Initiative designed to better NE Ohio

Improving government is one of several priorities they want to zero in on.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
CITY HALL REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- A citizen initiative to improve Northeast Ohio will focus on equity in education, job creation and making government more efficient.
Voices & amp; Choices, created by about 70 philanthropic organizations, wants 15 counties in Northeast Ohio -- including Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana -- to work together to improve the area.
But leaders of the organization say it may be a challenge to get the Mahoning Valley on board with this initiative.
The three counties make up 15 percent of Northeast Ohio's population, but made up only 7 percent of those who attended a Saturday event in Akron to get leaders from the 15 counties together. About 900 people attended the event.
Local turnout low
Reasons for the low Valley turnout including the recent mayoral race that attracted a lot of attention, the travel time to and from Akron, and confusion that Voices & amp; Choices is different than Youngstown 2010, the city's land-use development plan, said Deborah Vesy, V & amp;C's co-chairwoman.
"The Mahoning Valley sometimes thinks of the region as Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties and not Northeast Ohio," said Vesy, who also is executive director of the Deaconess Community Foundation in Brooklyn, Ohio, a charitable organization.
Thomas M. Humphries, a Mahoning Valley leadership co-captain for V & amp;C and Regional Chamber president and chief executive officer, said this is the largest regional initiative in Northeast Ohio.
What is good for Cleveland, Akron or any other part of Northeast Ohio is also good for the Valley, and if area residents understood that concept, Northeast Ohio would see significant improvements through regional cooperation, he said.
The consensus from Saturday's meeting was that Northeast Ohio needs to concentrate on equity in education, job creation and making government more efficient to move the area forward, Vesy said.
"Will it change overnight? No," she said. "It's a long process, and we're at the beginning of it. We don't expect people to embrace it immediately. Fragmentation is one of the main obstacles."
V & amp;C held 11 workshops, including one in Youngstown, this summer to get input on regionalism from local government, businesses, church and civic leaders and other citizens.
The organization will hold small community forums and online discussions from January to May 2006.
It will hold a workshop for 1,000 leaders to create an agenda for change in June or July 2006. In August or September '06, it will hold a final meeting to evaluate options to reach the region's vision and make decisions about economic priorities, Vesy said.
skolnick@vindy.com