County Executive Armond Budish

Inaugural Address
January 4, 2015
Cleveland Convention Center & Global Center for Health Innovation

If you could see the agenda that my team handed todays

participants, you would see that I have been given exactly 15
minutes to speak.
Fifteen minutes!
How do I distill into a few minutes a talk that shares whats in my
heart, and why I care so much about our community, with the solidsound-biteable fact-driven speech in my head that will assure you
that this administration understands the data and hard facts it takes
to run a fiscally responsible operation that respects our citizens tax
dollars while providing the services needed to move our county
forward.
I have to tell you I have written and thrown away about 10 drafts.
None of them struck the right balance between this head and heart
tension.
In draft number one, the heart won, and after 10 minutes I still
hadnt finished thanking all of the many talented, caring individuals
who made it possible for me to stand here today. Thats a problem.
So let me say at the outset that my heart is so full of gratitude for all
2

of you, from the friends who encouraged me from day one to the
hundreds of campaign volunteers and staff, to the transition team,
to all of you who are here today. So to spare you an extra 10
minutes, please accept my most heart-felt appreciation, and I hope
to thank you personally in the days and weeks ahead.
I will limit my public thank yous to my family because that gets at
the heart of who we are as the main function of county
government is to help families succeed.
So thank you to my Mother, and to my Dad who is no longer with us,
thank you. Thanks to my siblings, nieces and nephews from out of
town (for letting me survive) Marilyn Sargent, Debbie and Gary
Scheiner, and their kids Marley, Jackie, Benjamin, and Nalani.
Here with me are my two sons, Ryan and Daniel (please stand), and
my wife Amy, who many of you know. These are the lights of my life,
and Amy you are my girlfriend, my advisor, my partner. I love you
all.
One other person I must acknowledge when we recognize the
exciting progress all around us, including the Global Center and
3

Convention Center, the New County Administration Building with

the revitalization of East 9th Street, and the building of a new
convention hotel that has enabled us to get the Republican National
Convention, one person has his fingerprints all over these initiatives
Ed FitzGerald.
Ed, would you please stand so we can thank you for your excellent
service to the people of our county.
Okay, so thats the heart part of the speech. Now for the head, to
discuss the nuts and bolts of what this administration will be doing.
Yet, this duality creates the same type of thought process silo-ization
that undermines our countys progress. In fact, this speech structure
reflects the theme for my overall mission governing Cuyahoga
County: The need to balance both head and heart in the delivery of
services, without regard to silos. I want you to leave feeling and
knowing that this administration has a guiding vision that will be
infused into all facets of our operation.
First, a few basic facts. The overwhelming part of our county budget
goes toward social services and criminal justice. Hundreds and
hundreds of millions of dollars, yet thats actually vastly insufficient
4

to meet the needs of our unemployed, underemployed and most

vulnerable citizens. So how do we help foster children aging out of
the system, senior citizens who want to age at home rather than in
institutions, infants who are dying before their first birthdays?
We must grow the pie through innovation. We must think big, use
technology, be bold and take some risks.
The first concrete action I can share with you to demonstrate the
serious intent of a head and heart administration is my choice for
chief of staff, Sharon Sobol Jordan. Sharon is the embodiment of a
leader whose career encompasses both experiences. Through the
Center for Families and Children, she has tremendous experience
with the delivery of a wide range of services, while at the same time
running a huge organization with hundreds of employees and
balancing a multi-million dollar budget.
Together, were forming an executive leadership team that will have
both skill sets, and in the coming weeks youll meet them.

We can never hope to carry out our vital function if we dont have
employees who are well trained and working toward these same
goals, and whose skill sets are valued.
Since the election, I have met hundreds of committed county
employees from sheriff deputies to caseworkers in health and
human services, to workers assisting our seniors. They want to make
a difference. Thats why they do what they do!
These employees are the face of the county. Wherever you interact
with them, you should receive service that reflects this standard of
head and heart. And that is a value that will be an ongoing part of
our efforts.
It is economic development that will keep our county fiscally healthy
and enable us to grow the pie. It is economic development that will
enable us to respond to the essential needs of our citizens, so we
may succeed.
The number one priority of this administration will be jobs, jobs,
jobs. We need to work with the private and philanthropic sectors to
make sure were valuing and growing our existing companies,
6

supporting the creation of new businesses, and attracting

companies to Cuyahoga County.
And we have a great foundation to build on.
First, we are the Silicon Valley of Health Care. With the Cleveland
Clinic, University Hospitals, MetroHealth, and St. Vincent, We are
world class and world-renowned.
This Global Center for Health Innovation offers companies a uniquein-the-world ecosystem for health care innovation. We have a
capital infrastructure, including Jumpstart, Bio Enterprise and
BioMotiv, which enables health care startups to grow their
innovative ideas into successful businesses. And our underground
broadband fiber network, second to none in the country, provides
the necessary tools to enable healthcare businesses to handle
millions of medical records quickly and efficiently.
Lets switch gears to manufacturing. Our manufacturing base is
strong. We have workers with years of experience in a wide range of
manufacturing arenas, workers with a Midwest work ethic, workers
whose parents, grandparents, brothers and sisters proudly worked
7

