Greater Cleveland Partnership celebrates passages of Issues 3, 4 & 6

Wednesday, November 04, 2009

Passage of Issues 3, 4, and 6 yesterday will make for a brighter tomorrow in Northeast Ohio, said Joe Roman, president and CEO of the Greater Cleveland Partnership. Roman said the three seemingly unconnected ballot issues – casinos, the Tri-C levy and county reform – are in fact intertwined and should result in more jobs, economic activity and hope for the region.

“The improved county government is going to be much better positioned to participate in a growth strategy, that will be spurred by tens of millions of dollars that will be generated annually by a downtown casino,” Roman said, adding that Tri-C will help to provide a more educated workforce. He credited the voters for understanding that the issues hold substantial, broad-based potential for Cuyahoga County and all of northeast Ohio.

The GCP early on endorsed all three of these issues and supported their passage. Many GCP members and employees volunteered their time on these campaigns.

Passage of Issue 3 means a casino will be built in downtown Cleveland – generating many new jobs and tens of millions of dollars in new local tax revenues annually. Passage of Issue 6 means a more updated, efficient county government that will have a specific focus on economic development and job creation. And the Tri-C levy means that this quality, affordable institution of higher education will continue to be able to offer an education to many who need it the most.

The GCP will take an active role in the coming year in supporting “smart, trustworthy candidates with the conviction to move this region forward” to fill the important County office seats now open. The organization also intends to have a voice – working collaboratively with the new County government and other public partners – in helping to make decisions on how the casino revenues are spent, for maximum beneficial economic impact to the region.

“It’s a cloudy day this morning in Cleveland, but there’s a ray of hope here today that didn’t exist yesterday,” Roman said.

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As an association of business members, the Greater Cleveland Partnership mobilizes private-sector leadership, expertise and resources to create jobs and leverage investment to improve the economic vitality of the region.

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