Danforth has necessary practical experience

In November 2019, the voters of Cleveland Heights voted to amend the city charter and directly elect a mayor, to provide the city with more centralized management and focused accountability. At the same time, voters provided for hiring a city administrator reporting directly to the mayor.

These changes acknowledge the role of the mayor as manager of a city with $62.8 million in revenue (according to the 2019 Cleveland Heights Comprehensive Annual Financial Report), and as a leader of 433 employees (according to the same report) accountable for the effectiveness of the city’s programs and services.

Immediately upon election, our new mayor must embark upon the search for an administrator who must be identified, properly interviewed, vetted and hired. Beyond filling that key position, it’s critical that our new mayor bring to city hall a proven track record of leadership, with fluency in the language of business, fund accounting, politics and conciliation. We don’t have the luxury of on-the-job training. Practical experience will be essential.

There are four people running for mayor, but only Barbara Danforth has:

  • Experience as a significant CEO: first, for a school system with 1,000 employees and a budget of $62 million; second, for the YWCA of Greater Cleveland.
  • Experience as an executive headhunter, which will help her hit the ground running and increase the likelihood she will hire the best possible city administrator.
  • Experience on the social-service side of the law as chief counsel for the Cuyahoga County Department of Children and Family Services, and experience in the criminal justice system as a prosecuting attorney and an assistant attorney general.

We are lucky to have a candidate with this level of experience willing to take on this job.

I urge the voters of Cleveland Heights to vote for Barbara Danforth on Sept. 14.

Dan T. Moore

A lifelong resident of Cleveland Heights, Dan T. Moore recently had the pleasure of cutting the ribbon on Cleveland Metroparks Wendy Park Bridge at Whiskey Island. Moore is an entrepreneur who has served on numerous nonprofit boards including those of Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland Metroparks and Cleveland State University.

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Volume 14, Issue 8, Posted 3:01 PM, 07.30.2021