Party Killers

The resignation of Cuyahoga County Sheriff Gerald McFaul is one of many symptoms of decline for the once-powerful local Democratic Party. Top commanders are mired waist-deep in corruption probes, while inept and passive middle-ranking politicos sit cowering waiting for the next bomb to fall.  The Party’s traditional sources of income are under pressure from a stagnant economy and wide-ranging federal investigations.

Knowledge and acquiescence in robbery makes someone part of a crime, even if they don’t literally participate in it. Public office holders have whispered about corruption for years by McFaul, Jimmy Dimora, and Frank Russo and have done nothing. So many know so much.

Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Bill Mason saw the McFaul train coming weeks ago and announced his intention to investigate as the sheriff had already become a liability under pressure from Cleveland Plain Dealer investigative reporters. As a Democrat and partisan, Mason will probably never be at the forefront of indicting a local elected official.  But if Mason had an ounce of dignity, he would resign as the entire legitimacy of county government has disintegrated under his watch.

News about corruption in the Cleveland Division of Building and Housing surfaced this week with the resignation of a key building inspector Richard Huberty. His activities, amongst other things, are tied in part to the Near West Side La Copa Nightclub. And the FBI is continuing their investigation of our favorite liquor license supporter and La Copa cheerleader, Cleveland Councilman Joe Santiago.

And so the circus goes. Cleveland Council is run by a President who has been accused of sexual harassment in the workplace and eschews underwear, while the city lumbers under a representation structure best suited for 1 million citizens, not the current 450,000.  The Republican Party in the county is opposition in absentia.  It’s been moribund for years, offering no substantive alternative or balance to the Democrats.

Here as elsewhere, the political parties have created a system that demands loyalty at almost any cost. There is little incentive to speak freely about questionable practices and wayward colleagues. If branded a rebel or loose canon, you will be without party fund-raising and organizational support; the equivalent to jumping of an Acapulco cliff.

If  gasoline is 60 octane instead of 89, performance suffers. Northeast Ohio’s political structure needs a fill-up of super unleaded—it’s just difficult to find the political commodity at any any price. An initiative to prohibit party affiliation when running for city and county government would be a start. Such reform could attract politicians with a few less strings attached. And for the moment, many of the current string-pullers may have begun their slow march to puppeteer prison.

~ by deadmanscurve on March 28, 2009.