JEFF FUSCO: BACKGROUND & QUALIFICATIONS

Though I have been walking the various neighborhoods of the city for a couple of months now, it was only fairly recently that I've been able to give prospective voters a leave-behind card that says a little bit about my background and experience. They'll be available everywhere you'll be seeing me over the summer, and many of you will be getting this and similar information in your mailbox as well.

I encourage you to review the information on the card and compare my background and experience to some of the other candidates who are running for City Council at Large. As a former member of Akron City Council and the Mayor's Administration, I am the only candidate who can offer both legislative and administrative experience in serving the citizens of Akron - and I think this is important. Here are some other facts about my background that I'd like to share:

City of Akron
Deputy Service Director 1997-2007
Assisted in developing policy for Service Department; directly responsible for Parks & Recreation Bureau, 311 Call Center and Customer Service Department.

Part of leadership team that studied and reviewed “Best Practices” for reorganization of Akron civil service employees and policies - saving Akron taxpayers millions of dollars.

City of Akron
Councilman At-Large 1994-1997
Ward 10 Councilman 1986-1994
Served Akron City Council as Vice President and chaired the Planning, Public Safety, Housing and Recreation Committees.

ALSO:

LED the management team that implemented Akron's 311 call center.

WORKED with Summit County to promote regionalism and combine Akron's Weights and Measures Dept. with the county’s operations, saving Akron taxpayer funds.

ESTABLISHED funding for Keep Akron Beautiful after Gov. Taft cut state funding.

CREATED an employee driven team to streamline the way Akron handled nuisance complaints thus saving tax dollars and increasing revenue.

Throughout my career in public service, I have been known for concentrating on actually getting things done - not on garnering attention or trying to make headlines. That approach has served me well over the years, and my constituents have always made it clear that they appreciate real accomplishments more than promises and rhetoric.

I also want to point out that while I always believe it's important to have an independent voice, I think teamwork, an open mind, and fairness are important too - and that's why I have always been a strong supporter of our Mayor, and fought hard against the recall. It's critical that wee keep Akron on the right track, and I hope you will support me in our effort to keep us there. - JEFF

MAYOR SUPPORTS FUSCO, SHEALEY AND ALBANESE FOR AKRON CITY COUNCIL AT LARGE

We are happy to note that in his election-night remarks, Mayor Plusquellic asked Akron voters to support Jeff Fusco as one of the At-Large candidates for City Council, in addition to Jim Shealey and Terry Albanese.

As everyone celebrated the resounding defeat of the recall effort, Mayor Plusquellic reminded listeners that there are still recall supporters on city council, and also among those candidates running for city council position in the fall. He encouraged Akron citizens to continue to reject the tactics and misinformation that were used during the recall effort, and which he expects will be used again during the council races.

RECALL EFFORT CRUSHED BY A 3 TO 1 MARGIN

The results are in, and by an overwhelming margin, the citizens of Akron have shown their support for Mayor Plusquellic and the direction he has taken the city over the past two decades. Fully 75% of the voters rejected the recall attempt, which was not only misguided, but proved to be a major waste of taxpayer dollars. It was also a drain on time resources for many individuals - including the Mayor himself - who all need to be focused on real issues during the challenging times we are now facing.

With this issue behind us, it is now possible for all of us to address the next important task at hand - and that is to keep Akron on the right track and ensure that we have strong, positive and proven leadership on City Council. As a former Councilman-at-Large and a past member of the Mayor's administration team, I'm entirely committed to working with him and the other members of council to keep Akron leading the way among Ohio's major cities. - JEFF

To hear all of the Mayor's remarks on election, night, you can watch the videos here.

MAY FUND RAISER A SOLID SUCCESS

Citizens, community leaders and elected officials from the city of Akron and beyond gathered downtown at Bricco on Wednesday, May 20th to show their support for Jeff in his bid to run for Akron City Council at Large and also raise funds for the campaign. Mayor Don Plusquellic was kind enough to give the introductions, and recalled Jeff's past service to the city as 10th ward Councilman, Councilman at Large and also as a Deputy Service Director.

"Jeff didn't have to run for council...this guy had retired," said the Mayor, "but Jeff knows that this is a critical time for this city. We need leaders right now, and he's not one to stand on the sidelines."

When his turn to speak came, Jeff thanked everyone for coming out to the event and reminded them that while there was a lot of hard work ahead in his campaign, their first duty was to ensure that they get as many people as possible to turn out for the special election on June 23rd and soundly defeat the misguided recall effort.

SUPPORT OUR MAYOR - SAY NO TO THE RECALL

One important issue that I'd like to talk about--and one that comes up as I visit neighborhoods across the city--is the Recall Issue. Clearly, a majority of the people I speak to about this topic are NOT in favor of the recall effort; they realize that this would be both costly and unwarranted, especially now, when economic times are difficult for so many people. They've made it plain to me that they're not willing to waste hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars on these special elections -- just to satisfy the personal grudges and ambition of a few misguided people.

As a city, we voted Mayor Plusquellic back into office just a year and a half-ago ago. Our votes were counted and our voices were heard. Now, with so many challenges standing before us, it's vital that we let government get back to work and focus on the business of our city--not on politics.

This is why I am eager to express and pledge my full support for our Mayor. He's guiding us in a positive direction, his performance and ability have been recognized on a national basis, and his leadership has helped earn Akron a strong reputation as a great place to live, work and invest. I'm glad to hear that a majority of our citizens feel the same way, whether they agree with the Mayor on every issue or not. For this and for so many other reasons, I encourage everyone to Just Say No to The Recall. To find out more about this issue, visit www.citizensforakron.com. - JEFF