George Voinovich

By 1979, elections in Cleveland had become nonpartisan, and with then-Mayor Dennis J. Kucinich (D) about to enter a tough reelection campaign, Voinovich began to consider running for mayor again. Finally, on July 26, he entered the race, calling the decision "one of the most difficult in [his] life". He remained lieutenant governor until he won the election.[15]

Aside from Kucinich, Voinovich's opponents in the race included State Senator Charles Butts and city council majority leader Basil Russo. As the election drew closer, The Plain Dealer endorsed Voinovich. Voter turnout in the primary was greater than that of the 1977 race among Perk, Kucinich and Edward F. Feighan. In the 1979 nonpartisan primary election, Voinovich received 47,000 votes to Kucinich's 36,000. Russo (who got 21,000) and Butts (with 19,000) did not qualify for the general election. The biggest surprise was Voinovich's showing in predominantly African American wards, where he was expected to finish last. He trailed only Butts, with Kucinich last.[16]

On October 8, 1979, a few days after the primary, Voinovich's nine-year-old daughter Molly was struck by a van and killed. The event brought the Voinovich campaign to a virtual halt and made it difficult for Kucinich to attack his opponent. Still, he challenged Voinovich to a series of debates in various Cleveland neighborhoods. Voinovich declined the invitations, saying the debates would be unproductive, but they did debate on November 3 at the City Club. Voinovich won the election with 94,541 votes to Kucinich's 73,755.[17]

Voinovich was reelected twice in landslides. In 1981 he defeated former State Representative Patrick Sweeney,[18] 107,472 to 32,940, to win Cleveland's first four-year mayoral term. In 1985 he defeated former councilman Gary Kucinich (Dennis Kucinich's brother), 82,840 to 32,185.[19]

Voinovich was considered shy[20] and a rather low-key politician, a description he adopted himself. Once elected, he met with Ohio Governor James Rhodes to solicit the state government's help in clearing up the city's debts. Voinovich negotiated a debt repayment schedule and in October 1980, with the state serving as guarantor, eight local banks lent Cleveland $36.2 million, allowing the city to emerge from default. Still, the city's economy continued to decline, and federal funding was cut. Two weeks earlier, voters turned down another 0.5 percent income tax increase. The opposition was led by Kucinich, who had been keeping a low profile since losing the election. Voinovich said he would resubmit the tax issue on the February ballot to avoid facing a deficit in 1981. That time the voters approved the tax increase.

By the time Voinovich was elected, Cleveland had become the butt of late night comedians' jokes about the Cuyahoga River and Mayor Ralph Perk's hair catching fire (in separate incidents)[21] and as the only major American city to go bankrupt.[22]

Voinovich took an aggressive approach. He reversed a defensive attitude projected by the Cleveland media, going to "war ... to save one of this country's greatest cities".[20] Others soon jumped on board. For instance, The Smythe-Cramer Co., a local realty firm, tried to restore the city's former glory by running a series of ads with photographs of downtown Cleveland captioned "Take Another Look. It's Cleveland!" In May 1981, The Plain Dealer sent its Sunday subscribers bumper stickers reading, "New York's the Big Apple, but Cleveland's a Plum." The paper also passed out thousands of "Cleveland's a Plum" buttons and ran a huge picture of publisher Thomas Vail, with a smiling Voinovich beside him, throwing out the first plum at a Yankees-Indians game.[20] Sportscaster Howard Cosell hailed the city during a baseball game, and Voinovich subsequently presented him with a key to the city. A survey showed 65 percent of the residents of Greater Cleveland were very satisfied with their life in the city and that 57 percent claimed to be very satisfied even in 1978, the year of default. A national poll found Detroit to be the city with the worst image, with New York City second and Cleveland fifth.

