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O'Malley Resignation Confirmed, And Thoughts on County Goverment "Reform"
Submitted by Jeff on Thu, 05/15/2008 - 5:41pm.
Cuyahoga County Recorder Pat O'Malley has in fact resigned and shortly thereafter pleaded guilty to one count of obscenity in federal court in Akron today. O'Malley's attorney denies that the obscene material involved children. The charge is based on transmission of material over the internet over the period 1998 through 2004, the latter being the date of an FBI raid on O'Malley's residence.
I want to relate this story to the proposal by Cuyahoga County Commissioner Tim Hagan (D-Cleveland), now endorsed by House Majority Leader Jon Husted (R-Kettering), to "reform" county government by eliminating six elected positions and consolidating power in the three commissioners, touched on today by Bill Callahan. Basically, Hagan's plan would replace the elected offices of auditor and recorder with an "assessor" apponted by the commission, and the coroner, engineer, sheriff, and treasurer would also be appointed by the commission. The only other county-wide elected officials aside from the commission would be the prosecutor and various judges.
This is a terrible, terrible plan. Yes, cost efficiency through consolidation is a laudable goal. But a government-by-committee doesn't work. If power is to be consolidated, it must rest with a single elected official, like the county executive in Summit County. The three-headed Hydra in Cuyahoga County has not done a creditable job with the power it had handled to date, much less the additional power Hagan seeks. O'Malley, aside from his addiction to pornography, is a political hack who should have been rooted out years ago. County affairs have been a parade of bumbling on many fronts. A single leader is needed to ride herd over the warring factions, or the result is weak compromises and wild reversals of course.
By far the most effective and innovative county official we have in Cuyahoga County is Treasurer Jim Rokakis (D-Cleveland), a national leader in the struggle against the mortgage foreclosure crisis. Under Hagan's system, would a person like Rokakis attain and stay in office? Much more likely a more politically connected but less skilled appointee, a result of some deal among the three commissioners, would be in his place.
It's a bad plan.
UPDATE: Don't miss Pho's annotations to the Cuyahoga County GOP press release on O'Malley.
O'malley resignation.
To say that political corruption and pedophilia run hand in hand is absurd. I would be embarrased to publicize such an ignorant statement.
In response to "politics and pedophilia go hand in hand."
First of all, O'malley loves women and is a known womanizer which is hardly a component of pedophilia. As sensible people we need not believe what we read and hardly anything we see.
I worked for the Plain Dealer for many years and personally know first hand about exaggerated news stories, most reporters are truly ruthless to obtain anything just to make a column.
The problem with politics are not the parties themselves but, rather the voters. Ignorance is abominable to say the least.
Our society has become so passive aggressive. We give lip service but do nothing Democracy has truly lost it's meaning.
You all are so eager to criticize Mr. O'Malley but I guess everyone forgot about the rest of the big boys who really caused an "obscenity" remember the new county building??? did anyone bother to ask them where's the money, where is it? really what happened? How come the FBI does not investigate them?? Think about it real hard......if you want to come down on an official look at some real important issues...let's face it, let's be down to earth...I bet a lot of the officials have viewed porn on their home computers.
Mr. O'Malley's crime is: He pissed off the wrong people and got set up.
How do I know? Well I work for the good ole government too! For a long time, once you do your time working for the system you even know where the bodies are buried.
Sorry, somehow this posted under the wrong article. There was a comment made on this blog concerning his resignation with the pedophilia comment.