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Cleveland’s LED Lighting Deal Continues to be Problematic

By Kyle Swenson on Mon, Nov 15, 2010 at 9:27 am

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This is the lighting scheme Jackson wanted for his office.

This is the lighting scheme Jackson wanted for his office.

Interesting read this weekend in the Plain Dealer updating the LED lighting kerfuffle that shook the Jackson administration early this summer. The recap: In March Jackson announced a big juicy valentine of a deal with Sunpu-Opto Semiconductors, a Chinese LED manufacturer. The fine print gave the company an exclusive option to provide Cleveland with light fixtures; in exchange, the company said it would open its U.S. headquarters within city limits and provide 350 local jobs.

Some council members and local business owners —chiefly, G.E. — cried foul, saying the buddy-buddy contract violated the city’s bidding process. After some huffs and puffs, Jackson uncharacteristically back-peddled, chucking the deal and opening the bid to everyone.

According to this weekend’s update, Sunpu-Opto’s stateside rep, Peter Tien, says the city’s RFP is a pipe-dream.