The New Cleveland Campaign, a promotion agency formed in 1978, began sending out news releases promoting Cleveland's virtues and circulating reprints whenever it got a favorable story. But to show how much the "new" Cleveland had improved, it had to highlight how bad the old Cleveland was. In particular, it stressed the city's 1978 default of $15.5 million short-term loans from local banks,[23] even though New York City owed nearly 150 times as much when it received a $2.3 billion federal bailout to avoid bankruptcy in 1975.[24]

The restoration campaign reached its peak in October in the society magazine Town and Country's article "Cleveland's Come-Around", which said that "businessmen, lawyers and concerned citizens" had rescued the city from "the petulant, pugnacious Dennis Kucinich". It called Voinovich's Operation Improvement Task Force under E. Mandell de Windt "the most significant undertaking in Cleveland since Moses Cleaveland stepped ashore on the bank of the Cuyahoga River in 1786". It also enticed its readers with Lake Erie and its "beautiful and exciting year-round sailing".

So confident was Voinovich that during election season he even attracted presidential candidates Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan to debate in Cleveland. "Cleveland is making a comeback," Time declared at the close of 1980. "During the past year, convention business has flourished, school desegregation has proceeded peacefully, and a modest construction boom has begun.... Most impressive of all, the city dug itself out of default."[25]

In order to allow them to accomplish more, Voinovich felt that the terms for mayor and members of the Cleveland City Council ought to be extended. He offered a referendum to voters to extend them from two to four years and also asked voters to approve cutting the number of council members from 33 to 21 to help ease the city's strained economy. Both proposals passed.

During the Voinovich years neighborhoods began to see some improvement, starting with the Lexington Village housing project, $149 million in Urban Development Action Grants, and $3 billion of construction underway or completed. In particular, the neighborhoods of Hough and Fairfax, then two of Cleveland's worst east side neighborhoods, began to see new houses built and less criminal activity. Voinovich also quietly moved to reconcile the warring groups of the 1970s. He made peace with business leaders and posed with them in photographs that ran in New Cleveland Campaign ads in business magazines, captioned with the Voinovich slogan "Together, we can do it." He refined the neighborhood groups, which, with the breakdown of the Democratic Party, had become the most potent political forces in the city. He also extended his hand to unions, in particular the Teamsters.

As mayor, Voinovich was a member of the National League of Cities, of which he was elected president in 1985. Voinovich also oversaw an urban renaissance downtown. Sohio (purchased by BP America in 1987), Ohio Bell, and Eaton Corporation all built new offices downtown (most notably the BP Building). Brothers Richard and David Jacobs rescued the troubled Cleveland Indians. The two also improved the desolate area located by the Erieview Tower and turned it into the glass-roofed Galleria at Erieview. Voinovich also enticed Society Bank to build the Society Center, the largest skyscraper in Cleveland and the 15th largest in the nation (since renamed Key Tower). In addition, the National Civic League awarded Cleveland the All-America City Award three times in five years (1982, 1984, 1986), in addition to its first, won in 1950.

One of the major controversies of the previous Kucinich administration was its cancellation of the sale of Cleveland Municipal Light (now Cleveland Public Power). Kucinich's insistence on saving it from being absorbed into the Cleveland Electric Illuminating Company (CEI) led the business community to force Cleveland into default. Voinovich's successful negotiations reversed this action when he first took office, but Voinovich's pro-business attitude did not change CEI's position on the issue, as they persisted in making efforts to buy out Muni Light and pressuring Voinovich into giving them the right to do so. Voinovich resisted. Early in his tenure, he arranged for capital improvements to strengthen Muni Light's operation, and by 1982, it was able to compete with CEI. He asserted that the company was making attempts to cripple Muni Light by lobbying council against much-needed legislation. "We still have a battle going on," Voinovich said. "They [CEI] are as dedicated as ever to laying away the Municipal Light system."