over generations building the things that keep our country growing.
And we have fresh water, virtually unlimited fresh water. Almost
every manufacturing business needs huge quantities of fresh water.
Water that they can count on, that wont be shut off due to endless
droughts.
And speaking of water, not many cities can offer the beauty, logistics
and recreational opportunities that we can, because we have a lake.
What a great asset! A lake! Lake Erie already accounts for billions of
dollars each year added to the economy.
Our arts and culture is world class. We have the best orchestra in
the world, as we just heard, one of the best art museums, one of the
top theater districts. And we have the only Rock Hall.
So how do we build on this solid foundation?
First, we must strengthen the assets we currently have. For example,
we must create a business plan for this Global Center to ensure it
remains on solid footing, that the tenants are finding their
participation productive, and that were leveraging its power to
bring more health care businesses and jobs to Northeast Ohio.
8

We must protect our lake from invasive species, in-lake dredge

dumping, and algal blooms. We must make sure we are training the
people needed to keep our manufacturing humming. And we must
support the upcoming Arts Levy to maintain the superior quality of
life in this region.
Second, we must support innovation and entrepreneurship. We
must build an entrepreneurial environment that provides the capital
for health care spinoffs from our world-class institutions and
supports small and start-up businesses in an array of fields so they
can establish and grow right here. As part of that effort, I look
forward to partnering with established organizations like Launch
House, Bizdom, and Flashstarts, our colleges, and local libraries, to
establish innovation centers around the county. And we should
create a business plan competition for the best and most creative to
compete for the dollars they need to translate their ideas into
businesses here in Cuyahoga County.
Third, we must support education and training, which are the keys
to jobs. For example, there are jobs open right now in
manufacturing, IT, and healthcare, just to name a few. And there
9

are programs out there that are training people for those open jobs.
For example, Tri-C is currently working with some 500 area
companies, training 2,500 people a year for the jobs that are
available. And at the end of their program, 85 percent get a job in
their chosen field. This is working, but its not enough. We need to
partner with Tri-C and others to raise these numbers up, so that we
can cut the unemployment rate down.
And fourth, we must make sure people released from prison have a
shot at a fresh start.
We are losing many thousands of people who could work
productively in our county, and who want to work, but are excluded
because theyve been to prison. And without a job, many of these
people wind up right back in the criminal justice system, costing us
millions of dollars. Positive re-entry programs exist. I had the
pleasure of visiting the county common pleas re-entry court under
the leadership of Judge Nancy Margaret Russo. And this program is
working. The recidivism rate for those who go through this program
is extremely small. We need to create a community-wide

10

partnership to support, enhance and grow these and other similar

programs. Edwins restaurant cant do it alone.
All this describes the traditional economic development, which is
great, but it is not enough. Remember, head and heart. A goal of this
administration will be to create a seamless pathway from poverty to
prosperity.
When people are struggling in poverty, without enough money to
buy food or medical care for their kids, its terribly tough to find a
ladder, let alone use it to climb out of poverty and become selfsufficient. Hows a single parent without access to healthcare or day
care for her child, without transportation for herself, how is she
supposed to get or keep a job? To truly create the opportunity for
every person to become self-sustaining, we must better utilize our
existing social service programs, reaching out to people where they
are, and wrapping education and job training programs into the
provision of social services. To get this county working, and to truly
give every person a real shot at the American Dream, we must tear
down the traditional walls that have separated social services and
economic development. Joining head and heart together.
11

There can be no wrong doors. There can no longer be dead ends for
people who need help getting back on their feet, but are confused
about where to turn and what programs are available to help them.
We will combine human services with economic development and
job training so that when someone asks the county for assistance
they will be helped through a full menu of opportunities to meet
their short-term needs and to develop a long-term plan for
economic self-sufficiency and success.
Put it this way, if you come into the system because you are having
problems, then our goal will be that you will leave the system with
training, a job and a future.
To accomplish our goals, we need to think big and be willing to take
some risks. Ask any top business leader, like Albert Ratner, and
theyll tell you that great ideas involve some risk, and the chance
that we might fail.
We must take on big challenges, and not shy away from fear of
failure. For example, we must wage an all out war against the
shameful rate of infant mortality.
WE must work to save money and eliminate wasteful duplication,
both with both county government and our 59 local communities.
Again, we must think big and take some risks.
We will establish metrics and targets by which we will measure
success and failure. We will enhance the efforts that are working
12

and well change or eliminate those that are not.

I want to be a part of our progress. I need you to be partners, and to
attract people and business to our region, I need you to be
ambassadors.
We must tell people why were excited to be here. The Republican
National Convention will give us a brief platform to do this but we
must show our pride all year round.
This is our county. We are diverse. We are rich and, yes, we are
poor. We have magnificent pockets of natural beauty, and
unconscionable pockets of poverty in foreclosure-devastated
neighborhoods. Yet our fortunes are linked, whether we know our
neighbors or not. Our lives are connected. We need each other to
succeed.
We need to use both our head and our hearts to show ourselves and
our children what can be done when dream, big, together.
Thank you.

13