Budish said his administration will use taxpayers' money responsibly while investing in economic development and anti-poverty programs.
He pledged to help businesses expand and to support startups. That included, he said, capitalizing on Lake Erie to attract manufacturers who need water for production, and on the region's broadband network to assist healthcare companies looking for fast connections.
Budish acknowledged wide differences in income and quality of life in the county.
"We are rich and, yes, we are also poor," he said. "We have magnificent pockets of natural beauty, and unconscionable pockets of poverty and foreclosure-devastated neighborhoods. Yet our fortunes are linked. Whether we know our neighbors or not, our lived are connected."
He said his administration will "declare all-out war" on high infant mortality rates in some neighborhoods, and boost job opportunities for people returning from prison. And Budish said he would expand education and job training programs for low-income people seeking assistance from the county.
"Put it this way," he said. "If you come into the system because you're having problems, our goal will be that you will leave the system with training, a job and a real future."