The rebuilding process began through Voinovich's administration and improvements were made throughout the company including equipment upgrades and increased wages for all employees. To reflect all the change Municipal Light officially changed its name to Cleveland Public Power (CPP) in 1983. In 1984, the company received the American Municipal Power Association's Scattergood Award for outstanding system operation and achievement.[26]

In 1988, Voinovich ran for the Senate seat of Howard Metzenbaum, in a hard-fought and negative campaign. Voinovich accused Metzenbaum of being soft on child pornography, charges that were roundly criticized by many,[27] including John Glenn who recorded a statement for television refuting Voinovich's charges. Metzenbaum won the election, 57% to 43%,[28] even as George H. W. Bush carried the state by 11 percentage points.[29]

In 1995 Voinovich was named Public Official of the Year by the National Journal. He is credited with leading efforts to create a public voucher plan that used public funds to pay tuition at church-affiliated schools. After significant litigation over the program, the US Supreme Court ruled in a 5–4 decision that the program did not violate the constitutional prohibition against promoting religion in public schools. By the end of his second term, Ohio led the nation in percentage of eligible children participating in the Head Start Program.[31]

When the state legislature wanted to close Central State University, Ohio's only historically black state-supported college, Voinovich stepped in by appointing a new board and convincing John Garland to become president.

As both mayor and governor, Voinovich helped to advertise Cleveland as the true birthplace of rock and roll. Beginning in 1985 Voinovich, the City of Cleveland and the State of Ohio began lobbying for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum to be built in Cleveland. It eventually opened in 1995. As a nod to his efforts, the Hall's main atrium was renamed the George V. Voinovich Atrium.[32]

In 1996, Voinovich was the first governor to endorse U.S. Senator Robert J. Dole's bid for the Republican presidential nomination.[33] Later, Voinovich was among nine candidates asked to submit to background checks as potential vice-presidential running mates for Dole.[34] Voinovich withdrew his name from consideration, reiterating his desire to run for the U.S. Senate in 1998.[33]

In 1998, barred by term limits from running for a third term as governor, Voinovich ran for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by longtime incumbent Democrat John Glenn. He won the election over Democratic nominee Mary O. Boyle. Voinovich was briefly succeeded by Nancy Hollister upon his resignation as governor and before he entered the Senate. Hollister was succeeded by the newly elected Bob Taft in January 1999. It was the first time a Republican governor in Ohio had been succeeded by another Republican governor since 1904.[35][30]

Voinovich introducing George W. Bush at an Ohio campaign rally, 2004

In the Senate, Voinovich opposed lowering tax rates. He frequently joined Democrats on tax issues and in 2000 was the only Republican in Congress to vote against a bill providing for relief from the "marriage penalty".

In November 2004, in his bid for reelection, Voinovich defeated the Democratic nominee, Ohio state senator and former U.S. Representative Eric D. Fingerhut. With 64% of the vote, Voinovich won all 88 Ohio counties and the most votes ever in a U.S. Senate race in Ohio, 3.5 million.[36]

Voinovich gained national attention when he gave a speech tearfully opposing President George W. Bush's nomination of John R. Bolton for U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations at Bolton's hearing in front of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Voinovich remarked, "I don't feel comfortable voting today on Mr. John Bolton." As a result, the committee recessed without a vote, stalling the nomination.[37] Democrats refused to invoke cloture and end debate on the nomination; the first time, Voinovich voted to end debate, but the second time he joined Democrats in voting to extend debate and urged Bush to choose another nominee.

An earlier photo of Voinovich

In January 2007, Voinovich expressed concern to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that Bush's plan to increase troop levels in Iraq would not be effective: "At this stage of the game, I don't think it's going to happen." As a moderate Republican, Voinovich was viewed as one of few who could potentially influence Bush. Five months later, Voinovich wrote Bush a five-page letter requesting that the U.S. begin pulling troops from Iraq and that the Iraqis start taking care of their own territory, calling for a "comprehensive plan for our country's gradual military disengagement from Iraq".[38][39]

On April 7, 2008, Voinovich departed from the Republican platform and stated at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing regarding the war in Iraq: "We've kind of bankrupted this country" through war spending. "We're in a recession ... and God knows how long it's going to last."[40]

When Michigan became the eighth state to accede to the Great Lakes Compact on July 9, 2008, Voinovich was one of the leading legislators in supporting the interstate compact's passage in Congress.[41]

On January 20, 2009, Voinovich was appointed to the Appropriations Committee.[42] His appointment marked the first time an Ohioan served on the coveted Senate committee since Mike DeWine lost his 2006 reelection bid.[42] In accepting the appointment, Voinovich relinquished his seat on the Foreign Relations Committee.[42]

On July 22, 2009, Voinovich opposed a measure that would have allowed people to cross state lines with concealed weapons.

