themselves. Okay. Time does that. You may have family and they bring you into the home. That's a good thing. If your children or those that love you are able to keep you in the home. But if you are living independently and the time comes and there is no other recourse, it's our job to help, you with that transition. Get services and things that can help you. Provide services, and take care of yourself first. Help you stay independent. They stay independent.