THE PLAIN DEALER . SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 1999 5-H OURCENTURY 1984

ATA GLANCE Columbus annexes it’s way to the top ‘Togetherness’ wears thin Citizens knew it was coming, but it was still a jolt: , which had been ’s larg- domed stadium, threatening both is- est city since 1900, was now No. 2. In April, the By Fred McGunagle sues. Worse for Voinovich, the safety Census Bureau estimated that as of July 1, forces had forced a vote on budget- 1982, Columbus’ population was 570,588, com- The mayor who liked to brag, “To- busting charter amendments, requir- pared with Cleveland’s 558,869. gether we are doing it,” was running ing the city to hire 659 more police The Cleveland metropolitan area — Cuya- out of togetherness. and 194 more firefighters. Police hoga, Geauga, Lake and Medina counties — found himself in strength had fallen to 1,545, lowest had 1,898,825 people, nearly double metropol- an all-out war with one of the city’s since 1944. itan Columbus’ 1,093,316. But since 1950 Co- most powerful corporations, the Police and firefighters had built a lumbus’ annexations had increased its area Cleveland Electric Illuminating Co. from 39.4 square miles to 181. Cleveland’s reputation as a fearsome political area remained virtually the same as in 1930, Safety forces were flexing their fa- force during the administration of when it stopped requiring annexation for sub- bled political clout to force hiring of Mayor Carl Stokes. In particular, urbs that wanted city water. more police and firefighters. Voters over bitter opposition from Stokes, were angry about city services. The figures added to sensitivity about the they won passage of a charter amend- city’s image. The Convention Bureau put out a After four years, Voinovich seemed ment requiring that they be paid 3 video featuring a song called “Cleveland’s Got to have burned out. He shed tears percent more than safety forces in It.” Advertising man Ross Salupo distributed when firefighters questioned his cut- any other large Ohio city.A Cleve- buttons and T-shirts with the slogan “Cleve- land State University poll showed land, Love It or Leave It.” backs. He virtually confessed to elec- Unfortunately, people were still leaving it. tion fraud, then waited nearly a week their latest amendments passing. to say he hadn’t meant what he said. The estimates meant the city had lost 14,953 As expected, the income tax lost people in the 27 months after the 1980 census. The year opened with Voinovich again, with only 36 percent approval. • trying to sell voters a 2.5 percent in- But the police and fire amendments crease in the city income tax. He won got less than 40 percent, losing in Gradually, employment inched up from the applause at the City Club. But when black and white wards alike. “Police depths of the recession. Even manufacturing he took the campaign to a church added 6,000 jobs, the first gain in five years. clout” turned out to have been white But manufacturing employment was still 29 basement — where the audience was backlash against Stokes. Cleveland voters — he ran into a buzz PLAIN DEALER FILE PHOTOS percent below its 1979 level. Voinovich quickly proposed a char- The number of people on food stamps had saw. “You got a raise, didn’t you?” shouted one man in Blessed Sacra- ter amendment for a civilian- George Voinovich spent a wearying year in battle with the increased 19 percent in two years in the city Illuminating Co., safety forces and voters who were angry about the and 25 percent in the suburbs. At midyear — ment Church in Old Brooklyn. dominated police review board. more than 18 months after the recession offi- Blacks, notably Councilman Leo quality of city services. Only 46 percent voted for the tax. cially ended — the Interchurch Council of Jackson, had demanded such a board Cleveland was feeding 2,000 families a month, Voinovich laid off service workers, for years, but their white colleagues one-third more than a year earlier. leading to chaos when a snowstorm had feared to support it. hit. He closed a fire station on Broad- • way. Neighbors charged it was retal- As approved by City Council, the is- It was a banner year for scandals. Common iation against their councilman, Den- sue also took the top 15 posts in the Pleas Judge James J. McGettrick was tape- nis Kucinich, and started a 105-day police department out of Civil Serv- recorded taking a $5,000 bribe to fix a murder sit-in at the station. ice, making them