FitzGerald and County Reform Found Lacking
By Roldo Bartimole
Anyone enjoying the near perfection of County Executive Ed FitzGerald? This guy takes the cake. Smooth as frosting. Goes down easy.
He wants all of the casino tax money due to the state to be spent in downtown Cleveland.
Why? He’s currying to the people who don’t give a shit about Cleveland outside of that small area. It’s pays allegiance to the corporate agenda here. And makes him friends among the bigwigs.
It’s the go-along to get-along standard of politics. It works for so many. Not the best either.
What’s so amazing about this non-debate debate about the casino cash is that it is being posed by our “reform” county government as a choice between downtown Cleveland and the inner suburbs, which are also hurting.
But it’s business as usual.
What the hell happened to the geography between these inner suburbs and downtown? You know, the place called Cleveland. Where most of our impoverished people live. They apparently have no needs. Couldn’t be more wrong.
FitzGerald told the County Common Council recently that all the county collection from the casino gambling should be spent downtown. Every penny.
He wants us to view downtown as a special area. He wants all the dough – some $8 to $13 million a year – to subsidize downtown needs. The hell with the rest of the city and other places. Cleveland, by the way, will already get an estimated $20 million of its own from the casino revenue.
FitzGerald wants this done pronto. Before anyone thinks, “This makes no sense.” Not a cent for the rest of the city, the inner suburbs or any other place. Pretty silly to me.
Can you say, “Public Square?” Is that our biggest community problem?
Wouldn’t it be nice if someone started covering the new county government with a skeptical eye? All we get is eyewash where FitzGerald is concerned.
If this is reform, I’ll take a bit of corruption.
FitzGerald is the same guy who has put aside $100 million for economic development. Another bad choice on priorities.
Does he remember he holds the Ameritrust white elephant at E. 9th Street? Or that he needs new County offices? Is this guy playing a shell game with us?
Downtown is already a massive sponge for county money.
County taxpayers pour money into downtown Cleveland before any casino cash. Latest figures show County sales tax money has scored $179.8 million (it will go to $800 million) into the Medical Mart and $91.4 million into Browns Stadium (continuing to 2027). That’s a bit of downtown money from Cuyahoga County, don’t you think? FitzGerald apparently doesn’t.
Last time I looked, both those facilities both were smack in downtown Cleveland. Our tax money literally gushes into downtown. Of course, there is no special fund for the poor, the homeless, those in the process of losing their homes in the rest of Cleveland.
Oh, did I mention that Cuyahoga County is still on the hook for tens of millions of dollar on Gateway. They haven’t moved that from downtown, have they?
Or did I say that I recently reported the $240 million paid in the first County sin tax for Gateway? Or the $116 million in County funds to pay off Gateway bonds and the $11.5 million and several other payments that go until 2023. All downtown facilities soaking up County funds. (All figures from the County Auditor, by the way. That’s part of FitzGerald’s administration. He should know this.)
Now tell me that FitzGerald really has thought about how the new money should be used best for this county. Tell me he actually has prioritized how this money should be spent.
Tell me that this isn’t just a crass political move by a crass politician.
Money, money, money.
Yes, Mr. FitzGerald, downtown Cleveland really needs some more County money. Same to all the County Council members. They aren’t supposed to be serving exclusively the Greater Cleveland Partnership and Joe Roman. It sure seems headed in that direction.
They seem to worry so much about downtown’s 2.89 square miles. They seem to worry so little about the other 73.89 square miles of Cleveland. Or the rest of the county.
I want to hear some screams from the 11 County Council members. Are they all politically mute?
Reform the county government, we were told. Remember? How quaint. So quickly it needs reform itself.
Someone needs to put a quick stop to this give-away to special interest downtown.
* * *
Think Pat O’Malley Should Be Ch. 3 Expert
You have to wonder about the decision-making of the news crew at WKYC-TV when investigator Tom Meyer is allowed to use one ex-con’s opinion to air about another’s desire to leave jail. Jimmy Dimora requested a jail leave for health purposes.
Wouldn’t the natural move be to contact be Dimora’s prosecutors for what they think? The Plain Dealer did it that way. So should have Ch. 3’s anchors responsible for what goes out over the airwaves.
Instead, Meyer used disgraced former County Auditor Pat O’Malley to comment on the Dimora request. Why not ask Frank Russo?
It’s not the first time Meyer has made O’Malley an expert. It should be the last time, however. It should be an embarrassment for WKYC-TV.
Pat O’Malley? This guy took an obscenity plea after an FBI probe. The charge said he “did knowingly use an interactive computer service for the carrying in interstate and foreign commerce of numerous abusive, lewd, lascivious and filthy pictures, writings and other matters of indecent character.”
O’Malley was being investigated by the FBI on a smelly billboard deal that he promoted when he was County Auditor.
