When Potholes Cost More Than Tires: How Lorain’s Neglect Hurt Rebecca Cain — and All of Us
Rebecca Cain’s crash shows what happens when Lorain neglects our streets — and taxpayers pay the price.
By Aaron Knapp, Lorain City Politics Unplugged
July 16, 2025
Tomorrow morning, the Board of Control will rubber-stamp a $49,911 payout in a case the City of Lorain hopes you’ll never hear about. It’s the final piece of a $150,000 settlement for Rebecca Cain — a local woman who suffered a fractured ankle and months of surgery and rehab after her motorcycle hit a gaping pothole on Lowell Avenue.
The city had been notified multiple times about the hazard. They knew it was there. They didn’t fix it. The result? A young woman’s life turned upside down — and taxpayers stuck with the bill.
This is exactly what happens when leadership puts potholes dead last on the priority list.
A Pattern of Neglect, Paid in Blood and Dollars
The Cain settlement didn’t pop up out of nowhere. Gallagher Bassett, the city’s own insurance adjuster, made it plain: Lorain was 100% liable. Why? Because multiple people reported that same pothole before Rebecca’s crash. The city did nothing — until her bones were broken and her medical bills reached nearly $170,000.
And here we are now: instead of fixing the street in 2023, we’re cutting a check in 2025.
Some will shrug: “Well, that’s what insurance is for.” But read the fine print. The city’s portion — $49,911 — comes directly out of our budget. That’s money that could have repaired not just one pothole on Lowell Avenue, but dozens of them across the 6th Ward and beyond.
Infrastructure or Payroll? Lorain’s Backward Priorities
If you’re wondering why potholes like the one that wrecked Rebecca Cain’s life linger for months, look at where Lorain’s money goes.
We’ve become a city that always finds money for inflated salaries, assistant safety directors, and Human Resource Directors with high school diplomas (Instead of the Required BA in HR), and friends in newly invented roles. But when it comes to basic, literal groundwork — safe streets, passable alleys, working sewers — suddenly the vault is empty.
This isn’t an accident. It’s a choice. It’s what happens when leadership treats your tax dollars like a personal favor fund, while the rest of us rattle our teeth and wreck our cars every spring.
Why I’m Running — and Why I Won’t Let It Slide
If you’ve followed Lorain City Politics Unplugged, you know I’ve been banging this drum for years: infrastructure is the backbone of any city that wants to grow and thrive.
You can’t attract new businesses or keep families here if our streets look like obstacle courses and we’re paying out injury settlements instead of fixing known hazards. You can’t protect working people when the city budget bloats on administrative fluff instead of frontline repairs.
I’m not running for city council because I want a photo op or a ceremonial title. I’m running because I’m tired of watching people like Rebecca Cain get hurt because of someone else’s laziness. I’m tired of watching us shell out cash we didn’t have to spend.
And I’m tired of hearing “We don’t have the money” when they always seem to have it for six-figure salaries, special assistants, and cronies with padded titles.
Lorain’s Choice: Potholes or Payoffs
We can’t keep pretending this is normal. If Lorain doesn’t get serious about infrastructure, the next pothole settlement will be bigger — or worse, someone won’t just break an ankle, they’ll lose their life.
It’s time for real accountability, real priorities, and real investment in the basics that every neighborhood deserves.
Rebecca Cain’s story shouldn’t be quietly buried in a Board of Control meeting. It should be the moment we ask ourselves: Who’s really paying for all this neglect?
The answer is simple: We are. And we deserve better.
Disclaimer
The views expressed in this publication are solely my personal opinions as a private citizen, journalist, and candidate for Lorain City Council Ward 6. All statements are based on publicly available records, credible reports, and my own investigation and interpretation of events. Nothing herein should be construed as legal advice, and all individuals mentioned are presumed innocent of any wrongdoing not proven in a court of law. This article is provided for informational and editorial purposes only.
Paid for by Aaron Knapp, Candidate for Lorain City Council Ward 6. This statement is not an official communication of the City of Lorain or any other public office.