Executive Summary

It's a travesty that Clevelanders and many northeast Ohioans live within miles of one of the world's richest freshwater resources, yet many residents still don't have access to clean, safe, affordable drinking water. Sharp water rate increases in recent years have put an undue burden on residents during an already difficult time, with economically challenged residents feeling these impacts most acutely and disproportionately. 

In addition to the struggles with water affordability, northeast Ohio also continues to grapple with the health impacts that lead pipes have on residents. In the Greater Cleveland area alone it's estimated that between 59 and 89 percent of water pipes are potentially made of lead - and while there has been some small progress like replacing lead service lines to daycares, those represent only a tiny fraction of the lead pipes in the city. And to make matters worse, Lake Erie, which provides drinking water to more than 11 million people, is suffering the ongoing effects of toxic algal blooms caused by agricultural runoff pollution. These impacts are compounded by the impacts of Climate Change, resulting in a need for leadership to consider climate resiliency strategies in their overall planning. 

Climate resilience is achieved when a community implements sustainable and environmentally just practices that allow communities to incrementally decrease their reliance upon carbon-emitting sources; inequitable policies and practices are eliminated; and local infrastructure can better absorb the shocks of climate impacts such as hotter temperatures, extreme weather events, and decreased air and water quality. 

While we Ohioans have no shortage of high-profile races to focus on, including the Ohio governor's race and important congressional races, we understand that there is one race that is likely to have a big impact on our daily lives and addressing these pressing water equity/access, environmental justice and climate change/resiliency issues in our communities: the race for Cuyahoga County Executive. 

This year marks the first time in eight years that the County Executive seat has been up for consideration, as Executive Armond Budish declined to seek a third term. The County Executive office serves as a direct line to the 1.2 million residents of the county and is entrusted with responsibly managing the county's budget of over $1.5 billion. 

Critically, the new County Executive will also serve as a convener, bringing together the 59 mayors and hundreds of local organizations that make up Cuyahoga County to harness the power of the region to lead on developing innovative solutions to our biggest problems. It is our hope that the new County Executive will usher in a period of change and offer innovative solutions to finally tackle the water equity/access, environmental justice and climate resilience challenges our county faces and to improve the lives of the residents and stakeholders concerned about the new direction of Cuyahoga County. 

The next County Executive has an immense amount of power to implement inclusive and equitable solutions like these. Not only can they move forward with specific reforms under their purview, they have the opportunity to work collaboratively with all stakeholders of the county to find ways to address water equity, environmental justice and climate resiliency issues. 

As the next Executive begins to lead Cuyahoga County, this document includes educational information to inform answers to the questions Cuyahoga County residents hope will be addressed in the next administration: 

Greater Clevelanders will remember that the County Executive role was established in direct response to the scandal wrought by former County Commissioner Jimmy Dimora's indictment on federal corruption charges in an effort to restore a sense of trust and accountability between voters and the leaders charged with protecting their interests and well-being. The next County Executive bears great responsibility to get things done and to do so with integrity, transparency, and input from key stakeholders. They should also expect to be held accountable when they don't. 

Given that the charter also explicitly calls for "an improved focus on equity for all our communities and citizens," There can be no better way to evaluate the next County Executive than closely examining how they will choose to tackle our county's complex and pressing water issues.