Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald, will be the keynote speaker for the annual Hardin County Democratic Party Presidents’ Day Luncheon Saturday, February 23, 2013 at noon at the Kenton Moose Family Center, 801 West Lima Street, Kenton, Ohio.
In 2010 FitzGerald became the first elected County Executive of Cuyahoga County, the largest County in Ohio and the 29th largest county by population in the United States. FitzGerald is actively considering a run for Ohio Governor in 2014.
Ed was raised in a large Irish-Catholic family, the seventh of eight brothers and sisters. He worked his way through college, graduating from The Ohio State University in 1990.
He earned his law degree from the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law in 1993. During this time he worked as a staff assistant for former U.S. Congressman Edward F. Feighan. Trained at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia, FitzGerald was commissioned as a Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
He was assigned to the Organized Crime Task Force in Chicago, helping to take down the infamous Cicero crime syndicate.
In 1998, FitzGerald returned to the Cleveland area and joined the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s office as an assistant Prosecutor. Elected in 1999, he served as a City Councilman for the City of Lakewood for nine years.
In 2007, he was elected as Mayor of Lakewood and his administration focused on a community policing initiative as well as dealing with a financial crisis.
On November 3, 2009, the voters of Cuyahoga County, which includes the City of Cleveland and 59 surrounding suburbs, voted to authorize a new form of county government, due in large part to a widespread scandal in county government.
Under this new system, in 2010 FitzGerald defeated a field of ten candidates to become the first County Executive of Cuyahoga County. He oversees a budget of over $1 billion.
On his watch, he restored the public’s trust by putting in place the toughest ethics laws in Ohio and shrank the size of the government while investing in the future to create jobs.
With the money he saved, Ed established a $100 million economic development fund to grow Northeast Ohio’s economy, made groundbreaking investment in early childhood education and established a scholarship fund to foster a culture of college attendance in Northeast Ohio.
Ed shares our core progressive Democratic values. He is and has always been pro-choice, was an early and vocal opponent of Governor Kasich’s attack on collective bargaining and instituted the largest expansion of LGBT rights in state history with the passage of full domestic partner benefits in Cuyahoga County.
Most importantly, Ed is a fighter. He led the fight opposing Governor Kasich’s plan to privatize the turnpike and is an outspoken critic of the Governor’s devastating cuts to Ohio’s police officers, firefighters and teachers.
FitzGerald and his wife Shannon have been married for over 20 years. They are the proud Hardin County Democratic Party Chair Don Traxler and Sandy Bookmyer had the opportunity to hear County Executive FitzGerald speak at the Ohio Democratic Chairs meeting in Columbus in January.
“Mr. FitzGerald was an articulate speaker and was specific in bringing his message to those attending,” said Chair Traxler. “He described his experiences as a mayor and county executive and described what he believes needs to be done in the state of Ohio.”
“I encourage Hardin County and area residents to come and listen to one of the potential candidates for Ohio Governor in 2014,” said Traxler.
The Presidents’ Day Luncheon will be prepared by the Kenton Women of the Moose and will feature baked steak with all the trimmings. The sit-down dinner will begin at noon with carryout dinners available at 11:30 a.m.
Tickets are available from Central and Executive Committee members or by calling Don Traxler (419-234-8506 or emailing him at [email protected]).
Donations are $15.00 per person with all students elementary school through college donating $8.00.
Reservations are requested by Saturday, February 16, 2013. Listen to WKTN (95.3 on your FM dial) in case of inclement weather.