You may be able to excuse Russ Mitchell and Kris Pickel, Ch. 3 news anchors, for not knowing who O’Malley is and why Meyer would be quoting him. Both are rather recent anchors from out of this area.
But this should be a warning to them that they require better oversight of their top investigative reporter, particularly where people like O’Malley are concerned.
For further reference Mitchell and Pickel can check this PD story:
Meyer shouldn’t consult O’Malley unless he’d like comments on the subject of pornography.
* * *
O’Brien Tries to Debase President Obama
You can always tell the deniers. Like the birthers.
They simply can’t say, President Barack Obama. They have to say only Obama. Can’t bring themselves to admit the black guy is President. It just sticks in their craw. It speaks volumes about them.
They don’t want this guy to be President. Can’t admit or believe we elected him. They stamp their feet.
That’s what struck me about another of Kevin O’Brien’s silly columns in the Plain Dealer. The title of the column last Thursday was “Obama misjudges the church.”
He mentions President Obama 12 times. Never uses the word President before the name. He then uses “he” or “his” another 10 times, escaping the need to use the word President. Twenty-two (22) times in all and O’Brien manages to escape calling the President President.
Kevin, he is The President. Get over it.
Doesn’t matter what O’Brien wrote. It’s what he didn’t write that marks him.
It’s an intentional slight. It’s meant to demean the President’s standing.
It’s so much of the right-wing Republican’s mentality today that bleeds into what has happened to us. It’s why even small advances – even in a crisis created by someone else called Republicans – cannot be achieved. It’s become the Republican mantra.
It is a destructive state of mind. A civil war that damages us all and debases the nation.
It’s time for people to send a sharp message to the Plain Dealer management and its editorial board – upon which O’Brien sits as deputy editorial editor. The message is that Northeast Ohio – overwhelmingly Democratic – won’t stand for another PD editorial debacle when it comes to naming the paper’s choice for President in 2012.
There are enough Democrats here to hurt the newspaper if it does the same silly editorial dance of either naming former Gov. Mitt Romney or staying neutral by not naming a choice come November.
It could mean the difference between who wins Ohio. This could mean the difference between who wins the Presidency.
So it’s time, I think, to show disdain for what the PD allows on its editorial page from O’Brien. Especially so because there is no one writing in opposition to his far right rhetoric.
It’s a voice we can well do without.
It’s worth a loud protest at the Plain Dealer to remind them who buys their newspaper. And who can avoid buying their newspaper.
Roldo Bartimole celebrates 50 years of news reporting this year. He published and wrote Point of View, a newsletter about Cleveland, for 32 years. He worked for the Plain Dealer and Wall Street Journal in the 1960s.He was a 2004 Cleveland Journalism Hall of Fame recipient and won the national Joe Callaway Award for Civic Courage in 1991. [Photo by Todd Bartimole.]
8 Responses to “ROLDO: FitzGerald and County Reform Found Lacking”
John McNea
I very much appreciate you covering this scandalous behavior on the part of that PUTZ, County Executive Ed FitzGerald. The man is just another tool to be used by the GOP in the takeover of Cleveland City Politics. BEWARE the long game-
Roldo Bartimole
Putz. That’s a good word.
peter r griesinger
Roldo:
What do you have on the ‘industrial logic’ of the great and loyal Cleveland non-‘beneficial corporation’ Eaton incorporating in Ireland to avoid $160 million in US taxes? Speak up man, I’m dying for your perspective on this deal. Like, what’s the porportional tax rate on $2.2 billion in earnings for those kind of savings? The letter from John Borries in the PD 5/27/12 nails it.
IndyCA35
I gotta admit, your research is impressive.
I think their vision for Cleveland is like that for many cities: A bunch of central tourist attractions with efficient transportation corridors leading from affluent suburbs to them. The part in between? Modern day Indian reservations, which are left alone unless the Indians stage uprisings. Heck, the cops don’t even come when called in many of those areas.
But as for O’Brien, his column is one reason I read the Plain Dealer. If Obama is the president, he’s the most leftist, divisive, and–frankly–unethical one we’ve had for a long time. I,too, call him Obama.
IndyCA35
Oh yeah, I almost forgot…
Just what ARE the other members of County council doing to allow all this money to be spent on just downtown? Heck, I don’t even know who my Council member is.
I thing Fitzgerald is running for Governor and all the other members are the cheerleaders.
It would be nice in a perfect world if the suburbs were allowed to secede and join other counties.
Roldo Bartimole
Peter: Eaton, of course, is revealing its brand of corporate responsibility. I think next week there’ll be a bit on Eaton.
Indy: I’m happy someone likes O’Brien. But I have to believe there are more who are unhappy with the Pee Dee’s right-wing twit.
frank z revy
i just wanted to say, how much i respect you, and i hope you never stop writing. we need so many more like you. thank you mr. bartimole.
Roldo Bartimole
Frank, thanks for the sentiment but I’ll have to stop
at some point. Everyone does.