I submitted two groups of questions for the following:
The Plain Dealer is joining with WKYC Channel 3 and WVIZ/PBS Ideastream to bring Northeast Ohio voters a special half-hour program to answer questions about county reform Issues 5 and 6. We want to hear your questions.
The program will air at 8:30 p.m. Oct. 23 on WVIZ Channel 25 and at 10 a.m. Oct. 25 on WKYC Channel 3.
Here they are:
1. The Issue 6 charter creates an appointed Economic Development Commission; and, since Economic Development is the main focus of the charter, it appears that these unelected appointees will have a great deal of power determining the direction the County heads in the future. The elected executive will have plenty of work to do directing the administration of the County, and the part-time councilpersons will also be busy. So, where is the oversight for the ED Commission? How is this commission protected from corruption? How would you respond to those who think that too much power is being given to unelected people who will likely gain their position on the ED committee through political connections and who could use their positions to further their own ends instead of the good of the County?
2. In regard to Issue 5, where’s the beef? I understand that the process of charter creation would be determined by those elected to the charter commission, but there is no guarantee that any of the claims you make for Issue 5 will be met by those elected to the commission. How long would the commission have to create the charter? What are the plans to include County citizens in an open transparent process? How would a different charter be better for County citizens? How can you ensure that the differences you mention will actually make it into the new charter? It seems like there are few guarantees that you can make, when there’s no telling what the final composition of the charter commission could look like.
One Trackback