From June 25, 2007 to January 3, 2009, Voinovich sat at what is traditionally known as the Senate's "candy desk".[43]

Voinovich voted in favor of the Matthew Shepard Act.

On December 18, 2010, Voinovich voted in favor of the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010.[44][45][46][47][48][49]

As the Senate's leading debt hawk, Voinovich introduced the Securing America's Future Economy (SAFE) Commission Act in every Congress in which he served. The measure proposed the establishment of a national commission to examine the nation's tax and entitlement systems and present long-term solutions to place the United States on a fiscally sustainable course and ensure the solvency of entitlement programs for future generations. In January 2010, Voinovich met with President Obama to discuss the urgency of the nation's fiscal crisis. Four days later, Obama publicly endorsed the Conrad-Gregg statutory debt commission, which was modeled after Voinovich's SAFE Commission. In his 2010 State of the Union address Obama announced that he would create the debt commission by executive order because it had failed to pass the Senate.[50]

Called "the Senate's leading Balkan expert"[27] and a "leader in the fight against anti-Semitism and hate crime against all groups," Voinovich was a key voice on the Foreign Relations Committee about the OSCE and the relationship between the United States and countries in Eastern Europe in particular.[50]

He played a leadership role in strengthening and enlarging the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and was the only member of Congress in the room at the 2002 NATO summit in Prague, where membership was formally extended to Latvia, Bulgaria, Estonia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. Voinovich was an active participant in the annual Brussels Forum from its inception in 2007, and served as chairman of the U.S. congressional delegation to the conference in 2010.[50]

As senator and a prominent member of its Foreign Relations Committee, Voinovich consistently supported measures to strengthen Israeli security while promoting Middle East peace efforts. In addition, Voinovich devoted himself to combating anti-Semitism, especially through involvement in the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe and its Office of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights.[51]

Voinovich authored the National Infrastructure Improvement Act, which established a commission to provide concrete recommendations for current and future infrastructure needs.[50] He was the main sponsor of five-year reauthorizations of the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) in 2002 and 2008, which fostered economic development in the 13 Appalachian states and in Ohio's 29 Appalachian counties.[50]

The Herald Star wrote that Voinovich "considers the impact of his votes...choosing carefully without regard for what the political impact might be on him personally". Government Executive wrote, "no matter what anyone thinks of George Voinovich or Daniel Akaka's politics in general, no one can deny that they know their federal employee issues cold."[50]

Voinovich long championed the need for a "Second Declaration of Independence", referring to the nation's energy situation. He supported clean air legislation ("Voinovich has idea on clearing the air", The Dayton Daily News, April 30, 2002) and argued for nuclear-energy development because it "provides a dependable, continuous stream of electricity, supports thousands of jobs, and does not emit any greenhouse gases" ("Depoliticizing decisions", The Columbus Dispatch, June 12, 2010). He served as Chairman and ranking member of the EPW Clean Air and Nuclear Safety Subcommittee, introducing legislation that helped to pave the way for applications for new nuclear power plants in the U.S.[50]

Voinovich sponsored legislation aimed to protect the Great Lakes from foreign species and preserve "our ultimate jewels, the five Great Lakes". He lobbied his colleagues in the Senate as well as Great Lakes governors and administration officials to take real action. Working with Senator Carl Levin, he introduced legislation to ratify the Great Lakes Compact, a bipartisan agreement among the Great Lakes states to protect the Great Lakes through better water management, conservation, and public involvement.[50]

In a press conference in January 2009, Voinovich announced he would not be seeking a third term, saying, "I must devote my full time, energy and focus to the job I was elected to do, the job in front of me, which seeking a third term — with the money-raising and campaigning that it would require — would not allow me to do." Voinovich also said that after 44 years in public office it was time for him to relax and spend time with his wife Janet and his family. Pundits felt he would have won had he decided to run against the Democratic nominee Lee Fisher.

