EAST CLEVELAND TATTLER

Issue Number 28, No vember 2012 Nov Send an email to eastc le velandleaks@gmail.com to g et the Tattler emailed to y ou eastcle lev get you

Ed Fitzgerald placed an Irish man in every job that elected officials held. Two are from Columbus, one from Connecticut and no one said anything. We dont think this story helps his campaign for governor, but so what. Let him explain it.
EDITORIAL By CLYDE CLODHOPPER If County Executive Ed Fitzgerald trots out all the African Americans, women and other ethnics hes hired to try and deflect the criticism hes going to receive from this editorial, hell look like a guy with a banjo singing Mammy. It wont work. Theres only one point to this editorial. Every single person Fitzgerald hired to replace an office holder Cuyahoga County voters once elected is Irish and male. Fitzgerald can say, Oh golly look. Ive got an African American secretary and a scheduler or Nailah Byrd is the Inspector General. He can point to Melvin Davis, Sharon Cole and anyone else African American hes hired as proof that his administrative team is diverse, but all hell look like is a slave master putting his property on display. Nothing Fitzgerald does or says will alter the fact that every single person now holding a job once held by an elected official is Irish and male. It also wont negate the fact that Fitzgerald didnt appoint a woman or any members from Cuyahoga Countys large ethnic groups to an office once held by a member of our electorate. Theres another point. Three of the office holder replacements are carpetbaggers and one is a Republican. Cuyahoga County voters would never have elected two guys from Columbus and one guy from Connecticut to hold office in this town. They also wouldnt have elected an all-Irish male countywide ticket. There are 1.2 million residents in this world class county. Fitzgerald didnt have to go get his cousins to manage a county they know nothing about. This bullshit is not reform. Its cronyism and an invitation for political corruption because these guys are far too close to each other. Theyre not elected officials. Theyre a gang. Fitzgerald acts like a man who has taken very deliberate steps to surround himself with people he can trust. Its a move a mob boss would make who surrounds himself with family members. Think ... American Gangster. Its a move that says Fitzgerald should be very

IRISH SUPREMACIST
County reformers or an Irish mob family?
County Executive FITZGERALD Treasurer SENSENBRENNER Auditor & Recorder STEEN Prosecutor MCGINTY

WHY DID THE COUNTY COUNCIL CONFIRM THIS TEAM?

Mr . Republican Mr.
Irish county workers Ex-Columbus council saw the shamrock on president. Pays $800 Fitzgeralds car and in taxes on a $435,000 knew what was up downtown condo. after he won Hmmm! County Clerk FUERST County Sheriff REID Commuter cant wait It was nice of Mason to get back to Upper to leave early so Arlington and his Fitzgerald could make $540,000 home this guy prosecutor before the election Medical Examiner GILSON 2010 CUYAHOGA COUNTY CENSUS #1 - 400,000 African Americans #2 - 265,000 German Americans #3 - 165,000 Irish Americans #4 - 125,000 Italian Americans #5 - 118,000 Polish Americans

Prided himself on paying less than other officials. Not since Ed equalized wages.

Democrats replaced McFaul with this guy and Fitzgerald kept him

All the way from Milford Connecticut and $225,000 a year

closely watched. This editorial will put a dent in Fitzgeralds gubernatorial aspirations and its intentionally designed to do so. Hes been thus far unexamined by the mainstream media and the public is being sold a bill of goods about his competency and political

astuteness: governors a big job. Fitzgeralds fast-tracked himself to power ever since he decided to campaign for Lakewood mayor in 2009. He won. Served two years and then ran for county executive without completing his four year term in office. An audit showing the $600,000 deficit he left in Lakewoods

