We Need a Mindset Change
Northeast Ohio Working and Benefiting Together
BY HUDSON MAYOR WILLIAM A. CURRIN
CHAIRMAN, NORTHEAST OHIO MAYORS & CITY MANAGERS ASSOCIATION
The initiative of the Northeast Ohio Mayors & City Managers Association is to develop a regional, collaborative economic development system based on improved regional planning and new growth revenue sharing. This is an all-out effort to accelerate economic growth in Northeast Ohio so that all of the region’s communities can share in and benefit from that growth. In spring 2006, our association set a goal of understanding and pursuing an improved regional approach to solving our region’s economic problems. The study our association has been working on since the beginning of 2007 will come to a conclusion in mid-May. The “go-it-alone and winner-take-all” mentality in pursuance of economic development has not worked and needs to be changed. For the most part, we need to change our overall mindset to one of working and benefiting together. I have written a number of articles elaborating on that subject here in the Municipal Leader Magazine (www.NeoMunicipalLeader.com).
Some of these stories include:
“NEO Mayors & City Managers” – Spring ’06 Issue
“Stop Dialoguing, Start Acting” – Summer ’06 Issue
“Seeking Common Ground” – Fall ’06 Issue
“Where Do We Go From Here” – Winter ’07 Issue
“Why Cheerleading Counts” – Spring ’07 Issue
“Lookout, Here Come the Critics… We Had Better Listen Carefully” – Summer ’07 Issue
“The Challenge Mayoral Leadership, Mayors as Regional Champions” – Fall ’07 Issue
“What Brings Us Together?” – Winter ’08 Issue
All of these articles, in one way or another, discussed and promoted how we should coordinate our efforts to improve and enhance job creation in Northeast Ohio. Every survey from the last few years, especially during our political season, indicates that the number one issue on the minds of Northeast Ohio residents is job creation. In addition, all indicators tell us that Northeast Ohio is falling further and further behind the nation in job creation and economic growth. However, there have been some bright spots. Some of these include: the announcement to keep and expand the Goodyear headquarters in Akron; the state of Ohio receiving the Governor’s Cup award from “Site Selection Magazine” for leading the nation in capital investment projects; and the announcement that a Chicago developer has agreed to invest $20 million to operate the new Cleveland Medical Mart. Those are all needed projects to save and/or create jobs, but we can do better with a regional economic development program for Northeast Ohio.
A recent letter to the editor from Dr. Luis M. Proenza, president of the University of Akron, and Brad Whitehead, president of the Fund for Our Economic Future, entitled “Regionalism Expands Economic Potential” speaks volumes. The accompanying nighttime satellite image graphic “reveals our NEO region as a single, luminous whole that obliterates the artificial patchwork of political, geographical and social boundaries of times past. If ever a picture is worth a thousand words, this is it!” (Crain’s Cleveland Business, Vol. 29, no. 10, March 10 – 16, 2008, pp. 10) This letter is a must-read for all who are interested, concerned and desirous of truly changing the way we think about and approach economic development. This is why the NEOM&CMA study and subsequent recommendations, due out mid-May 2008, will be so important. The study’s objective is to set our path forward in creating and implementing a Northeast Ohio regional economic development program.
So, stay tuned and continue to challenge yourself and others to embrace regional thinking and policies that support regional efforts and programs. We need to understand the wonderful opportunity we have to build upon our collective strengths and develop a better atmosphere for our businesses to expand, to start and develop or to become more sustainable by working together. Several high-growth regions around the country have used regional planning and revenue sharing to accelerate economic growth. We know that under the present system in Northeast Ohio, our economy is growing slower than most of the nation, and every year more of our individual communities are in dire economic straights. By taking steps to accelerate growth and enabling all communities to benefit from that growth, Northeast Ohio can build a brighter future. Our time has come!
Let each and every one of us support the NEOM&CMA’s effort to develop a comprehensive, collaborative, non-partisan and sustainable regional economic development program for all of Northeast Ohio, and always keep in mind that …
Northeast Ohio is The HEART
of the Quality of Life Belt.
“Share the Vision. Become Part of the Solution.”
To learn more about joining the NEOM&CMA or about its efforts throughout the region, please contact Mayor William A. Currin via e-mail at WACurrin@Hudson.OH.US or call him at 330.342.1795. NEO
