Collinwood businessman Jack Schron wins seat on first ever County Council, Julian Rogers is Collinwood's representative on County Council, Ed FitzGerald is County Executive

 Well, the results are in, and though many in Collinwood were pulling for our own Tim McCormack to come out on top in the County Executive Race, we do have one neighborhood business resident who will take up the challenge of being on Cuyahoga County's first ever County Council.

Jack Schron, CEO of Jergens Inc, which is located at the old Collinwood Train Yards, won a seat for his District, which includes Chagrin Falls where he lives. This first elected group has the task of shaping and creating a brand new system of government for the County. Jack has been attending the transition meetings regularly and shared with us recently that though there is bound to be some turbulence at the beginning, he felt that the all-volunteer transition committee did a very good job of suggeting reforms and changes that are crucial to the health of the county. Jack feels that this will be an exciting time and has agreed to share his knowledge of the the new process as it unfolds with the Collinwood neighborhood in the Collinwood Observer. We will have a ringside seat. Thanks and congratulations, Jack.

Below are excerpts from the interviews that appeared in the past few months of the paper to remind you what our candidates, now our elected leaders, had to say about themselves.  Ed FitzGerald will be our new County Executive. Julian Rogers will be our new representative from District 10, which includes Collinwood, East Cleveland, Bratenahl, and Cleveland Heights, which is Julian's home town. We wish them well.

From Ed FitzGerald's interview:

If elected to the position of County Executive, what three or four goals would top the list of things that you'd hope to accomplish during your term in office?

I plan to clean up the corruption and restore confidence in county government—the FBI can and will only take care of a piece of this—the highest ethical standards must be set and met among all county employees and departments.  Second, I will work to build on the strengths of our county to retain and attract jobs; third, as we redesign county government, I will ensure that the stellar health and human services currently provided through the county continue, even as government systems and departments consolidate; finally, it is clear that safety and security are a paramount concern and the county can and should play a larger role in ensuring the safety of all of our neighborhoods.

From Julian Rogers' interview:

Why do you want to serve on the County Council?

With the right leadership and a focused vision, I believe that Cuyahoga County can be an example of how regions along the Great Lakes can reinvent themselves to be striving communities where families want to live and businesses wish to locate. My life, both professionally and privately has been devoted to making a difference in the lives of people in our community. I would like to continue that commitment to service as a member of the County Council.  

I would like to help create a county government that is run efficiently, provides the highest quality of services and operates in a manner that is open to the public, fair and corruption-free. This will require an unwavering commitment to the highest ethical standards among all members of the Council, the County Executive and all employees of county government. The members of the new County Council need to be willing to work extremely hard to make sure we get this right the first time. The voters are expecting change and a better government and I am dedicated to meeting their expectations. Finally, it is time for the next generation of leaders to take positions in government in order to bring new ideas and energy that Cuyahoga County so desperately needs.