EAST CLEVELAND TA TTLER, NO . 28, NO VEMBER 2012 TATTLER, NO. NOVEMBER

MORE ACCURA TE THAN THE PLAIN DEALER CCURATE

Fitzgeralds throwback Irish only hiring practices is not reform

community development department was an afterthought once he became county executive. Now hes running for governor and State Auditor David Yost hasnt released audits showing how well or poorly Fitzgeralds reformed Cuyahoga County. He needs to sit his ass down and concentrate on doing the job he asked for before his political ambition sabotages the county. Even now Fitzgeralds trying to blame President Barack Obamas alleged fiscal cliff for a deficit created by his administrations wasteful spending thats set to rip a hole in the countys budget. Sounds a lot like East Clevelands now proven to be incompetent mayor. Like East Cleveland Mayor Gary Norton, Fitzgeralds been soft-pedaled by reporters from the Plain Dealer, Call & Post, Sun Newspapers and the television stations, and has not been held accountable for his decisions. Cleveland and Ohios black political leadership pressured Republican Governor John Kasich to hire an African American when his lilly-white cabinet was revealed. Their silence about Fitzgeralds lilly-white male elected officeholder replacements isnt fair to constituents whove been tricked into thinking Democrats are cool. Black Democratic political leaders can take the cowards way out and give Fitzgerald a pass, but we wont. Hes not shucking and jiving his way into the governors office without explaining his record. Its understandable that the Plain Dealer treats Fitzgerald with kid gloves. Assigning reporter Laura Johnston, whos of Scot Irish descent, is so perfect it seems orchestrated. Fitzgerald gives Johnston access ... his personal cell phone number. He flirts with her. Makes her feel like shes important. It gets him an ethnic soul mate to feed the Plain Dealers readers his unchecked bullshit. Johnstons done a good job of ignoring criticism of Fitzgerald and covering only his administrations perspective of his performance. Cuyahoga County government is reformed because he tries to sound like a tough guy and most journalists arent knowledgeable enough to challenge him. Hes good because he says so. Johnstons editorial coverage proves only that the Irish stick together. The Plain Dealers reporter is so caught up with Fitzgeralds charm and her own feeling of self-importance that shes incapable of providing reponsible insight into the job hes doing. Nortons incompetence was exposed in four editions of the East Cleveland Tattler. We also exposed the Plain Dealers inaccurate, misleading and manipulative coverage of his administration. How many county employees sit silently seething over the abuses they see Fitzgerald and his team committing knowing they cant tell anyone, and are looking for a vehicle like the East Cleveland Tattler to get the word out? Will they send information to eastclevelandleaks@gmail.com from their home computers, not their county computers? How many editions will it take for Fitzgeralds unchecked spin on his achievements to be exposed or for corruption to be uncovered and reported if it exists? What deals are on the table that arent being fully-disclosed? Whos he in bed with and how is money being funneled to his political organization? Any beneficiaries? Is he co-mingling county funds as part of his campaign for governor ... using a county vehicle and an employee? What about the members of his team? Are they performing dual duties on county time with county computers, cell phones and cars? What will scrutiny reveal about their real resumes, interests, relationships and official acts? Will an investigation begin with County Treasurer Richard Sensenbrenners $800 annual property tax bill on his $435,000 condominium at 701 Lakeside Avenue? Who knows? More importantly, Fitzgerald was identified as Public Official #14 in an FBI indictment. Thats 14 positions away from Public Officials numbers #1 and #2. He bears watching. The point is that Fitzgeralds all-Irish male bureaucratic and political mob raises suspicions about his relationship with these men and their allegiances to him and not to the countys electorate. Its irresponsible not to question Fitzgeralds relationship with them. Fitzgerald has little choice but to dismantle his all-white male team because it does not reflect the countys residents or diverse population. The 2010 U.S. Census tells all. African Americans are Cuyahoga Countys largest ethnic group. Out of 1.2 million residents, one of every three is African American. Thats approximately 400,000. African Americans are not a minority in Cuyahoga County. They are the largest and most powerful economic, political and voting bloc. Before reform two African Americans held seats on the county commissioner, one had served as county prosecutor and one had served as county recorder. Fitzgerald must be nuts to think this states African American electorate will support him once they see and read the headline, story and pictures in this editorial. African Americans are over 2 million strong and the second largest ethnic group in Ohio behind German Americans. What self-respecting African American political leader will stand with Fitzgerald knowing his Irish supremacist hiring record? German Americans are the countys second largest ethnic group at about 225,000. There are 168,000 Irish Americans and 118,000 Italian Americans. The other large ethnic groups are the 111,000 Polish Americans, 80,000 English Americans, 44,000 Hungarian Americans, 43,000 Slovak Americans, 18,000 French Americans, 16,000 Arab Americans and it goes on from there. About 10,000 county residents are Hispanic American. Women are 52 percent of the countys population. Ignoring all the competent people in Cuyahoga County Fitzgerald reached over to Connecticut and 135 miles south to Franklin County to find three qualified individuals to hold jobs once held by elected officials. This is such a smack in the face insult to the countys electorate as to be unimagineable. No politician in recent history has ever been so inconsiderately arrogant. Chief fiscal officer Wade Steen replaced exCounty Auditor Frank Russo and ex-County Recorder Lillian Green. He currently lives in Upper Arlington, Ohio in a $540,000 home. Thats a very wealthy Columbus suburb. Steen is a Republican who served on Upper Arlingtons city council for 10 years before Fitzgerald hired him. Hes looking for a job closer to home to avoid his 135 mile commute. Steen doesnt give a shit about Cuyahoga County. Ex-East Cleveland Mayor Eric Brewer said Steen was recommended to him by his former finance director to perform an audit of Community Housing Solutions. Brewer had been alerted to questionable activities with Andy Nikiforovs stacked board. Not a single East Cleveland resident in exchange for block grant funds. Brewer was managing the citys community development department and had detailed questions about overpayments in federal funds for housing purchases and repairs. He was unimpressed with Steens final product as it was not the compliance audit he wanted. Sensenbrenner was president of Columbus city council until he left office and sought a job working as commissioner of accounts for the City of Cleveland six years ago. Hes the County Treasurer Fitzgerald picked to replace James Rokakis. Sensenbrenner drew attention when Mayor Frank Jackson ordered a special audit that revealed his departments supervision of overpayments to Cleveland firefighters this year. Fitzgerald kept only two already existing office holders: Sheriff Bob Reid, another Scotsman, and Gerald Fuerst. He reached to Milford, Connecticut to hire Irish physician Thomas Gilson as the countys new coroner or medical examiner. He backed ex-judge and fellow Irishman Tim McGinty for county prosecutor. That decision also bears watching. Fitzgerald could have taken a stab at political diversity by appointing Ed Wade instead of McGinty to replace Bill Mason as prosecuting attorney. It would have been a long shot but noticed. This is the first article to scrutinize Fitzgeralds administration and to portray a side other than that shown by the mainstream media. It wont be the last. Every voter didnt support throwing out the government just to get rid of a few bad apples. The reform margin of victory was large but in no way was it a landslide. Any decision can be reversed. This editorial hopes to show that not all is as Fitzgerald and the Plain Dealer says it is with the reformed government, and that a critical examination needs to be had before we go to far with it. Given his own in office conduct, Fitzgeralds pursuit of the governors job, before hes completed and been evaluated as county executive, makes him nothing more than a jump around artist with impressive titles and unevaluated accomplishments. He can run for governor, but he should resign his job as county executive while doing it. Nothing about that job is part-time.