Q&A: Cleveland's Mayor Frank Jackson
Invested in Northeast Ohio? Absolutely! Cleveland Mayor Frank G. Jackson grew up in Cleveland neighborhoods, attended public school in Cleveland, received his associate’s degree from Cuyahoga Community College, and his bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, and law degree from Cleveland State University.
He began his legal career as an assistant prosecutor for the city, and in 1989, Jackson became a Cleveland councilman representing Ward 5. In 2002, he was elected city council president, and he became the fifty-sixth mayor of Cleveland in January 2006.
He has clearly and publicly outlined his goals as mayor for the city, and the region holds a prominent place in those goals. Mayor Jackson believes that Northeast Ohio communities must work together to build a stronger region together. His overarching goal as mayor is “to make Cleveland a great city – a city of choice and our region a region of choice; and in doing so, improve the lives of the least of us.”
Northeast Ohio Municipal Leader is pleased to welcome Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson to our Questions Forum. Here, the mayor answers questions from six of our local leaders about topics important to our entire region.
Matt Zone
Cleveland City Council and
Public Utility Committee
Q: Recently, Cleveland City Council passed a new rate structure for the Cleveland Water Division. A key feature of that legislation provided for community-to-community economic development agreements, which ultimately have the most meaningful, long-term consequences for the entire region. How will agreements like this help advance a stronger regional economy?
A: This is the first regional tax sharing agreement of this magnitude in the United States and a major accomplishment for the first year of my administration; I am pleased City Council joined me in this important effort. This agreement allows municipalities that sign onto our Water Service Agreements to also enter into Joint Economic Development Agreements that include tax sharing terms. These agreements mean that for the first time, the region is working together to compete nationally and globally, as opposed to working against one another, to attract businesses. This helps to create a sound fiscal practice in our city and our neighboring communities.
In exchange, Cleveland will provide substantial financial support through our capital improvements, which helps the suburban communities that do not have the wherewithal to take on the expensive task of owning the underground infrastructure.
Jeanne Sternad, Ph.D.
City of Garfield Heights
Superintendent of Schools
Q: As a superintendent in a first ring suburb, I often think about how we can collaborate with the Cleveland Municipal School district to the benefit of all of our students. You have spoken often about regionalization and mentioned school district collaboration in your State of the City address. What is your vision for this collaboration?
A: It is imperative that we embrace a new paradigm for public education.
As I have said many times before, access to a high quality education is the gateway to economic prosperity. It is critical that we provide high-quality educational opportunities for students that lead to the development of a workforce that maintains the advanced skills required to compete in a global economy.
As such, we are working together with various stakeholders as part of an Educational Cooperative. The goals of the Cooperative are:
FUNDING/COSTS –
• Provide each school district high-quality and cost-effective services, and resources through the pooling and broadening of reserves;
• Share resources, information and services in areas such as educational technology and cooperative purchasing, distance learning, fuel, textbooks, health care and more; and
• Provide opportunities for continuous dialogue and problem-solving among educators relative to issues affecting all schools.
ACADEMICS –
• Develop a high- quality, cognitively demanding curriculum;
• Develop effective professional development opportunities for teachers that support the development of content and pedagogical knowledge;
• Develop effective professional development opportunities that support the development of leadership capacity for principals and central office administrators; and
• Develop a seamless and productive relationship across the educational continuum that includes early childhood, K-12 and higher education institutions
BENEFITS of an EDUCATIONAL COOPERATIVE –
• Reduce costs and operate under maximum financial conditions, thereby allowing the dollars saved to be directed to the classroom;
• Address issues that pose as barriers relative to improving teaching and learning; and
• Develop an educated workforce that is able to contribute to the development of the region.
Steven C. LaTourette
Representative for Ohio’s
14th District
Q: There is a lot of discussion about the future of civil aviation in our region. The proposed expansion at Cuyahoga County Airport and the Lake County Commissioners’ desire to preserve Lost Nation Airport are two examples. What are your plans for Burke Lakefront Airport?
A: Plans for Burke Lakefront Airport (BKL) depend on the outcome of the federally-approved airport master planning effort.
