Earlier this month, County Executive-elect Ed FitzGerald unveiled his plans for the county’s looming makeover. Already it appears Cuyahoga 2.0 will come equipped with its own turf war.
FitzGerald’s vision calls for a new director of law to handle the county’s legal business. Under our old-fashioned government, that role fell to the General Civil Division of Prosecutor Bill Mason’s office.
Since the prosecutor’s office is the only part of the county government not due to be blown up, confusion abounds over whether the new top lawyer will remain under Mason’s umbrella or operate independently. The new charter offers no insight on the matter.
This article appears in Dec 22-28, 2010.
Hmm, just buy the popcorn and watch the show wouldn’t you say? We have already paid for the ticket.
Mason’s office has been at best sloppy in it’s duty to the people. At worst complicit. All the corruption in county government and no investigations of the prime suspects? It’s good, for the privileged few, to have friends. In other words, if your a top county Dem, or a Union honcho, then your probably gonna get a pass as long as 1) no one was killed as result of whatever you did, and 2) you remeber at election time who kept your a$$ out of jail. For the rest of us, evidence proving guilt or the lack there of, be damned. The only thing that matters is the conviction rate. Thats justice in our county. Love it or leave it.
well put, Scouter. thinking anything that take a little OUT of Mason’s hands is a good thing.
I was part of a study group at Cleveland State University that initially recommended that the the county have a law director appointed by the County Executive. The rationale was that the CE would need sound legal advice separate from the prosecutor–who would be a county-wide politician as well. The prosecutor’s ability to obstruct that duties of the County Executive and County Council were obvious to us, especially in light of the chicanery of the time. Mason–who ironically is the one county official most responsible for the reform charter–pushed back and got his way. I am skeptical of Fitzgerald–who opposed the charter–but he is right to push for a law director answerable to him.