March 23, 2010… Why should the Greater Cleveland Partnership (GCP) – a cabal of corporate Cleveland – be allowed a non-profit, tax-exempt status when it is merely another corrupter of Cleveland and Cuyahoga County governments? Why should taxpayers pick up the cost for these obnoxious corporate lobbyists?

GCP is an obvious business-dominated front group that poses as a charitable, do-good organization. GCP is allowed to use tax-free dollars to lobby for the interests of Corporate Cleveland. It has the blessing of the Internal Revenue Service. Too bad.

This is not a charity. It is a corporate lobbying business. It is a detriment to the good health of the community.

Why? Because it sets priorities that favor corporate interests while playing the role of a community benefactor.

In its document claims to the IRS, GCP says in part, “The Greater Cleveland Partnership is positioned to speak with ‘one voice’ on behalf of its 17,000 members to promote the private sector’s priorities locally, and in Columbus and Washington D. C… The GCP successfully focused the business community’s resources on advancing governmental policies and actions that are favorable to economic development and long-term economic vitality…” It also takes credit for “expediting work on the Opportunity Corridor.”

This again is not a charity. It is a lobby dedicated to shifting the tax cost of government from wealth to the non-wealthy. It is anti-community. It’s a Republican outfit.

GCP also is given a privileged position by the news media. The media, particularly The Plain Dealer, portrays it as a non-partisan, do-good institution. It’s doing good alright. For its corporate friends. But not for you.

Have you ever read a critical word about GCP in the Plain Dealer? The gods forbid it. It receives favorable, though biased, coverage. Never has been different. Never will be.

What is really upsetting is that your and my tax dollars have been aiding GCP – not only by tax-free “charity” claims – but directly. You contribute directly to GCP’s corporate efforts. You didn’t know?

The City of Cleveland and Cuyahoga County, for example, in three years gave GCP nearly a quarter million tax dollars. Your money.

Cuyahoga County tells me that it gave $40,000 in 2008 and 2009 and will give $40,000 again this year. A tax give-away.

The City of Cleveland tells me that it gave $40,000 in 2008 and 2009 and will give another $40,000 this year. A tax give-away.

That’s $240,000 of tax money to a corporate club that engineers public agenda for self interests.

I suspect that there are other local governments that also contribute to GCP and its efforts to dominate the public agenda.

These tributes to our corporate Caesars have been going on much longer than three years.

So we are enriching those who help make the laws that take from the ordinary citizens and leave businesses alone. What a deal.

GCP represents a more corruptive influence than any two-bit politician getting his or her house enhanced in exchange for favors. The public rightly gets upset with political corruption but the GCP kind of corrupting of public officials and public activity goes without even criticism. Indeed, in the media it gets praise!

This is acceptable public corruption.

GCP – usually in conjunction with foundations – sets the agenda for our public sector. It drives what happens in Cleveland and Cuyahoga County. Certainly more than any politician or political party. Not a good situation.

But you see no attention from any news outlet. Off limits. Sacrosanct. No criticism allowed.

The GCP even puts together the list for capital projects that goes to the state for funding? And you thought you elected mayors and council members to do that? You should expect that these public dollars go to subsidize what corporate leaders want. See Opportunity Corridor, which is really a costly in-opportunity that doesn’t meet the greater needs of people to move around. Hundreds of millions of dollars for an unnecessary road at the same time transit-dependent people are ignored and overcharged. GCP leads the way with Opportunity Corridor.

GCP pushed the medical mart/convention center that will cost Cuyahoga County taxpayers $1 billion before it’s over.

They provide seed money for almost everything that shifts costs to ordinary taxpayers and away from corporations.

GCP no longer has to tell the IRS or the public where it gets its money. It once had to list donors. You don’t see the Plain Dealer crying for transparency here. Even though these business leaders set more expensive priorities than the politicians.

To give you an idea of how much money flows into this corporate puppet I have to go back to 1990 and a listing I compiled for my newsletter, Point of View. It is information now hidden by GCP.

Here is what GCP’s predecessor – Cleveland Tomorrow – listed as its donors. I called CT and GCP – Cleveland’s Shadow Government.

The Cleveland Tomorrow IRS report listed the following “contributions” – they were the first payments of three for some of these contributors:

Ameritrust (gone) – $501,000.

Bearings, Inc. – $167,000.

BP America (gone) – $2,338,000.

Calfee-Halter – $83,500.

Cleveland-Cliffs -$167,000.

Cleveland Foundation – $167,000.

Eaton Corp. Trust Fund – $2,000,000.

Figgie International (gone) $334,000.

First Bank Corp. – $250,000.

Forest City Enterprises – $334,000.

David Jacobs – $83,500.

Dick Jacobs – $83,000.

Jones, Day – $250,000.

Lubrizol – $334,000.

National City Bank (gone) – $501,000.

Nestles (owned Stouffer’s) – $1,002,000.

Ohio Bell Telephone – $1,000,000.

Parker-Hannifin – $666,000.

Society Corp. (now Key Bank) -$501,000.

Squire-Sanders – $83,500.

Standard Products – $107,000.

TRW, Inc. (gone) – $1,000,000.

Of course, you may remember that about this time the establishment here was gearing up to build a stadium and arena – at mostly your cost, of course. Of course.

Indeed, Cleveland Tomorrow helped buy the land upon which Progressive Field and Quicken Arena now sit. The land cost more than $20 million and was added to the cost of Gateway.

Even the Cleveland Press and the PD were listed in older documents as tithing with contributions to these outfits. The PD is likely still contributing financial, as well as propaganda-wise.

GCP has a budget of some $8 or $9 million a year.

Its payroll has some hefty salaries that make its employees much better paid than ordinary citizens.

GCP boss Joe Roman earns a salary of $353,880 plus a bonus of $28,169, plus deferred compensation of $57,143, plus non-taxable benefits of $12,049 for a total of $451,241 (All these figures are 2008, the latest available).

I’ll just give the totals for the following GCP executives:

Yvette Ittu – $216,233.

John Luteran – $214,653.

Deb Janik – $190,457.

Daniel Berry – $186,633 & $79,986 from a related organization.

Carol Caruso -$222,066.

Stephen Millard – $30,322 & $272,899 from a related organization.

Paul Federico – $183,629.

Claire Walker – $80,612 & $80,612 from a related organization.

Nice pay if you can get it. Few can.

Squire, Sanders & Dempsey, of course, does well with professional services in 2008 of $197,795. Squire-Sanders, needless to say, has been a major corrupter of government, particularly the city of Cleveland, from its activities in trying to kill Muny Light to its work at Gateway, the Browns Stadium and the Medical Mart, all major Cleveland Tomorrow and Greater Cleveland Partnership – really one and the same – efforts with taxpayer dollars.

So GCP is our Shadow Government. We don’t vote for them. But they make more important decisions than any elected officer. And they do it without public scrutiny. Indeed, with the cooperation of your daily newspaper.

It’s a hell of a way to run our public sector.