You are here: Home

 

Armond Budish, Cuyahoga County Executive

Text from Cuyahoga County Executive Armond Budish's Inaugural Address

If you could see the agenda that my team handed today's 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 what's in my heart, and why I care so much about our community, with the solid-sound-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.

Read Full Text...

---

Budish Releases Transition Working Groups Report

CLEVELAND – Cuyahoga County Executive Armond Budish today released a Transition Working Groups Report representing hundreds of hours of volunteer work done by civic, business, and community leaders with suggestions and guiding themes to ensure Cuyahoga County government continues to meet the needs of constituents and moves our community forward.

“Our region is fortunate to have many talented, passionate leaders and experts in all sectors of our community willing to give of their time, energy, and expertise,” said Budish. “The Transition Policy Working Groups were the first stage of what I hope will be a continuous, inclusive, and meaningful process to facilitate an ongoing two-way conversation between the people of Cuyahoga County and their County government. It is important to me that we continue to collaborate so that we may listen and learn from each other as we solve problems and tackle the region’s challenges.”

The Report outlines suggestions from each of the three Transition Working Groups: Effective and Efficient Government, Quality of Life, and Economic Growth and Opportunity. Across each Working Group, three global themes were universally agreed upon.

The first global theme, Engage, highlights the importance of the administration actively engaging the community, seeking input, valuing dialogue, and listening to a broad diversity of community members.

The second global theme, Prioritize, suggests that the role of the Executive is to prioritize initiatives and to determine when it is best for the County to lead, partner, or support. The County’s charter jurisdiction is broad and it will be critical for the County to be an active community partner and identify its most appropriate role.

The final global theme, Lead, identifies that one of the top charges for Executive Budish will be for him to lead and be a convener on key issues for the community. It is recognized by stakeholders that Cuyahoga County cannot and should not be the funder of all initiatives, but it must use its leadership position to help organize efforts. The County will need to look for community partners, including those working in business, philanthropy, and social services, to build coalitions and partnerships, to have success.

“The Transition Policy Working Groups were an important step in continuing to move Cuyahoga County forward,” said Beth Mooney, Chairman and CEO, KeyCorp. “As co-chair of the Economic Growth & Opportunity Working Group, I’ll add that our members know the public-private partnership is critical as we work to equip and support individuals in the right ways so they can be successful employed.”

U.S. Representative Marcia L. Fudge served as Chair of Chairs for the working groups, offering additional leadership and guidance to County Executive Budish.

“I was honored to serve as Chair of Chairs for County Executive Budish’s Transition Working Groups. These three reports will help lay the foundation for continuing the progress Cuyahoga County has made in recent years and I thank all the work group members for their service.”