patronage jobs. case. The marked $5,000 was found in his Over police opposition, voters passed home. He was sentenced to four years in But Voinovich announced he would it the City Charter amendment 97,000 prison, but died four months after beginning not carry out the massive Safety De- to 79,000. his sentence. partment layoffs he had said would Mayors Louis Bacci of Cuyahoga Heights be necessary if the tax failed. Inex- Voinovich’s bitterest battle was a and Armand Masten of Linndale were con- plicably, he added that he had made literal power struggle. He was the victed of allowing gambling in their villages. the decision against layoffs three first mayor since Newton D. Baker to Arnold Pinkney, former school board presi- weeks before the vote. He had said propose expanding Muny Light. Its dent and now secretary of the Cleveland- nothing publicly about it. cheaper rates would be available Cuyahoga County Port Authority, was con- citywide, as Tom L. Johnson had victed of having an illegal interest in a Port Even his supporters turned on him. planned in 1903. The opposition was Authority contract. Rev. called Council President George Forbes led by Forbes, who in 1978 had al- him a martyr in the cause of civil rights. managed to block a resolution calling lowed Cleveland to go into default in J. William Petro, former U.S. district attor- on Voinovich to apologize for lying to an effort to force sale of Muny to CEI. ney for Northern Ohio, was convicted of tip- the voters. But Councilman Jay West- At one point, Voinovich appeared ping off a target of a federal investigation in brook filed a complaint with the Ohio close to a deal with CEI, but backed Louisiana. Elections Commission accusing the off. That touched off a barrage of crit- Cleveland Municipal Judge Carl Stokes mayor of election fraud.A Broadway- icism from CEI, Forbes, business Common Pleas Judge James McGettrick was sentenced to jail on charged Clerk of Courts Jerome Krakowski area group started a drive for a recall leaders and The Plain Dealer, which with contempt, accusing him of tampering election. bribery charges. (Details in At a Glance.) with files. Krakowski was acquitted. demanded that Voinovich put the is- Voinovich, exhausted from the sue on the ballot. Voinovich refused • to respond to his critics. “Blessed are campaign, failed to respond to calls State Sen. Mike White, who had As the year ended, Voinovich indi- President Ronald Reagan drew a crowd of the peacemakers,” he said. for an explanation. After nearly a been named to the legislature when cated he might not run again. Specu- 15,000 in front of Lakeside Courthouse on Nov. week, he said his earlier statement Morris Jackson resigned, was consid- lation was that he might seek another 2. He told them that four more years of a Rea- was “an inaccuracy,” but denied say- There were few peacemakers. CEI ered a likely candidate to oppose office. Maybe he could find more to- gan administration would leave the country ing anything that wasn’t “forthright threatened to move its headquarters Voinovich in 1985. For that matter, getherness as governor. even better off. At the end of his 30-minute and candid.” to Independence and close its Lake- speech, he alluded to several hundred anti- shore plant in Cleveland. Council nearly every prominent politician Reagan demonstrators in the back of the At Forbes’ insistence, City Council carped about city services.APlain was mentioned as a candidate. There McGunagle is a Cleveland free- crowd. resubmitted the tax. It was on the Dealer series concluded that they had was talk of a “dream match” involv- lance writer. “And now, for that little group I mentioned same May ballot as a $150 million deteriorated. ing Stokes, Kucinich and Voinovich. E-mail: [email protected] back there,” he concluded, “I know this will drive them up the wall, but you ain’t seen no- thin’ yet!” The crowd cheered and chanted, “Land- slide! Landslide!” The people voted for Reagan across Ohio and the nation, though Reagan failed to carry Cuyahoga County as he had in 1980. His coat- tails helped Republicans capture the State Doom Senate. But Mahoning County Sheriff James Traficant — who the year before beat a brib- ery charge — beat Republican incumbent Lyle Williams for Congress. Democrat Mary Boyle for a defeated County Commissioner Vincent Cam- panella, the domed stadium proponent. A heavy Republican vote in the west suburbs al- lowed Virgil Brown, the first black county dome