If leadership equals communication (and I think it does), his inability or refusal to communicate frequently and well equals a failure of leadership. Period.

Contrast this with Jane Campbell’s debacles on the Poverty Summit, Adopt-A-Can and the other high-visibility but no results efforts from her administration.

We need totally new leadership. Period.

Now, as you ponder that long comment, I am going to add your blog to the NEObizblog.com “Must SEE NEO Links”

JL

I agree with you too about new thinking and new energy. I tend to be a little suspicious about shiny new packages and marketing campaigns, though, or the idea that business/the private sector *always* knows best and is *always* preferable over government/the public sector. So the ideal candidate who I’d like to have in charge of things around here would *get* Cleveland the way Frank Jackson does, but also have the energy and ideas and visibility to make radical changes. But who wouldn’t promise pie-in-the-sky panaceas. *That’s* at the heart of what I like about Frank Jackson, that he’s willing to admit there’s not one thing that’s going to cure all of our problems. I think there are a lot of people here who want to hear and believe that there is.

That said, though, I’m still really glad he (or whoever, probably someone on his staff – it’s hardly unusual for politicians not to write their own stuff) wrote this piece. People need to hear this message, no matter who’s saying it. Cleveland is not that bad, and everyone needs to quit wallowing in it. Do you know when was the last time I heard a burning river joke? I NEVER HAVE, because I’m 30 years old and practically no one knew or cared about the burning river outside Cleveland by the time I started kindergarten.

A “public servant” needs to be in plain view of the public, especially in a region that is experiencing the kind of pain that Northeast Ohio is.

This is an old school administration that needs some new thinking, and new energy.

Or, we will just continue our free fall.

Remember:

“Nothing Changes If Nothing Changes”

Joel Libava
http://www.NEObizblog.com

I have two favorite excerpts:

“Cleveland’s biggest impediment to achieving civic greatness is the pessimistic, unenthusiastic mind-set of many within our region, particularly those with the ability to express their opinions to mass audiences.”

and

“I do not want Cleveland to be like Chicago or Pittsburgh or any other city. I want Cleveland to be Cleveland.”

I don’t think Frank Jackson is the best mayor in Cleveland history, but what I’ve always liked about him is that he’s not a slick, huckster-politician who’ll just tell you what you want to hear. And even though he’s not a real exciting or charismatic guy, nearly everything I have personally heard him say has seemed pretty reasonable and sensible. He’s a true public servant – the unflappable kind who keeps plugging along for years without succumbing to cynicism. And as a former public servant myself I’ve just got to say, that’s bloody hard and I respect him for it.