In a really fascinating development, the Plain Dealer attempts today to structure a deal [1] whereby Cleveland citizens accept the idea that the former press secretary to the very dubious former Mayor Mike White, highest-level PR-statute Nancy Lesic [2] is now under contract with the President of the Cleveland City Council, for $48,000, while also being PR-statute to the Port Authority, and the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Convention Facilities Authority, and COSE, and the Greater Cleveland Partnership, and Greater Cleveland Growth Association, and Gateway Development Corporation, and Cleveland Neighborhood Development Corporation, and Ohio Air Quality Development Authority, and many forces in the Insurance Industry, and some very big developers in town like Wolstein Group, and First Interstate Properties, and Ferchill Group, and Rysar Properties, and Fairmount Properties, lots of which are doing business with each other.
Lesic describes herself on her website as follows: "Lesic has built a niche working with real estate developers involved in retail, residential and commercial projects. She has led communications on a number of development and urban rehab projects, including directing public engagement and legislative relations on efforts such as the City of Cleveland’s lakefront planning effort, the revitalization of Cleveland’s Flats neighborhood and other large-scale public works projects." The ill-conceived Browns stadium and Rock Hall tombs are her fault as well... from her site: "She guided communications for the nationally-renowned campaign to "Save Our Browns", the construction and opening of Cleveland's new professional football stadium, the opening of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and many other events and economic development projects."
While it is hard to image why the Cleveland City Council wants a real estate development PR-statute, it is certain that the choice of Lesic raises absolute conflicts of interest regarding all dealings of all the parties she has ever touched in her carreer in PR and government, blowing apart any plans for lakefront and Flats now in place. And she coming public in this way allows us to put a name and face on all that mess the city and port have created down by the lake and in the Flats.
This is a truly wonderful development, as it means all the backroom dealing between the city, port and Wolstein and Fairmount Properties et al for the East Bank Flats, for example, can now be thrown out and we can begin new planning with open eyes - Lesic is conflicted out of every big deal in the works and ahead.
Amazing how short sighted and uncreative our community leaders are - like one good rolodex from a decade ago, puffed up with lots of insider real estate dealing, is worth compromising the entire community and careers of eveyone involved. Now all deals go back to the drwaing boards, to the extent they even had real plans, and the players must all change.
So, who is going to step up to be the next big PR-statute in town, and are any clean outside developers going to come forward otpropose any truly exciting and innovative developments for the community that are worthy of honest leaders' support to replace the bad deals from the past that are on the table today?
Links:
[1] http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/1151829233262640.xml&coll=2
[2] http://www.lesiccamper.com/nancy.html