(Convo....right Frank)
Sam Allard penned the Worst of Cleveland editorial on Cleveland City Council:
https://www.clevescene.com/cleveland/the-worst-of-cleveland-cleveland-city-council/Content?oid=30361817 [2]
Outsiders are kept at bay by the strategic appointment of successors, and the public is kept at bay by "emergency" legislating, in which ordinances are passed on an accelerated schedule with no public comment and limited review.
I commend him for recognizing what many residents have already known for years. But, he needs to expand his reporting to the amount of money each council person controls and then provide a full accounting of that mother lode controlled by Kelley. Kelley is a stand out, because he controls the Council Leadership Fund PAC, set up by Forest City during the Mike White era. [3]
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PACs, or political action committees, account for nearly one-third of the money raised by a newly formed "Council Leadership Fund," which has collected $135,563 to retain a majority of council members who face re-election this year, according to documents filed yesterday with the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections.
Political action committees representing area law firms, businesses and developers, many of which represent interests that do business with the city, contributed $42,800 to the fund.
The fund is controlled by Council President Jay Westbrook. Mayor Michael R. White and businessman Sam Miller have pledged to help Westbrook raise $300,000
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Because of this fund - all council persons line up and vote in unity with the president of Cleveland City Council. That council person also gets a tax paid bodyguard/chauffeur and a special assistant who works closely with the Clerk of City Council - Pat Britt. http://www.clevelandcitycouncil.org/about-city-council/staff [4]
Steven Rys
Special Assistant to Council
(216) 664-3877
srys [at] clevelandcitycouncil [dot] org
Council also has legal counsel:
Jennifer Heinert O'Leary** Special Counsel (216) 664-6436 jheinertoleary [at] clevelandcitycouncil [dot] org |
Rachel Nigro Scalish Special Counsel (216) 664-6437 rscalish [at] clevelandcitycouncil [dot] org |
**YES - this is Housing Court Judge Ron O'Leary's wife. Cleveland Housing Court was created by Jim Rokakis as his former website for treasurer attests:
http://web.archive.org/web/20110205012848/http://www.rokakis.com/jim.html [5]
Jim worked tirelessly to improve the region and is known for his leadership that helped redevelop Cleveland’s downtown. He was instrumental in key projects like the Gateway Sports Complex (home to the Cleveland Indians and Cleveland Cavaliers) and crafted the compromise that allowed construction of the internationally known Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. Jim created the City’s Gun Buy-Back Program, wrote the Chop-Shop Law that reduced car thefts, and authored the In-Door Clean Air Act. He was also responsible for the creation of Cleveland’s Housing Court. Jim’s commitment was widely recognized by his peers and he was appointed Chairman of the City’s influential Finance Committee for his last seven years on Council.
Links:
[1] https://www.tools4noobs.com/online_tools/youtube_xhtml/
[2] https://www.clevescene.com/cleveland/the-worst-of-cleveland-cleveland-city-council/Content?oid=30361817
[3] http://realneo.us/content/sam-miller-dead
[4] http://www.clevelandcitycouncil.org/about-city-council/staff
[5] http://web.archive.org/web/20110205012848/http://www.rokakis.com/jim.html