The

County Executive A county executive, county manager or county mayor is the head of the executive branch of government in a United States county. The executive may be an elected or an appointed position. When elected, the executive typically functions either as a ...

Cuyahoga County Cuyahoga County ( or ) is a large urban County (United States), county located in the Northeast Ohio, northeastern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. It is situated on the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the Canada–United States border, U.S.- ...

, the second largest county in

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, and the 29th largest county by population in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, is the elected

chief executive A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

of the Cuyahoga County government.

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

Chris Ronanye is the current county executive. The county charter stipulates that the executive is responsible for the appointment and removal of county personnel, working with other local governments, introducing legislation to the county council, submitting budgets and capital improvements plans to the council, and many other duties.

Formation

After a widespread corruption scandal was revealed, the voters of Cuyahoga County, which includes the City of

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

and 58 surrounding suburbs, voted to authorize a new form of county government on November 3, 2009. The

charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the rec ...

replaced three

county commission A county commission (or a board of county commissioners) is a group of elected officials (county commissioners) collectively charged with administering the county government in some states of the United States; such commissions usually comprise ...

ers with an executive and 11-member council. Under the charter, other previously elected posts, such as sheriff, treasurer, and clerk of courts became appointed positions under the executive. Summit County is the only other Ohio county with an executive.

Ed FitzGerald Edward FitzGerald (born July 10, 1968) is an American businessman, attorney, and entrepreneur who previously served as a law enforcement officer and public official in the Greater Cleveland Metropolitan Area. Early life FitzGerald was born ...

, the then-Mayor of

Lakewood, Ohio Lakewood is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States, on the southern shore of Lake Erie. Established in 1889, it is one of Cleveland's historical streetcar suburbs and part of the Greater Cleveland, Greater Clevelan ...

, defeated

Matt Dolan Matthew John Dolan (born January 12, 1965) is an American attorney and politician who has served as a member of the Ohio Senate from the 24th district since 2017. He previously served as a member of the Ohio House of Representatives from 2005 to ...

in the initial election in November 2010 and was sworn in as the first Cuyahoga County executive on January 1, 2011 and inaugurated on January 9.

Political implications

After FitzGerald was elected, ''

The Plain Dealer ''The Plain Dealer'' is the major newspaper of Cleveland, Ohio, United States. In fall 2019, it ranked 23rd in U.S. newspaper circulation, a significant drop since March 2013, when its circulation ranked 17th daily and 15th on Sunday. As of Ma ...

'' political reporter Henry J. Gomez wrote that many observers believed the county executive job would "be second only to the governor in terms of power and constituency." This prediction seemed to foreshadow FitzGerald's decision to challenge

John Kasich John Richard Kasich Jr. ( ; born May 13, 1952) is an American politician, author, and television news host who served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1983 to 2001 and as the 69th governor of Ohio from 2011 to 2019. A Republican, Kasic ...

re-election bid The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seeking re-ele ...

for

Governor of Ohio A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

in 2014. FitzGerald was the Democratic nominee for the November election. However, he was defeated.

Elections

After FitzGerald chose to run for Governor of Ohio in 2014, then-

state Representative A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United Sta ...

Armond Budish was elected to succeed him. Budish was reelected in 2018, but chose not to run again in 2022. Democrat Chris Ronayne defeated Republican Lee Weingart in the November 2022 election to become the third person to hold the office.

County Executives

References

External links

*{{Official website, https://executive.cuyahogacounty.us Government of Cuyahoga County, Ohio County executives in Ohio