Tom Jordan - County Council District 2

1.  Please tell us your name, age, where you live, and how you make your living.

Tom Jordan, 45, Cleveland (Westpark), Community Development Director for the City of North Royalton, married to Mary Ellen Jordan (a licensed social worker and Lakewood Middle School track coach). Together we have four children, ages 4 through 9 years.

2.  Describe for us the duties of a member of the County Council.

As a new entity, the most important duty is to reestablish the public trust and ensure that all of the responsibilities are executed in an open and honest manner through a new standard of ethics. The charter prescribes a wide range of responsibilities, from establishing budgets to reorganizing departments. It provides a check and balance for the new county executive to ensure that District 2 of the county is fairly represented. Most importantly, the council should try and integrate the vision of communities in collaborative efforts that reduce our tax burden.

3.  Why do you want to serve on County Council?

My parents immigrated here from Ireland to find opportunity and raise their seven children. Currently, Cuyahoga County is at a crossroads. However, if the trends are not reversed, my four children, who were born and raised in Cleveland, will probably not remain here. They may be forced to find work in their chosen professions elsewhere. We have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to embrace the true spirit of reform, install new leadership, and reinvigorate a county that continues to lose jobs and population.

4.  What qualifications to you bring that make you the most qualified?

I have served as the Planning and Development Director for the City of Lakewood where I have a proven track record of creating jobs and investments. I supported and initiated incentive programs that helped sustain our schools, promoted home ownership, and created new housing. I am aware of the challenges and strengths of the core city and the inner ring suburbs. I have senior government experience without the baggage of 30 years in elective office.

5.  What will you do in your first weeks? Please describe in detail, to give our readers and idea of what this position will actually be like.

I would get to work creating private sector jobs. I would focus available county resources into programs and projects that attract business investments such as green energy and health science jobs. Instead of spreading limited resources over a broad number of programs, I would narrow the funds to these two job-producing fields. Through utilizing tax incentives or providing loans and grants, we must establish the county as a major destination for companies in these select fields. Additionally, we will need to streamline and consolidate departments through shared technology across different units of government. We must also find the resources to provide quality health and human services that promote self-sustainability.

6.  How, specifically, will we know that you are doing a good job?

How well the council members respond to the challenge of balancing the budget, providing quality services, and creating jobs will be a measure of the council's success. Getting to work on these issues will be a standard by which voters can gauge whether or not we are moving forward. The public and our regional partners need to be assured that real reform has occurred. Over time, the voters will be able to judge the success of county council through a decline in unemployment, a rise in home sales, and a creation of an innovative economic development plan. To truly demonstrate success and growth, the operations, focus, and image of the county need to be rebranded in order to restore public trust and move forward.