FALSE DEPICTION OF CORPORATE INTERESTS CORRUPTS

Submitted by Roldo on Fri, 03/13/2009 - 11:26.

I thought it rather amusing that the Greater Cleveland Partnership (GCP) listed its priorities for stimulus money from Washington recently as the Plain Dealer quoted Sherwin-Williams CEO Chris Conner, GCP’s chairman. Just the guy who would know what the ordinary Cleveland resident most needs. Laughably, three pages over the PD by happenstance reports Conners’s annual income. A measly annual rate of $6,203,510.

 Just another regular guy telling us what to do with our public money.

 

The article was headlined as GCP’s propagandists would want it to be:

“A push for more minorities.”

 

Conner is quoted at the GCP annual meeting saying, “We need to accelerate economic inclusion. Why? It’s vitally important to our economic health… that all citizens participate actively in the region.”

 

Nice for corporate PR desires but where’s the reality?

 

GCP wants blacks, Hispanics and other minorities to gain more in the executive suites and the workforce. The article didn’t say how many executives at Sherwin-Williams occupy executive status. That might tell us too much.

 

However, the list of priority projects of GCP hardly projects a thrust that would benefit minorities. Indeed, it smells of the same old corporate elite agenda.

 

More for us, less for you.

 

The GCP wants stimulus money for Opportunity Corridor – the propaganda-made name for “Let’s bypass inner city neighborhoods to get to University Circle without seeing any blacks.” People can scoot by the decay without having to notice the city’s ills with the $300-million dream ghetto runabout. How convenient.

 

Most of the GCP agenda hardly represents the needs of ordinary Clevelanders, never mind those of minorities and those of lower economic status. Maybe we can get to those next year or the next decade.

 

Of course, Port relocation is on the wish list as is the Flats East Bank (Wolstein) project. A few hundred millions of dollars, they say, is all that’s needed. How about another $50 to $80 million subsidy to stabilize the West 25th area of the Cuyahoga that is slipping into the river. We need a luxury housing site to tax abate for a lucky developer.

 

Some “push” for minorities, GCP and Connor!

 

It’s not to say that some infrastructure needs are not good for the most of Cleveland/Cuyahoga residents. But the list certainly leans heavily to the desires of corporate, not public interests.

 

But can’t we have a bit of truth. This isn’t an agenda for minorities. It’s the agenda – as it always is – of the big money people, for the big money people, by the big money people.

 

The problem – a bit of truth, cast in language people can understand – might awaken the quiet masses. That would, indeed, be awful, right?

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The GCP, Voices and Choices, FFOEF Agenda is Completely Corrupt

I'm glad you posted on this.

What is the minority distribution at The Plain Dealer?

This is one white bred town that can't be fixed at the board level, alone. And certeinly not with misrepresentation and window dressing.

Disrupt IT

Don't forget stimulus money for UCI!

  Chris Ronayne want some stimulus money to build a 1000 car parking garage for MOCA Cleveland...

Developers hope to break ground this spring on new housing along Euclid Avenue, Chris Ronayne, director of University Circle Inc., said Monday.

Ronayne also said he's seeking federal stimulus money to help pay for a proposed 1,000-space, $22 million parking garage.

MOCA backers believe that moving to Uptown will cause attendance to double, from 25,000 to 50,000 patrons a year.

No Stimulus Money To University Circle - NO CONFIDENCE

I'm planning to mount a massive community campaign against the current Economic Stimulus spending strategy revealed so far by Jackson et al... and Chris Ronayne will certainly be poster boy for why we need to dump all current plans... We can thank him for dumping on us pretty much all the worst of all the plans, between his time at City Hall, and by torpedoing the Campbell administration, and in stacking all the decks and his family vault from the now-hollow halls of University Circle Ick... just pathetic.

NO CONFIDENCE!

Disrupt IT

1000 car garage - stimulation or death to UCircle?

A huge parking garage is the kiss of death for a neighborhood - because people arrive in their cars and go to their destination often without passing any local eatery or coffee shop or shoe repair or post office.  
So the urban fabric around the always-ugly parking garage dies  (or becomes even deader) - look at the Cleveland Clinic if you want an example.   Or maybe you have missed what the area around the Clinic looks like? 
Public transit and bikes are what build a cool college town neighborhood - look at Cambridge, Mass - there are no 1000 car garages around Harvard Square and the place is hopping!
Car garages need to go the way of coal fired power plants.   In my opinion,  Mr. Ronayne, your suggestion to use tax money to build a dinosaur 1000 car garage is a very embarrassing,  out-of-date, uninspired "plan". 
Viva la Shrinking City!

   

CONFIDENCE OR NO CONFIDENCE IN RONAYNE?

You know what it took to get rid of Hundert, and it is time to get rid of lots more "leaders" around here (and Hundert was probably one of the best of the worst).

Start with your vote of confidence or no confidence for Ronayne and his new 1,000 car economic stimulus plan, and new VA Garage, and Opportunity Corridor, and Lakeshore Driveway vision for your NEO... is this how you want your community and money managed???

Don't feel bad if you vote no confidence and Chris gets fired... I'm sure he has huge savings and his family can live fine on what his wife makes as Director of UCI's Cleveland Botanical Gardens... unless she get's NO CONFIDENCED out of town too.

That's for another day...

Disrupt IT

economic inclusion

“We need to accelerate economic inclusion. Why? It’s vitally important to our economic health… that all citizens participate actively in the region.” Sherwin Williams - Chris Conner

Economic inclusion? You mean giving minorities positions as bellhops, barbacks and servers? Or maybe as flag holders for the opportunity corridor? Lead poisoning - way to keep the brown man down.

And indeed, we do not need to funnel this stimulus to developers. If Wolstein can't build on the eastbank we should put that land into city receivership and make it a public park.