Would Cleveland be right choice?

COLUMBUS

The Ohio Democratic National Committee has selected Cleveland among the four finalist sites for its 2012 national convention, and Gov. Ted Strickland is already hard at work lobbying for the honors.

In a statement released earlier this month touting the Ohio city over Charlotte, N.C.; Minneapolis and St. Louis, Strickland said, “I can think of no better place to play host to a 2012 national political convention than the city of Cleveland. Cleveland has a rich history, and arts, entertainment and cultural offerings that, along with Lake Erie, offer convention planners a menu of options and potential visitors the promise of a great experience. Perhaps most important, Cleveland provides the ideal backdrop for what is sure to be an historic convention as the city embodies the diversity and determined hope of America.”

Smart or dumb?

Selecting Cleveland for the event would be either the smartest move the Democrats could make or the dumbest one, depending on which way the economy turns and whether policy changes and stimulus under Strickland and President Barack Obama have their intended impact.

It would be a smart move if Ohio is able to get a handle on its foreclosure issues, turning Cuyahoga County’s ongoing homeownership struggles into a prevention and redevelopment model that could be replicated across the country.

It would be a dumb move if Ohio can’t put the brakes on foreclosures and the city landscape is dominated by empty houses with boarded windows and properties in disrepair.

It would be a smart move if that wind farm in Lake Erie comes to fruition, creating the number of jobs and having the kind of economic impact green energy proponents believe is possible.

It would be a dumb move if the symbolic result of Ohio’s much-touted energy bill is a warehouse full of compact fluorescent light bulbs that FirstEnergy still isn’t able to deliver to customers.

It would be a smart move if Cleveland’s new casino is up and running and helping to revitalize downtown.

It would be a dumb move if the best economic development initiative undertaken in the city is a gambling operation that preys on people who don’t have money to be spending in such establishments.

It would be a smart move if the voter-approved county executive and council come in and reform government.

It would be a dumb move if corruption scandals continue to surface, spotlighting everything that’s wrong about politicians in power.

Unemployment

Most of all, it would be a really, really smart move if state and federal initiatives boost business growth and put people back to work, eliminating the ongoing double-digit unemployment rates.

And it would be a really, really dumb move if those initiatives have the opposite effect on unemployment rates, leaving thousands of Ohioans out of work, with nothing else to do but stand on corners with big signs reading “Will Work For Food.”

Marc Kovac is The Vindicator’s Statehouse correspondent. E-mail him at mkovac@dixcom.com or on Twitter at OhioCapitalBlog.