CLEVELAND -- -
The decision on which reform proposal Cuyahoga County voters approve next Tuesday will likely have implications for the entire region for years to come.
In the wake of the FBI's corruption investigation of county government, Issue 6 supporters got enough signatures to get their proposal on the ballot. Then, County Commissioners Tim Hagan and Peter Lawson Jones, two officials not touched by scandal, put the competing Issue 5 on the ballot.
In simple terms, Issue 5 would set up a panel to study how to best reform county government and put that proposal on a ballot next year.
Issue 6 would scrap the current County Commission form of government almost immediately, and replace it with a county executive and eleven elected councilpersons - sort of a President and Congress of the county.
"The corruption has heightened the interest and frustration of people," says Parma Heights Mayor Martin Zanotti, one of the architects of Issue 6. "(It) made them realize how poorly their government is performing."
"This county proposal...will not end corruption," counters County Recorder Lillian Greene, an Issue 5 supporter. "It should not be the reason that anyone will change the entire structure of government."
Zanotti and Greene took part in a town hall forum hosted by State Senator Shirley Smith at Case Western Reserve University on Wednesday night.
Issue 5 supporters say they fear Issue 6 puts too much power in a single county executive.
"There is a difference between good change and bad change," says County Commissioner Peter Lawson Jones. Jones believe Issue 6 should not allow the executive to fire the sheriff or a county chief financial officer because they are "the two officials most likely to bring to the public's attention any wrongdoing."
But Issue 6 supporters say the executive would have no more power than a mayor does in any city.
"I find it quite hilarious that the proponents of Issue 5 would say they support reform," says State Senator Nina Turner, an Issue 6 supporter. Sen. Turner says, without the push to get Issue 6 on the ballot, Issue 5 would not exist.
The two sides sparred slightly over whether the issues divide along racial lines and argued more about which is better for economic development.
Issue 5 supporters says Issue 6 has not been fully thought out on matters such as campaign finance reform. That's why they say the Issue 5 approach of a study group now, with a vote next year, is better. Mayor Zanotti counters that he is "a big sports fan in Cleveland and I'm tired of the phrase 'wait till next year.'"
If both issues are approved, the decision on what will happen will likely wind up in the courts.
In the wake of the FBI's corruption investigation of county government, Issue 6 supporters got enough signatures to get their proposal on the ballot. Then, County Commissioners Tim Hagan and Peter Lawson Jones, two officials not touched by scandal, put the competing Issue 5 on the ballot.
In simple terms, Issue 5 would set up a panel to study how to best reform county government and put that proposal on a ballot next year.
Issue 6 would scrap the current County Commission form of government almost immediately, and replace it with a county executive and eleven elected councilpersons - sort of a President and Congress of the county.
"The corruption has heightened the interest and frustration of people," says Parma Heights Mayor Martin Zanotti, one of the architects of Issue 6. "(It) made them realize how poorly their government is performing."
"This county proposal...will not end corruption," counters County Recorder Lillian Greene, an Issue 5 supporter. "It should not be the reason that anyone will change the entire structure of government."
Zanotti and Greene took part in a town hall forum hosted by State Senator Shirley Smith at Case Western Reserve University on Wednesday night.
Issue 5 supporters say they fear Issue 6 puts too much power in a single county executive.
"There is a difference between good change and bad change," says County Commissioner Peter Lawson Jones. Jones believe Issue 6 should not allow the executive to fire the sheriff or a county chief financial officer because they are "the two officials most likely to bring to the public's attention any wrongdoing."
But Issue 6 supporters say the executive would have no more power than a mayor does in any city.
"I find it quite hilarious that the proponents of Issue 5 would say they support reform," says State Senator Nina Turner, an Issue 6 supporter. Sen. Turner says, without the push to get Issue 6 on the ballot, Issue 5 would not exist.
The two sides sparred slightly over whether the issues divide along racial lines and argued more about which is better for economic development.
Issue 5 supporters says Issue 6 has not been fully thought out on matters such as campaign finance reform. That's why they say the Issue 5 approach of a study group now, with a vote next year, is better. Mayor Zanotti counters that he is "a big sports fan in Cleveland and I'm tired of the phrase 'wait till next year.'"
If both issues are approved, the decision on what will happen will likely wind up in the courts.