• Senate Select Committee on Ethics (Chairman)
• Committee on Appropriations
  • Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies
  • Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development
  • Subcommittee on Homeland Security (Ranking Member)
  • Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs
  • Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies
• United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations
• Committee on Environment and Public Works
  • Subcommittee on Clean Air and Nuclear Safety (Chairman & Ranking Member)
  • Subcommittee on Green Jobs and the New Economy
  • Subcommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure (Ranking Member)
• Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
  • Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information and International Security
  • Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce and the District of Columbia (Chairman & Ranking Member)
  • Ad Hoc Subcommittee on State, Local, and Private Sector Preparedness and Integration

Voinovich Bicentennial Park in Cleveland's North Coast Harbor district (shown during a 2009 concert)

Voinovich has been honored several times in his hometown of Cleveland by having prominent landmarks named after him, including Voinovich Bicentennial Park in the city's North Coast Harbor district and the George V. Voinovich Bridges spanning downtown.

Plaques at the Voinovich Livestock Center noting the Farm Bureau Memorial Tree and the "Spountain" sculpture.

The Voinovich Livestock Center at the Ohio Expo Center and State Fair in Columbus is named in honor of Voinovich. The lawn in front of the center is the site of "Spountain", a sculpture by Barry Gunderson.[53] It is also the site of the Farm Bureau Memorial tree, which was planted in soil from all 88 Ohio counties in 1976 during the Ohio Farm Bureau Bicentennial.

• Van Tassel, David D (1996). John J. Grabowski (ed.). The Encyclopedia Of Cleveland History–2nd edition. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0253330567.
• Miller, Carol Poh; Wheeler, Robert Anthony (2009). Cleveland: A Concise History, 1796–1996–2nd edition. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0253211477.
• Swanstrom, Todd (1988). The Crisis of Growth Politics: Cleveland, Kucinich, and the Challenge of Urban Populism. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. ISBN 978-0877225621.
• The League of Women Voters of Cleveland (1990). Seven Making History: A Mayoral Retrospective. Cleveland: Western Reserve Historical Society. ASIN B0048WO02K.
• 25 Years of Cleveland Mayors: Who Really Governs? by Roldo Bartimole
• The Cleveland Press, September 21, 1979. Mayor Accuses Rival On Funding by Walt Bogdanich.
• The Cleveland Press, November 3, 1979. City Club Debate: Candidates Go At It by Brent Larkin.
• The Cleveland Press, November 7, 1979. Mayor-Elect Voinovich Moves To End Default by Brent Larkin.
• The Cleveland Press, November 7, 1979. The Winner: Voinovich Is Subdued Victor by Fred McGunagle.
• The Plain Dealer, August 7, 1999. Our Century: Muny Survives, But Kucinich Is Out of Power by Fred McGunagle.
• The Plain Dealer, August 14, 1999. Our Century: Cleveland Climbs Out Of Default by Fred McGunagle.
• The Plain Dealer, August 22, 1999. Our Century: Beleaguered Cleveland Prunes Its Image – 'Plum' Campaign To Rescue City From the Nation's Punch Lines by Fred McGunagle.
• The Plain Dealer, September 5, 1999. Our Century: A Welcome Breather At City Hall While Voinovich Keeps Peace and Mends Fences, Kucinich Begins His Comeback, And Forbes Consolidates Power On City Council by Fred McGunagle.
• The Plain Dealer, March 9, 2006. Ethics Panel Chief Voinovich Opposes Key Lobbying Reform by Sabrina Eaton.
• The Plain Dealer, March 17, 2006. Great Lakes Need Help, Voinovich Says by Sabrina Eaton.
• Gottlieb, Martin (2006). CAMPAIGNS DON'T COUNT: How the Media Get American Politics All Wrong. Bloomington, Indiana: iUniverse. p. 10. ISBN 978-0595381708.