Ed FitzGerald, Cuyahoga County Executive and a Democratic Party gubernatorial candidate, will speak at the Akron Press Club lunch on Wednesday, May 21. Lunch will be at 11:45 a.m. and the program will follow. There will be the opportunity for questions.
This event is co-sponsored with The University of Akron’s Ray C. Bliss Institute of Applied Politics.
Following widespread scandal, residents of Cuyahoga County voted in 2009 to change from a county commission to a county executive and council form of government. In 2010, FitzGerald was voted the county’s first executive. He instituted a number of reforms that included a strict code of ethics. He also shrunk the size of government and put in place a community policing unit and a scholarship program to encourage college education.
FitzGerald graduated from the Ohio State University in 1990 and obtained a law degree from the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law in 1993. In 1995, FitzGerald was commissioned as a special agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He was assigned to Chicago, where he participated in investigations of political corruption and organized crime in Cicero.
In 1998, FitzGerald returned to Ohio and later joined the Cuyahoga County prosecutor’s office. In 1999, he was elected to the Lakewood city council. In 2007, he was elected mayor of Lakewood.
He and his wife, Shannon, have four children, ages 13-19.
Details:
Speaker: Ed FitzGerald.
Time: Buffet luncheon begins at 11:45 a.m., Wednesday, May 21. Program follows.
Place: Quaker Station, 135 South Broadway (free parking behind the building).
Cost: $15 for Press Club members, $20 for non-members.
Reservations requested: Call 330-564-4213, email RSVP@cmoresearch.com or go to www.cmoresearch.com/apc
Reservation deadline: Noon, Friday, May 16.
The Akron Press Club was founded in 1971 to promote a free press and serve local journalists and public relations professionals. The group has a rich heritage of offering newsmakers a forum to discuss issues of the day at Press Club luncheons and speaking events that are open to the public. The club also funds scholarships for journalists and public relations students and sponsors annual fundraising and community outreach events.