Every few weeks, someone sends me an email or a text message asking for our newsroom to explore and champion another reform of Cuyahoga County government. They’re frustrated by what they feel is a failure of the government reform of nearly 12 years ago. You might recall the scandal and near-daily revelations about corruption in county government when we had an elected three-member county commission as well as an elected auditor, treasurer, recorder and sheriff. Under that structure, we ended up with a bunch of crooks. Voters replaced that form with an elected county executive and 11-member county council, with the idea that the council would set policy and budgets at a high-minded level, and a professional executive would run a streamlined, efficient government. Obviously, it has not worked out. The first executive, Ed FitzGerald, showed some early promise but set his sights on being governor two years into his term, leaving county voters in the lurch. Then came Armond Budish, whose time in office has been calamitous. Our newsroom has chronicled no end of incompetent decision-making and venality in his administration. He actually wrote out a revenge plan to reduce spending in the districts of county council members who challenged him and held a cabinet-level meeting to discuss the timing of implementing it. And let’s not forget how his idea of turning the jail into a profit center was followed by an alarming number of inmate deaths, which have cost county taxpayers millions of dollars in lawsuit settlements. So, nearly 12 years into the new government, the readers write. They ask whether our newsroom could lead a discussion on another round of reforms. Some want to elect the sheriff, given what has happened at the jail. They seem to forget about the criminal behavior of the late Gerald McFaul, who won election after election to remain sheriff for years. Some want to gut the council, which was designed to be check on the power of the county executive but has proven to be full of toadies who rubber stamp the executive’s ideas. Look no further than how the council dealt with the controversial nomination of Dave Wondolowski to the Port Authority. Members were against confirming him but buckled under political pressure and took the coward’s way out -- they decided not to vote on it at all. That means Wondolowski takes his seat without confirmation. Or, look at how ready the council is to squander $46 million on the Medical Mart/Global Center for Health Innovation. In a long list of bad ideas from the executive, this is one of the least popular, but the council seems incapable of listening to their constituents. Or, how about the slush funds the council is creating? They are taking $6 million each -- $66 million in total – of one-time stimulus dollars to spend as they wish in their districts. That’s despite a specific reference in the charter prohibiting individual council members from directing the spending of money. It’s not their job. One problem with council is hardly anyone knows who they are. Think about it. If you live in the county, do you know which council member represents you? That’s proof, some say, that county reform has failed. We’ve created a body that voters pay no attention to, and it regularly thwarts the will of the voters. Meanwhile, the county is down more than 300 social workers and is understaffed at the jail. You’d think the council members would be using the extra cash on hand to boost salaries and attract candidates. How many child abuse cases are not being investigated for lack of social workers to handle them? So, again, people ask for reform. Another complaint about the current form is that it makes the council too powerful and the county executive too weak. In the Cleveland government structure, the mayor has much more authority to get things done than the executive. But who would make the argument to give the executive more power while Budish is in office? The response I have for people who want us to champion reform is to ask them for a solution. How do they suggest changing the government to get dedicated public servants to seek leadership roles? Is it the form of the government that is failing, or is it the voters, who keep electing poor public servants? Is it the fault of a one-party rule that exists in Cuyahoga County? Is the county Democratic Party to blame for fielding such craven candidates? In our newsroom, we’ve done the watchdog work to point out the failures of those who hold office today, and our Editorial Board has repeatedly identified solutions for individual issues. When it comes to overhauling the government, though, if the issue is the people we elect, then the structure doesn’t much matter. Why reform it? Maybe the best idea for county government is to start recruiting people we know to be of good will to seek these offices instead of leaving it to the county Democratic party. Is there someone in your circle you are certain would do the right thing for the people? How about urging them to run? Thanks for reading. |