The BKL Master Plan will address two very complex questions related to the future of
the airport:
1. Does BKL remain open or will it be decommissioned?
2. If it remains open, what aviation-related and non-aviation related development is best for property around BKL?
The master plan will be completed and presented to the FAA for approval in October 2007 and will be shared with the community shortly thereafter.
Eugene Miller
Representative for Ohio’s
10th District
Q: Mayor Jackson, in your State of the City address earlier this year, you mentioned that by the end of 2007 “…the possibilities for Burke Lakefront Airport will be clear which will allow us to move forward with a complete lakefront plan and identify development opportunities.”
A comprehensive lakefront plan has been on the drawing board for many years. During your run for mayor you discussed mixed use development that included both residential and commercial properties. What are your long-term and short-term plans for development of the City land along Lake Erie, and how do you plan on getting community buy in to this vision?
A: This question appears to be broader than Burke Lakefront Airport. In addition to my response to the previous question, we have had various community meetings, surveys and input from stakeholders regarding our Waterfront District Plan and our Connecting Cleveland 2020 Citywide Plan. Such engagement with the community is critical for sharing a vision and bringing that vision to fruition.
Adam Wasserman
President/CEO, Cleveland-Cuyahoga County. Port Authority
Q: Greater Cleveland recognizes its unique advantage as a waterfront and port city and how those valuable assets can help bring transformational change to the community. The Port Authority is prepared to embrace new strategies to accelerate the pace of progress. How can the Port Authority help you in achieving your goals of making Cleveland a truly progressive twenty-first century city and making the area more marketable to companies looking to relocate or do business in the region?
A: The freshwater Port of Cleveland is, in itself, part of the infrastructure assets of this region—and understanding the near- and long-term future of Great Lakes shipping in a global economy is essential.
What are the implications for Northeast Ohio of over-crowded American coastal seaports? Will the flow of goods to NEO slow or can the Port of Cleveland serve as an alternate point for shipments? What are the needs for our trans-shipment infrastructure—water to rail and rail to highway?
These are the kind of long-range competitiveness issues facing the region that the Port can take the lead on, as well as its more usual role in financing development projects.
With respect to financing, the Port can help by making projects that strengthen the economic base a priority—those business activities which bring in money from outside the region—such as manufacturing and the sale of services beyond Northeast Ohio.
We only have so much economic development capital. It should be used for the highest economic return to the region—that is, growing our economic base.
William A. Currin
Mayor of Hudson and
Chairman of NEOMCMA
Q: One of the six goals of the Northeast Ohio Mayors and City Managers Association is to bring better “value” to the membership with an improved understanding of the concept of regionalization through shared programs, shared services and shared benefits. In December 2006, the Association conducted a leadership forum that focused on a “regional pursuit of economic development.” As a result of that most successful forum, the association challenged itself to develop a comprehensive, collaborative, non-partisan, sustainable regional economic development program for “ALL” of Northeast Ohio. As the mayor of the largest city in Northeast Ohio, what role will you play in the development, promotion and implementation of such a plan? How do you see the entire region, not just Cleveland, benefiting from such a plan?
A: Longstanding research has shown the fate of a region does only as well as the fate of its central city. Current research by the joint marketing campaign, Cleveland+, revealed one of the region’s strongest assets was its “brand awareness” of Cleveland’s name.
There are other assets too in the region by which businesses make location decisions. One role that Cleveland City government can play is to identify those assets throughout the region and then jointly promote them to businesses from outside our regional economy.
Assets businesses need include land, infrastructure, labor and capital. Certain businesses need certain mixes of these factors. For some, an international airport is essential, for most, an effective interstate system, or rail. Skilled workers are critical for many – primarily in advanced manufacturing and technology.
We need to do in the region something similar to what I did with Cleveland’s five-year infrastructure plan – and we can share our approach to begin a larger discussion within the region about its infrastructure, what ought to be resulting state and federal priorities and timelines on which we all agree. Then, we can jointly approach those funding sources with coordinated and prioritized infrastructure requests to obtain the best and most competitive result on behalf of the region.
