The Observation Deck

The PD seems to have taken a dislike to Fitzgerald. After many months of fawning, they have now begun to link Fitzgerald to the corruption probe and are reporting on his campaign donation sources.

Today, they endorsed Dolan for county executive:

http://www.cleveland.com/opinion/index.ssf/2010/10/the_plain_dealer_endorses_matt_1.html

Along with the endorsement, they made several swipes at Fitzgerald near the end of the editorial.

I'm just curious what is behind the sudden change of attitude.

How is that surprising? The Plain Dealer always seems to lean to the right.

Frankly, I don't see the link to corruption. What I see is normal government and business dealings. We know there are some dirty dogs. It doesn't mean everybody is.

We're probably all supporting crooks everyday. Can we know about everybody we do business with, or the owners of the stores we shop at, or the corporations that make the products we buy, or guys that roof our houses, or the people that own the restaurants and clubs we visit, or the charities we donate to, or our brokers and bankers, or even our neighbors?

It would be nice to avoid all the dirt, but just walking the streets means some is going to get on you.

.

Grace

I have read this a couple of times, but like other endorsements I have read, they seem more
about justifying their pick, then actually chart a proper course for the region or more to my
personal concern Lakewood in the region.

If the big tie to corruption is "Winterhurst" then it is minor, and I have to believe the record.
The call was made, a suggestion made, and it was turned over to council to study and decide.

What I found was they had reasons why all seemed to fall short in that series of lists Ed look
pretty good.

What I do know, 1) is that Ed knows about Lakewood and lives here, 2) He has the ability to
put decisions ahead of political ambitions. Not that he does not or did not have political ambition
far from it. But I had the opportunity to speak with Ed at the beginning of his term and
remember all too well him saying to me, "No matter what I believe I am a one term mayor,
changes have to be made that will not make anyone happy, but they need to be done."

I see Dolan as being the professional hired by Lakewood Schools to help decide our future
that reported his in depth finds for "Lakeview." A nightmare for Lakewood.

Of course that would mean Ed is just another one of many that have me in their pocket, as
I get to hear. The list includes, council, the school board, LakewoodAlive, etc.

Yawwwwwwn

The whole County reform process has become a subterfuge for regionalizaiton.

The Plain Dealer asked the candidates for County Council to list their priorities for development. The area with the most votes was the Olmsted/Olmsted falls area. Really.

We all have our favorite picks for most important development idea but has anyone ever even heard of the Olmsted/Olmsted Falls area as Key To The Future of The Region?

Dale Miller, Lakewoods likely representative, chose Brook Park Road and NASA as his primary focus for development. Good grief.

Ultimately, the County Council and the County Executive will be herded into the The Regionalization Coral. Since it will be too hard to:

actually tame the bureaucracy
challenge the non profits
oppose the Cleveland + mantra
reverse State and Federal Policy that damages cities
fight the government unions
and give backbone to politicians who are afraid of the Port Authority

They will pick the easy path of Regionalization. I can hear it know:

The real problem is:

too much democracy
too many cities
too many fire departments
too many police departments
too many library systems
too many sewer departments
too many water departements
too many developments in the first suburbs

And: Not enough government planning. I mean, planning worked just fine for the old Soviet Union. Why not a series of five year plans for Cuyahoga County? I can hear it know: In five years the Counties urban farms will produce 6,000 ton of lettuce, 97.6% of students will be above average and business will create 34,397 new jobs funded in part by taxes on all of those old jobs!!

Who better to implement those plans than:

One really large bureaucracy.

Of course if larger is better why stop with County government? Why not just one State wide fire department? police department? school system?

Bigger is not better or more efficient if you just impose the current governing template over a wider area but that is exactly what they will do.

Three quick questions:

1. Does anyone feel that The PD endorses folks who appeal to the majority of those who buy the paper? (Voters in the suburbs – especially the second and third rings – were much more in support of the reform issue than in Cleveland and the first ring suburbs.)

2. How can Mayor Fitzgerald gain this endorsement when he was active against the reform issue supported by 70% of Cuyahoga County voters overall and upwards of 80% in the second and third ring suburbs?

3. Will The PD’s endorsement have any impact?

David Anderson wrote:1. Does anyone feel that The PD endorses folks who appeal to the majority of those who buy the paper?

Wait a minute! Are you actually suggesting that there are people who still BUY the Plain Dealer? I thought everyone just picked it out of their bushes and from off the tree lawn like we do every Sunday.

I'll agree with Bret (on this one) and say if it was not for Grace I would not know who the PD was endorsing. And that is not to say I am an uneducated voter. The PD is just irrelevant to my daily life.

Jim DeVito said "

The PD is just irrelevant to my daily life

I remember in a similarly important race for Mayor of Cleveland when the PD endorsement of Dennis Kucinich was credited as the tipping point that put him over the edge to a win.

Now, I view this endorsement of the PD for Dolan as merely a desperate tactical move to try and maintain some relevance to its remaining readership (i.e. those who collect the trash from the curb).

Stan Austin

By the way--- is Ken Lanci in an alternative universe?

Stan Austin wrote:By the way--- is Ken Lanci in an alternative universe?

You have to vote for ken lanci, that guy has trailors full of jobs and progress all over the place!