commissioner, to hold his seat against Benny Bonanno. The plan had appeal — a state-of- • the-art baseball stadium on Carnegie On Dec. 19, gunshots rang through the Ave. between Ontario and E. 9th Sts. Cleveland Public Library. Kent A. Malcolm One with a dome so fans wouldn’t had walked into the main library with a .38- freeze in April. It would keep the In- caliber revolver. The drifter shot and killed dians in Cleveland and rejuvenate the Kathleen J. Bowman and wounded two other Central Market area, south of Public women. One of them was Lilaya Vrndavan, Square. who was blinded by a bullet that lodged be- Cuyahoga County Commissioner hind her right ear as she tried to flee. She was Vincent Campanella was convinced in the library to do research on nutrition as county residents would buy it. He and part of her volunteer work with the poor. his fellow commissioners placed a Malcolm was convicted of murder, but the $150 million bond issue on the May Ohio Court of Appeals overturned the verdict ballot. and ordered a new trial. Before the second The public grumbled about subsi- trial began in 1988, Malcolm accepted a plea dizing millionaire owners and play- bargain to escape a possible death sentence ers. Preservationists grumbled about and pleaded guilty to aggravated murder. He tearing down the 72-year-old market. was given a life sentence, but will be eligible Browns owner Art Modell said he for parole after 30 years. didn’t need a dome, but wished the • project well. Mayor George Voinovich, after first Plans for the domed stadium stayed on paper, but the project led to Gateway. Under new owners George and Gordon suggesting a lakefront site, went Gund and General Manager Harry Weltman, along with the plan. Gov. Richard Ce- the Cavaliers were slowly returning to re- leste, who suspected Republicans spectability. They won 28 games, five more Campanella or Voinovich might run against the issue. So did State Rep. was a doomed stadium. They were backers kept pushing for a new vote. than the previous season. Meanwhile, World against him in 1986, grudgingly en- Mary Boyle, who was running against right. Voters defeated the issue 2-1, In 1990, they came up with a new B. Free kept the fans, if not his teammates, en- dorsed it, but predicted it would lose. Campanella. She favored Celeste’s and in November they threw out name for the Central Market site: tertained with his long baskets and self- The Stokes brothers — U.S. Rep. plan for a nearby Cleveland State Campanella in favor of Boyle. Gateway. promotion. Louis and former Mayor Carl, now a University “convocation center.” With the Indians looking increas- The Indians started slowly, though they had municipal judge — campaigned Polls showed the domed stadium ingly like candidates to move, dome — Fred McGunagle promising newcomers in center fielder Brett Butler, shortstop Julio Franco and reliever Er- nie Camacho. Andre Thornton returned to form, hitting 33 homers. The team improved when the Indians traded for outfielders Joe LOOKINGATAYEAR Carter and Mel Hall, but still finished sixth. With Brian Sipe gone to the U.S. Football Jan. 17: The U.S. Supreme Court, May 8: The Soviet Union announces Oct. 31: Indira Gandhi, India’s “Thriller” becomes the biggest- League, southpaw Paul McDonald was the in a 5-4 ruling, permits the use of that it will boycott the Summer Olym- Browns’ quarterback. After the Browns lost four-time prime minister, is assassi- selling album ever made. video recorders to tape television pics in Los Angeles. The boycott nated near her New Delhi home. six of their first seven games, owner Art Mod- programs. comes four years after the U.S. boy- Deaths: Soviet premier Yuri An- ell fired Coach Sam Rutigliano and replaced Feb. 29: Canadian Prime Minister cotted the Olympics in Moscow. Nov. 6: President Ronald Reagan dropov; entertainers Richard Burton, him with defensive coordinator Marty Schot- Pierre Trudeau resigns. July 12: Democratic presidential Ethel Merman, Count Basie and tenheimer. He managed to win four of the last scores a landslide re-election victory April 1: Singer Marvin Gaye is nominee Walter Mondale selects a over Mondale. James Mason; pollster George Gal- seven, but the Browns were out of the playoffs killed by his father during an argu- woman, Rep. Geraldine Ferraro of lup; McDonald’s restaurant magnate for the 11th time in 13 years. ment at his father’s home. New York, as his running mate. Dec. 8: Michael Jackson’s Ray Kroc.