Can I build you a house & pay you to live in it?

The Cuyahoga County Commissioners have given me a  great idea.

Let's privatize the Commission by hiring one person who actually  knows what he or she is doing and do away with electing our three Stooges for Private Businesses of Any Kind, aka, Tim Hagan, Jimmy Dimora & Peter Lawson Jones.

Let see if I have this correctly. The taxpayer will build a new medical mart and convention center at maybe (with interest) $600 or $800 million. Then the taxpayers will pay an outfit from Chicago more than $100 million (over 20 years) to operate the County facility. Do we have to wash anyone's feet, too?

Where is labor in this town? I seem to remember that Cleveland labor pours money and effort into electing these three Democrats.

What for? To turn over public jobs to private interests that simply have profit as their motive of operation?

I was thrilled that the Plain Dealer last week told the public that there might be some conflict in Michael Wager, recently named to chair the Port Authority, and the fact that he is a Squire, Sanders & Dempsey lawyer. SS&D has been a leading law firm in the state doing bond counsel work and the Port, of course, is in the bond letting business. (Remind me some day to tell the story of a former SS&D managing partner that wanted to build a jetport and city in Lake Erie with bonds, admitted eventually that yes, he's make lots of money).

But Fred Nance is the managing partner of Squire-Sanders and County bonds will be the method of financing the mart and convention center. One hopes that Squire-Sanders will stand aside and not participate in the bond deal. But I believe this might be the same as expecting competency from the Bush-like County Commissioners. I'm sure making a few million dollars from the bonds was furthest from Fred's mind.

Maybe the County can sell the naming rights to Squire-Sanders. Or give it to the firm in return for Nance's sage advice.