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Ed Morrison · The standard of civility
August 1st, 2008
Commissioner Hagan probably needs to be reminded that the County scandal operates on a number of different levels: legal, political, and civic.
On the legal level, he’s right: The presumption of innocence prevails. The political consequences are in the hands of the voters.
Yet, it’s on the civic level that our leaders seem not to get it. An investigation does not give license for our public officials to yell at reporters. From this morning’s paper:
Hagan turned red and accused the reporter, who by then had been joined by another from WKYC-TV, of disrupting county business. Hagan then ordered Jones to resume the meeting and barked at the reporters to sit down.
This follows the outburst of Commissioner DiMora last April caught on tape.
Here’s a book that the commissioners should be reading: Stephen Carter’s Civility: Manners, Morals, And The Etiquette Of Democracy.
Last 5 posts by Ed Morrison
- Facing the Foreclosure Crisis in Greater Cleveland - July 26th, 2010
- Regenerating urban economies with incubators - July 25th, 2010
- Export NEO - July 25th, 2010
- The Youngstown China Connection - July 24th, 2010
- Global Cardiovascular Innovation Center - July 24th, 2010
August 1st, 2008 at 6:35 pm
Reporter hit a nerve, huh?
(Yes, Jonathan, I’m aware that Hagan is technically a Democrat. Thank you for pointing it out.)
August 1st, 2008 at 6:40 pm
Seems like NEO leaders need a class in anger management, or yoga, or mediation.
August 1st, 2008 at 7:59 pm
Maybe it’s something as simple as a reminder from Skype’s splash screen: “Take a deep breath”.
August 1st, 2008 at 9:10 pm
wow hard to fathom Hagan did so poorly in 2002 in his run for Governor
August 2nd, 2008 at 1:46 am
Sadly, that was the attitude that Hagan and Dimora projected last summer at the convention center/medical mart hearings too. Peter Lawson Jones was the only one who was calm and respectful when explaining his vote. Both Hagan and Dimora were testy, condescending and impatient. There was definitely an attitude there that they shouldn’t have to be explaining themselves to citizens and I found that deeply disappointing.
August 2nd, 2008 at 5:02 pm
What Anastasia said.
I keep thinking of a time when Hagan was a guest on WCPN around… oh… it must have been like 1992 or so. One caller criticized some development deal Hagan was involved in, might have been Gateway, and Hagan got seriously ticked off.
Hagan didn’t dispute the caller’s point, he actually questioned the caller’s right to an opinion, saying something very nearly like, “If you want to have an opinion, you need to GET INVOLVED, not just complain.” (Fair enough, so far, I guess.)
But then Hagan made it clear that to “get involved” meant to run for office. In Tim Hagan’s world, if you’re not in public office, or seeking one, you’re not “involved” and you’re supposed to keep quiet.
If it was one isolated outburst, yeah, whatever. But I think Hagan’s been pretty consistent on not wanting to explain himself to the public. This is just one more example.
August 3rd, 2008 at 10:49 am
What Mark and Anastasia said…
Mark touches on an interesting point on how he believes that Hagan believes that if you aren’t running for something or holding an office, you are not involved.
Tell that to the 1.4 million people that have to live with the decisions. More involvement is what’s needed. Hagan’s just going to have to deal and the latest incident is only more evidence that supports more civic contribution and oversight.
August 3rd, 2008 at 2:40 pm
Mark, Anastasia, Derek:
Map the Mess is an opportunity for anyone in the County to become involved in mapping the covert connections among business, government and the press that has led to the sad state of affairs in Cuyahoga County.
We are not concerned with legal standards of guilt or innocence. (Leave that to the prosecutors).
We are instead focused on promoting a civic standard of transparency and engagement that has been lost in Cuyahoga County.
Anyone can join us to Map the Mess. Grab a bucket and a mop and head over to http://mapthemess.net
Submit your name, and gain access to the archives. You can then help us uncover the patterns of covert connections in the county.
August 3rd, 2008 at 4:34 pm
I observe that Ward 11 Councilman Polensek has been making the same argument in response to resident opposition to a proposed 4-lane coin-op carwash in the middle of the E. 185th Street pedestrian district. Except he wants critics to buy the dilapidated building [which the owner failed to maintain to code and the city failed to cite for violations over the last 40 years].
Buy it or shut up, it’s not enough to just own and maintain your home, take care of your kids, pay taxes and oh yeah, take an interest in civic life to the point of weighing in on such a project.
Can we start a thread on the need for civility and better listening skills in Cuyahoga County, or is this perhaps that thread? Good news.
August 4th, 2008 at 1:15 am
They went after DiMora and Russo for small time stuff. Not the big time legitimate stuff that makes them so terrible. Whoever replaces them will likewise be able to throw a lot of money at large porkbarrel projects we’ll end up reading about in Scene.
August 4th, 2008 at 11:30 am
Ryan:
Which projects are most suspect in your view?
August 4th, 2008 at 12:01 pm
Ryan, I agree that it looks like they’re going after your everyday contract-steering, which isn’t on the same scale as (for example) the MediMart ripoff.
You know, the one with the direct benefit to a close personal friend of Tim Hagan. (Who is, in fact, a registered Democrat, thank you Jonathan.)
August 4th, 2008 at 3:59 pm
I agree with the need for more citizen involvement and initiatives for moving the conversation to another level but what amazes me is the total lack of BOLD leadership.
Guilty or not guilty the public and private leaders, who claim ownership of decision making on any level, that hold this region back with bad decision making are a cancer that continues to grow on the region.
Where is the BOLD leader who will step forward and present a clear vision for a turnaround? Have they moved out of the County too?