This is your chance to see your Mayor.  I saw him last night at the Target Night Out for Crime at Steelyard Commons.  Of course, I didn't have a chance to talk to him with all the politicos in the crowd.  Also, the heat off the pavement was killing me and tomorrow I work until eight. 

So please go, and please report back. Actually, I don't have anything to complain about at the moment.  My loud neighbors have been quiet and, if I get recycling back in my neighborhood, I am happy. 

Oh, wait--I do have something to complain about.  A non-profit plans to demolish the historic character of my neighborhood.  We meet in two weeks.  Will they make me happy?

I've nothing to complain about regarding Mr. Jackson, he has been one of the better mayors Cleveland has ever seen, in my opinion.  I can only imagine how difficult it must be to negotiate the push-pull of Cleveland City politics and I think we should take the relative lack of mayor-bashing (a refreshing change) in recent times to be a very good thing.

Last year I attended this professionals event, where the makings of a program to network together young professional groups, tentatively titled Cleveland Connexions, was to launch.  The vision was a  grand one: create a hub or epicenter for the dozens of young professionals groups in town - some of which I belong to - that could help coordinate positive change efforts and perhaps reduce redundancies.

It will be interesting to see if any progress was made on this vision.  Last year, when I was offered the microphone, representing as a Net Impact stalwart, I asked Mayor Jackson and the masses about coordinating efforts transpiring regionally that resonated with my Voices and Choices efforts at that time so we could better synchronize scenarios.

Given the opportunity this year, I would inquire about the importance of facilitating a culture of collaboration and synergy-building with appreciative, dialogue meaning-and-making processes (i.e. Appreciative Inquiry) that could fit the Connexions vision, if that still is in the works.  Such processes could be truly invaluable toward improving ward connectivity between Cleveland City Council members as well.  We shall see.