The Observation Deck

Lynn-

I think the soccer game ran late.

Jeff's daughter is playing.

And she scored two goals as the Lakewood Varsity women shut out their "cross town" rival, St. Joe's 4-0.

Jeff

I would like to see the mayoral candidates comment on the subject of residency incentives/requirements for police and fire employees. There have been rumblings about comments made by police who live out of town that are none too flattering about our fair city. If an officer perceives the city I live in to be "a dump" I have to wonder what they think of us "dumpy" residents, if this is true. What are candidate's thoughts on this issue?

Questions for the Candidates:

1) Where do the candidates stand on Preservation Issues in the City of Lakewood?

2) Where do the candidates stand on pending Preservation Legislation?

3) What is your feeling about getting approval to become a Certified Local Government?


Rhonda Loje
President
Lakewood Historical Society

Q: "With a $50 million dolar sewer project hanging over our heads, and the head of the mayor during this next term, what are the realistic chances of cutting taxes and increasing security? Or for that matter any extreme movement on a visionary futture for Lakewood."

A: Although I believe there is a chance that the estimate you cite is high, given the history of the EPA historically granting extensions and exceptions to environmental regulations, I don't think it is practical to plan on any tax cuts. Even if the sewer project was ignored, there are so many other needs facing our city that I believe our current revenues will be needed for the foreseeable future.

But I also believe that there are opportunities for "visionary" improvements which don't necessarily require a major infusion of tax dollars. Regarding the lakefront, for instance, earlier this year I met with both the Greater Cleveland Port Authority and First Federal regarding financing lakefront projects in cooperation with our residents. By looking for creative financing and including the talents of residents, alot is possible which cannot just be defined by our annual budget.

Question for all three candidates:

Why do you want to be Mayor?

Answer:

I'll give the short version of my answer to this question:
1. I love this city.
2. My family's past and future are rooted in this city.
3. I recognize this city's strengths, but I also realize the fragility of what we have.
4. I believe that Lakewood is facing the greatest challenges it has ever faced, specifically in the areas of crime, municipal finances, housing, and economic development.
5. I have lost confidence in this administration's ability to meet these challenges.
6. I believe that as Mayor, I could tap into to the tremendous talent present in our residents, and finally address these challenges.

Wow. You're answers are clear and concise. Nice terse English.

Impressive.

Thanks

Question:

We have heard some of you speak about regionalism. What aspects of regionalism do you plan to incorporate and what areas will you never incorporate?

Will these decisions be made by you as Mayor?

by City Council?

by a vote of the Citizens?

Will you give us some concrete examples.

Thank you.


Answer:

I would not agree to any regionalism schemes which would surrender Lakewood's ability to choose our own destiny. For instance, I am not in favor of merging Lakewood with any surrounding cities. And having worked for the federal, state, and county governments, I dispute the truism that a larger government entity necessarily yields cost savings.

A more useful term than regionalism is the phrase "sharing of services." That should be done on a case by case basis, and should be a basic management principle. Two years ago, I suggested that every department director be required, on a yearly basis, to explore the sharing of any services their department provided. Everyone agreed it was a great idea, but you cannot legislate management practices, and it was never implemented.

A couple of areas I am interested in exploring:

Winterhurst. This already is a regional facility it terms of its clientele, but Lakewood is the only municipality which contributes to its operation and upkeep. I recently spoke with the new councilman for West Park, Marty Keane, and there is some interest in exploring sharing the costs for this facility. With capital costs for Winterhurst climbing, this could be a way to save and improve this Lakewood asset.

Health Care Costs. A recent Crain's article quoted personnel from the Lakewood Schools relating how they saved money on health care by joining a health care consortium of public school districts. Why not blaze a trail in this area for municipalities?

These decisions should be made collaboratively by the Mayor and other elected representatives, along with extensive consultation with the public. I don't anticipate any ballot initiatives would be required.

In conclusion, by intelligently sharing services, we can more effectively rebut the calls for subsuming Lakewood into a larger entity, which few of us would relish.

Thanks Ed,

The Regionalism question was mine and your approach makes great sense.

Winterhurst, where I spent many hours as my son played hockey is a great resource, but I agree it is also costly. This is a great facility to experiment with Sustainable energy ideas as one of the largest costs of this facility is energy. I know you work closely with some people who are very involved in sustainability - this may be something to consider in addition to sharing resources with other cities in this regard.

Hi,
Would you sign a pledge to not attempt to employ eminent domain on the homes or businesses of Lakewood property owners for economic development?

With the recent change in the State's definition of blight, virtually any home in Lakewood could be declared blighted. So, this is still a very relevant question to ask of those that, if elected, will have such a despotic power.

Candidate for Mayor Ryan Demro has signed this pledge.
I ask this question of Mayor Tom George.
I ask this question of Councilman Ed Fitzgerald.

I ask this question of all those running for Council.
Candidate Dan Shields has responded on this board that he would not make this pledge to the property owners of Lakewood. Candidate Bullock? Others?

Wait, I want to get this straight, did you men Dan Shield said he would not make this promise to Lakewood property owners. This would truly suprise me. I can't see him saying that.

Hi,
It's in the Kauffman Park thread on Page 7 See:
http://lakewoodobserver.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4586&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=90

Dan Shields

PostTue Sep 11, 2007 11:05 pm
Posts: 45
Location: Lakewood, Ohio

Mr. Farris -

Could we discuss eminent domain on another thread? Maybe you can title it 'Regarding Eminent Domain'...
This has been a great discussion on Lakewood parks and on any potential development at Kauffman Park. I would be gladly give you my thoughts on this pledge question, but the quick answer is I will not sign any pledge regarding any issue or for any group.

Dan Shields

Thanks.

I'm thinking that as a lawyer, he doesn't sign pledges across the board. His post before that said that he does not want to lose green space. So it might just be a matter of documents. (I'm out of my league on this one).

I'm bringing this up because Tom George, Dan Shields, Mike Summers and Diane Helbieg are the candidates in contested races that are not fear mongering and have been running positive, proactive campaigns.

Yay October 2!

Hi,
Ms. Kinsella, I guess "fear mongering" is dependent on who the action is being done to. For 2 to 2 and a half years we actively fought against Tom George while he voted again and again to attempted to take our property away from us so that he could give to another group of people who invested very little in Lakewood.

While they were not "official" Dan Shields and Mike Summers had no problem supporting the efforts to take my property and the property of others away from us regardless of the facts.

That was years ago and I hope lessons were learned. That is why I now ask this of everyone.

Now, we are discussing another development, I think you and everyone deserves to know - before they are given to power to serve us - if they think taking our property away from us is being a good councilperson.

I find the refusal to put any campaign promises in writing alarming. But some may prefer this type of a wild card position. I wonder how many times Mr. Shields takes someone's word on something without wanting it in writing. There is a difference between being legal council for others and serving as Councilperson for a ward and a City.

I can certainly see your point. I live in an apartment that would have been gone if that happened and the house I grew up in would have been gone also.

I may have been basing my conclusions on the Kaufman Park controversy.

I'm very concerned with candidates talking about the "rise" in crime that doesn't exist, the innuendo about crime and Section 8 recipients.

But I guess that we all have our core concerns and hopefully we will wind up with the best of the bunch!