A lot of people agree with me that Cain Park is one of the best theater venues in the country. Performers and people are happy there, enjoying the pleasures of the outdoors, even when it rains…really, ask anyone who has seen a performance in the rain. It’s a good time.

And, this is another testimony to our wonderful history. People planned for the future and built the park and the program so that we can enjoy it today.

But, it is also proof that money is not the answer to our problems. City Council voted to close the wading pool there this summer. This is penny wise and pound foolish. The maintenance that will be required to use it again will probably surpass what using it this summer would have cost. There was no reason to decrease our quality of life in this way.

The money I am not going to take for serving as a council person will cover the cost to reopen the pool. And it will be re-opened.

It has also been allowed to get weedy and unattractive. Look at the pictures. A little TLC and about $200.00 in plants would have worked wonders.

Volunteers would have probably planted them.

And, one last thing about a place my family and I love–we have to introduce it to our new residents and get people in it to experience the pleasures of the theater and music and visual arts there. It needs new supporters.  There are a lot of people who look like me there–lots of gray hair. We need our younger residents to get hooked on the place. And, I have lots of ideas about how to do that.

If everyone on council agreed to do what I am going to do–serve on City Council for $1 a year for the next two years, that would save our city $150,000.

We could do a lot of wonderful things with an extra $150,000, couldn’t we?

I am willing to do my part. I think there is honor and dignity in holding public office and that is enough for me.

I think a legitimate question to ask everyone else running and serving on council is: are they willing to make this same committment to help our city move forward?

I requested that the city manager be asked to make a presentation about his 30 years of service to the community, what his thoughts were  about the city’s current challenges and what his plans for the future were.

New ideas and fresh perspectives are valuable, and this was an opportunity for the city to interview for a new city manager. The current city manager should have also been given the opportunity to apply for the position. Maybe he would have had the best ideas, but we will never know. An opportunity to revitalize the city and communicate with residents about their city’s future was lost.

All but one of the City Council members voted to rehire the city manager that night. The city manager was not asked to make any presentation. From one day to the next he went to work knowing that his salary was essentially doubled. Additionally, the city provides him with a car and cell phone.

This has nothing to do with the city manager. It has everything to do with City Council and their decision to allow the city manager to double dip at the same time other city services were being cut and city workers were being  laid off and furloughed.

I recognize that this is a tough time financially for the city–that’s why I pledge to work for $1 a year for the first two years I am in office. I am willing to do my part for our community.

Maybe all city council members should do the same?

The Plain Dealer has published some articles about double-dipping recently.

My plan is to involve all the non-profits in our area who have expertise in this topic to join with the city and create a taskforce to prevent child abuse in our community. The first steps are to raise consciousness about preventing child maltreatment and educate our community about what to do if they witness child maltreatment. This approach has been proven to be effective in other communities.

You can watch videos of me presenting about this topic to City Council on more than one occasion–the videos from 12/15/08 and 2/2/09 are posted on this website.

There is a strong correlation between child maltreatment and children acting out in school, school achievement and becoming delinquent. Preventing children from being maltreated is important for all of us—and we can easily do something about it if we work together.

I spoke about this topic twice at City Council meetings and had a specific plan to address it. (See videos posted on this website dated 12/15/08 and  2/2/09.)

Cleveland Heights has a higher rate of child maltreatment than the suburbs of: South Euclid, Shaker Heights, University Heights, and Lyndhurst. Here is a chart that I developed using the Social and Economic Indicators database provided by NEOCANDO at Case Western Reserve University.

How many children are we talking about?

The numbers of cases of substantiated or indicated child maltreatment in Cleveland Heights from 2000-2007 are listed below.

Each case represents a child in our community:

Year       Number of cases with substantiated/indicated child maltreatment.

2000       171

2001       164

2002       172

2003       102

2004       105

2005       122

2006       80

2007       77

If you would like more information about how communities can prevent child maltreatment, visit the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation’s project to prevent child abuse here.  The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation commissioned a Rand Report on preventing child maltreatment called  ”If you had $5 million to spend each year for the next five years to prevent child abuse and neglect in the U.S., how would you spend it?”. You can read the full report of the opinions of 6 experts online.

An example of a community project to prevent child maltreatment is the project in Pittsburgh, developed with Family Communications-Mr. Rogers’ organization. It is called One Kind Word.

We already have everything needed to implement a child abuse prevention program in our city. What are we waiting for?

Other communities have decreased their rates of child maltreatment and so can we.

Cleveland Heights City Council  members make $9,270.00 a year and also receive a PERS (Public Employees Retirement System) contribution of $1,657.60 per year.

Total savings to residents for my first 2 years in office ? $21,135.60 minus $2= $21,133.60

Why am I am making this committment?

To make crystal clear that I care about our city’s future.

I have been working to make it a better place for years; why should I start getting paid to do that now?

We can use these funds to improve the quality of life for all of us living in Cleveland Heights.

During these difficult economic times, we all have to do our part. 

I’m willing to do my share.

Why am I making this committment?

Because it is only fair that Cleveland Heights City Council members do their part to help the city balance the budget.

• Many Cleveland Heights city workers have to take a 10 day unpaid furlough.  Some lost their jobs. See Sun Press article about this.
• State of Ohio workers are doing the same. See Dayton Daily News article.
• The Plain Dealer reported that Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson and some Cleveland City Council members turned down their pay raises.
• The Cleveland Orchestra has budget problems so their conductor, Franz Welser-Most, volunteered to take a 20% pay cut.
• We all know people, including family members, who have lost their jobs.

We all have to do our part. When the going gets tough, the tough get going. That’s why I am making this pledge.