The Observation Deck

I was one of the lucky people that got Ed's talk about finishing Bobby Kennedy's walk to
the White House. A talk that leaves no doubt about the political ambition of the man. Ed
has gone from a failed run for Lakewood Schoolboard to now running for Governor.

But what does Ed run on? Failed Convention Center? Losing Sports Teams? Losing nearly half
of the county's population? As Bill Call so aptly put it, allowing others to play Sim City by
moving the gullible and easily convinced (read young people) from Cudell to Tremont, to
Detroit Shoreway to Gordon Square, to Waterlook Arts to... As every CDC and community
tries the same lame ass approach to redevelopment bring in artists who live for almost free
and then the neighborhood becomes cool, and coffee shops move in, and then development
grows out of the, the, the whatever.

But how do the dismal numbers coming out of Cleveland and the area help Ed? Why would
communities that got their act together years if not decades ago, want Ed to lead them?

Just curious.

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Thanks for posting.

I racked my head for all of ten minutes and couldn't think of one thing he has done that would indicate he could be governor other than him saying:

"I should be governor because I want to be governor."

There is nothing he has accomplished as County Executive Commissioner that would indicate to me he would be an effective governor. The thing he is most known for is his failed choice of Lt Governor.

In the interest of full disclosure, I am no fan of Kasich. I oppose most of his political positions and think he can be a bit of a bully. However, he at least has things he can stand on and say "this is what I believe and what I will fight for". I can disagree with them, but he has positions and does stand for something.

Additionally, Kasich does work hard for Ohio. Again, I may disagree with some of the ways he goes about it, but he cares about Ohio. To me, Fitzgerald would see this as one more step to become a national politician. It's not about Ohio, it's about him.

With many apologies to JFK, the governership to Fitzgerald seems to be:

Ask not what I can do for Ohio, but what Ohio can do for me.

Jim O'Bryan wrote:But what does Ed run on? Failed Convention Center? Losing Sports Teams? Losing nearly half of the county's population?

Ed Fitzgerald is a good man a normal human being and a competent manager. Finding any one of those attributes is hard let alone all three. He was an excellent Mayor who laid the foundation for the current success of the City of Lakewood.

But, but but.....

When he was elected as Executive he chose to embrace the policies that are driving the decline of Cuyahoga County.

1. Regionalism. In theory I guess it's ok. Median and Lorain and Lake and Summit Counties work with Cuyahoga County to attract business and investment while avoiding duplication in services. But that's not the way it really works.

In practice regionalization has come to mean two things. Dispersal of Cuyahoga County institutions to the surrounding counties and dispersal of Cuyahoga County's population
to the surrounding Counties. That policy does nothing to increase overall economic activity and does great damage to not only Cuyahoga County but the region as well.

Fitzgerald should have challenged the institutions. He should have challenged the Clinic, University Hospitals, RTA, Tri-C and others that are financing the Cuyahoga County's decline. Instead he embraced them and their policies.

2. Downtown Disneyland. I never really understood the Downtown Disneyland Development Model. If sports teams, theaters and museums were economic engines they wouldn't need subsidies to survive. Rather than challenge the subsidy model he embraced it. Does a chandelier on Euclid really fuel development?

3. Downtown centered development. When Fitzgerald said of the new County administration building that "Everyone agreed it should be downtown" I knew the game was over. None of the downtown development is bringing jobs or economic activity to the region let alone the City of Cleveland. They are just moving it around. The general idea is that if you convince people to move from Lakewood's Gold Coast to the taxpayer subsidized downtown apartments the region will benefit. Really?

4. The convention center as an economic engine? Really? No where in the world is that true and yet Fitzgerald is set to spend $500 million on a taxpayer subsidized hotel. What if we spent $500 million on ( fill in the blank).

Imagine if Fitzgerald challenged the institutions and demanded excellence and focused on Cuyahoga County.

Imagine if Fitzgerald challenged the downtown centered development model.

Imagine if Fitzgerald challenged the focus on taxpayer subsidies for downtowns crony capitalists.

Imagine if Fitzgerald challenged the government unions.

Imagine if Fitzgerald focused on real job creation.

Imagine if Fitzgerald ran for re-election as County Executive with a focus on job creation and renewal.

I repeat: Imagine if Fitzgerald challenged the institutions.

Imagine if he waited until 2018 to run for governor and ran on the renaissance of Cuyahoga County.

I guess I still haven't answered your question. What does Fitzgerald run one? I have no idea.

Unless Kasich suddenly decides to do some "traffic studies", it really doesn't matter what FitzGerald runs on.