Armond Budish wins Cuyahoga County Executive Race
Cuyahoga County executive-elect Armond Budish on Thursday announced the names of dozens of leaders in business, labor, politics and philanthropy who will advise him as he prepares to take office.
(Chuck Crow, The Plain Dealer)
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Armond Budish has enlisted dozens of prominent leaders in business, politics, organized labor and philanthropy to advise him as he prepares to assume Cuyahoga County's top elected office in January.
Budish, the Democratic Cuyahoga County executive-elect, on Thursday morning announced the names of 42 people who will be part of three working groups that will help Budish develop policy and set legislative priorities for the county government.
U.S. Rep. Marcia Fudge will head up the three groups, which will focus on economic growth and opportunity, quality of life, and government efficiency.
Beth Mooney, the chair and CEO of KeyCorp, will lead the economic development group.
Ronald B. Richard, president and CEO of the Cleveland Foundation, will lead the quality-of-life group.
Warrensville Heights Mayor Brad Sellers will lead the government efficiency group.
Among those who will serve on the three groups include several officials from the pre-reform Cuyahoga County government. They include former County Prosecutor Bill Mason, former County Treasurer Jim Rokakis, and Lee Trotter, the former deputy county administrator.
Other notable names on the list include David Abbott, executive director of the George Gund Foundation, Harriett Applegate, executive secretary of the North Shore Federation of Labor, Dan Brady, Cuyahoga County Council's vice-president, Toby Cosgrove, the CEO of the Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland City Council President Kevin J. Kelley and Andre Thornton, the former Cleveland Indians baseball player.
Fudge, the influential Warrensville Democrat, issued a written statement distributed by Budish's transition staff.
"I'm pleased to be serving as Chair of Chairs for the three working groups. We have assembled a broad array of civic leaders and citizens, and we are committed to being inclusive and seeking input," she said. "We are coming together as a community at a critical moment in our history, when our opportunities far outnumber our challenges, and our best days lie ahead."
Here is a full list of the members of Budish's working groups:
Economic Growth and Opportunity group
Chair: Beth Mooney, chair and CEO of KeyCorp
Executive director: Marcia Egbert, senior program officer for HR for the George Gund Foundation
Members:
David Abbott, executive director, George Gund Foundation
Andrew Banks, President and CEO, Mid-America Consulting Group
Paul Clark, regional president for Northern Ohio and Cleveland region, PNC Bank
Cassandra Johnson, architect and director for construction management, University Hospitals
Len Komoroski, CEO, Cleveland Cavaliers and Quicken Loans Arena
Gena Lovvett, chief diversity officer, Alcoa
Randell McShepard, vice president of public affairs, RPM International
Stephanie Morales, operations manager, Nationwide Insurance
Dominic Ozanne, president and CEO, Ozanne Construction
Richard Pogue, retired managing partner, Jones Day
Michael D. Siegal, chairman and CEO, Olympic Steel
David Wondolowski, executive secretary, Cleveland Building and Trades Council
Quality of Life group
Chair: Ronald B. Richard, President and CEO, Cleveland Foundation
Executive director: Mark Griffin, shareholder in Thorman Petrov Griffin law firm. Former 2008 State Deputy DIrector for the Ohio Democratic Party.
Members:
Harriet Applegate, executive secretary, North Shore Federation of Labor
Pamela D. Brown, Cleveland regional vice-president and president, AFSCME Local 1746
Toby Cosgrove, president and CEO, Cleveland Clinic
Helen Forbes Fields, partner, Forbes, Fields & Associates
Janet Garcia, community health advocate, MetroHealth System
Rev. Larry Harris, senior pastor, Mt. Olive Baptist Church
Bill Mason, partner in Bricker & Eclker; former Cuyahoga County Prosecutor
August A. Napoli, Jr., deputy director, Cleveland Museum of Art
Robert Rivera, president, Cleveland Stonewall Democrats
Jim Rokakis, director, Thriving Community Institutes; former Cuyahoga County treasurer
Andre Thornton, president and CEO of ASW Global, LLC, former Cleveland Indians baseball player.
Lee Trotter, general manager and of counsel for HPL Solutions; former deputy Cuyahoga County administrator
Effective and Efficient Government group
Chair: Brad Sellers, Warrensville Heights Mayor
Executive Director: Julian Rogers, director of community partnerships, Cleveland State University; former Cuyahoga County councilman
Members:
Dan Brady, vice-president, Cuyahoga County Council
Tim DeGeeter, Parma mayor
Diane Downing, senior vice-president, regional manager of corporate affairs, Huntington Bank
Julian Earls, former director, NASA Glenn Research Center
Kevin J. Kelley, president, Cleveland City Council
Sara L. Laskey, emergency medicine physician, MetroHealth system
Valarie McCall, chief of government and international affairs, Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson
Michael O'Malley, retired assistant Cuyahoga County prosecutor
Davida Russell, vice president, Ohio Association of Public School Employees
Donna Scirappa, Great Lakes regional managing partner, McGladrey LLP
Nina Turner, Ohio Senator
Georgine Welo, South Euclid mayor
Budish, 61, is a term-limited state-representative and former Ohio House Speaker. He defeated Republican County Councilman Jack Schron in the Nov. 4 election for county executive.
Budish has already named three overarching leaders of his transition effort, and has also hired a taxpayer-funded staff of four transition employees.