At last count, there are six people running for Cuyahoga County Executive. Pepper Pike Mayor Bruce Akers says that’s not going to be an easy job. He’d like to see an elder statesman type: someone with a lot of clout and few future ambitions.
AKERS: That first county executive has got to be a person who is willing to make some very tough, hard political decisions that would pretty well guarantee that he or she would not get reelected.
Akers says the first executive will have to make choices about personnel, expenditures, maybe reorganize or shrink parts of government, and any of those could make some enemies. Ideally, he’d like to see a candidate commit to just serving one term.
Meanwhile, the group that’s mapping out the new government structure from top-to-bottom says it’s making progress. Speaking at the City Club of Cleveland, Randy McShepard, a member of the executive committee, indirectly addressed critics who say the transition team hasn’t been open and transparent enough. He cited the hundreds of community members involved in the process. One example, McShepard says, is a regular citizen named Ray, who is also active on a committee.
McSHEPARD: Those of you who think this isn’t a public process: Ray has pretty much videotaped every committee meeting he’s attended. And many he’s also audiotaped.
The American Civil Liberties Union recently sued the transition team, accusing it of violating the state’s sunshine laws.