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Crusade for reform is diversion
(by Dave Lange - July 09, 2009)
COUNTY LINE, BY DAVE LANGE
Crusade for reform is diversion
Even though the mail that arrives at my office and my house is addressed to Chagrin Falls, I don't work or live in Cuyahoga County. Chagrin Falls is wholly within Cuyahoga County. South Russell and Bainbridge are in Geauga County.
Therefore, I won't be signing any petitions to put an issue on the November ballot to reform Cuyahoga County government. And if the petition drive is successful, I won't be voting for or against it.
But Geauga County's economic and social dynamics are closely tied to its much bigger neighbor, and my job requires a devotion to communities in both counties.
Reform of county government may be a good thing, but it's no panacea. The troubles cited by those behind this reform effort, including politicians who live elsewhere, are not endemic to Cuyahoga County. The current corruption scandal that has been driving the petition campaign is irrelevant to the form of government. Although partisan politics are an enemy of good government, they have much to do with the reform movement.
The biggest government problem facing citizens of heavily urban counties like Cuyahoga is their wanton fragmentation into multitudinous political subdivisions, each wasting precious tax dollars to duplicate services. This crusade for reformation is a wimpish diversion from the much greater need for regionalism in and around Cuyahoga County.
Aside from the corruption investigation of county officials, including Commissioner Jimmy Dimora and Auditor Frank Russo, reform proponents' primary argument is that Cuyahoga County government is cumbersome and inefficient. With about 1.4 million residents, Cuyahoga is Ohio's largest county. With 13,000 residents, Vinton County is the smallest. Both have the same number of countywide elected officials. Why that is cumbersome for the largest county but not for 86 other counties is beyond the reformists' explanation. Summit County is the only one with reformed government.
Replacing three county commissioners with one elected county executive, who would appoint the majority of the currently elected countywide officers, does not eliminate the potential for corruption -- as many city mayors and state governors have proven. It does take power out of the hands of voters, who may or may not be competent, and centralizes it under the control of one individual, who may or may not be corruptible.
In no small measure, Cuyahoga County government reform is driven by the failure of the Republican Party in recent years to get its people elected to countywide office. With 11 county council members elected from geographic districts, there will be bipartisan representation. That doesn't make reform bad, but it does make it political.
If the reformers were to pursue regional government, they might actually achieve something. They could eliminate tiny fiefdoms like Woodmere, where citizens elect and pay the salaries of uncontested and unaccountable mayors. They could consolidate emergency services under one police commissioner and one fire commissioner, instead of scores of local bosses. Duplication of new multimillion-dollar police stations in communities like Chagrin Falls and Pepper Pike could be avoided. Full-service community centers could be open to all citizens, not just those with the best tax bases. Maybe the artificial boundaries between separate and unequal local school districts could be removed to give all children access to a good education.
But nobody wants to talk about real government reform, do they now?
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