Facts Needed Concerning Ward 2 Council Candidates

[Brian Essi]

So, my experience with the two Ward 2 candidates is somewhat different than others expressed on this forum. As a Ward 2 resident, I am currently undecided on whether to vote for Brad Presutto or Jason Shachner.

Jason Shachner:

1. I've met Mr. Shachner twice as a result of his coming to my home in his canvassing. He's impressive and I find him straightforward about his endorsements--which according to his website are impressive and varied. I find his campaign literature is very informative about his educational background, employment history and past community efforts.

2. I've read the general claims on this forum about his alignment to the Bad Government occupiers at City Hall, but what are the facts? Can anyone provide details here?

Brad Presutto:

1. I have read his website, but have yet to meet him or see any mailers. I've seen his community involvement listed on his website. I have received six (6) emails from his campaign--all asking for help.

2. What are the facts concerning Mr. Presutto's educational background and Employment History?

All that I know about Mr. Presutto's employment history is on his website:

"I help match job-seekers with employment opportunities, and work with people across different time zones and cultures, finding ways for everyone to be heard and respected." Sounds like it might be an interesting job, but it is a little vague.

[Dan Alaimo]

Let's see if someone with more knowledge comes along.
I've met Brad and like him a lot. He's on the good side of history - the side you like.
I don't know that much about Jason. Some people who have met him have been favorably impressed as you have. Recently I asked him a question on the Deck and he provided a solid detailed answer. However, I can't get passed the idea that he is the candidate of the Dem establishment and Summers/FitzGerald.

I look forward to meeting Jason soon, but Brad's sign is now planted firmly in my yard (at my request).

Maybe I can arrange for you to meet Brad?

[Stan Austin]

Brian--- I've donated to Brad's campaign. I think he shows the basic instincts of what it means to be an elected representative.

I'd have to say, though, in Lakewood this year voters have to choose from some extraordinarily well qualified candidates.
Stan

[Brad Presutto]

Hi Brian -

I’m sorry we keep missing each other. I’d love to grab a coffee with you, stop by, or even just have a quick phone call (216.288.7045). I have written a couple of articles for the Lakewood Observer about some of my immediate concerns for Lakewood City Council. In addition to making sure I was dedicated and loyal to the residents of Ward 2 by being dependable, accessible, and trustworthy, I want to address the immediate concerns around our water bills skyrocketing, the loss of jobs in Lakewood, and retaining & improving on the existing green space Lakewood has available. Any time you can spare to discuss specifics, I’d gladly make sure I was available to meet.

In regards to my educational and employment background, I grew up about an hour south of here, in Wadsworth, Ohio where I graduated high school. It is here where I got my initial taste for civil service whether it was for our mock city government, Buckeye Boys State (mock Ohio government sponsored by the VFW), Model Congress, and one of the top high school debaters in the state by my senior year, 1998. I got my undergraduate degree here in Cleveland at John Carroll University. Not only did they have a stellar reputation in the Cleveland area, they had a growing debate team that was challenging the top debate programs in the country (Harvard, Dartmouth, Wake Forest, University of Michigan, Michigan State, etc). While working on my degree in Political Science and Environmental Studies, I interned with the Cuyahoga County Clean Air Conservancy and Earth Day Coalition. I got to work on the initial projects that brought the CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) busses to the RTA and wrote grants for a variety of other groups that were bringing alternative fuel vehicles to the Cleveland area in the late 90s/early 2000s.

After graduating from JCU in 2002, I moved to the Denver area to pursue a job that would bring those same CNG busses to Denver. While there, I started a masters program to become a high school teacher. If working to promote renewable mass transit was not successful, I wanted to work on a fallback plan of being a high school teacher and debate coach. While finishing my teaching certification, I had found out that my father was going to lose his leg to sarcoma cancer. It was then I decided to leave Denver, and move back to Cleveland to take care of family. It is what brought me to Lakewood almost 15 years ago. Thankfully, after a successful amputation at the left hip, he has been cancer free and has been watching his 5 grandkids born and grow up.

Once I returned to Lakewood, I struggled to find a teaching job so I decided to go the corporate route and become an adult learning specialist. I worked for a variety of banks, insurance companies, and financial institutions training staff on how to be a bank teller, financial adviser, annuity specialists, underwriters, mortgage & escrow analysis, sales agents, or a variety of other financial service roles. In addition to numerous HR, training, and recruiting certifications, I also acquired a variety of financial and life insurance licenses. I managed teams as small as two people to a team of almost 60 spread out over multiple cities and counties.

When you are in the training sector, companies tend to place you in the general Human Resources area. It was due to this relationship that I was able to get experience in the recruiting field. Companies and leaders quickly saw my ability to attract and assemble a team of highly skilled individuals, empower them to grow, and got them promoted to other areas of the company to excel. My role quickly changed to become a leader over new teams or departments that were struggling. I was able to quickly turn around teams that became the role models for other teams to emulate, including winning the 2017 Rookie of the Year at Alexander Mann Solutions because I was able to take a team that was consistently putting out quality numbers of 72% to 98.9% within 8 months. Whatever department or role I managed, I was always the subject matter expert on hiring and retaining top talent. I was routinely asked to participate in the interviewing and hiring process for roles, but I also was asked to share these hiring best practices with a variety of different companies to help them hire in areas that had historically high turnover rates.

After working in the private sector almost twenty years now, I have decided to start my own company this year, Level Up Employment LLC. We specialize in career counseling and professional writing services. While recruiting throughout the country, I quickly realized that a majority of the working age public do not know how to adequately assemble a resume, prepare for an interview, and sometimes not even know how to efficiently search for a career in avenues outside of their last role. The companies that exist out there that offer assistance with career counseling are all targeted and priced towards executive level employees. Unfortunately, that doesn’t help the recent high school or college kid get their foot in the door or help a stay at home parent reenter the workforce once their children have entered school age. My company offers these services at a tenth of the price point of our competitors while offering the same level of service. We also offer these services to small businesses, school clubs or groups, and nonprofits. With unemployment low right now, the smallest advantage could make all the difference in landing a career that could help someone struggling to get back on their feet or that young family pay for the children through college.

I feel my educational background and almost 40 years of life experience sets me apart from my opponent. I have worked in a wide variety of fields, private and public, for profit and not for profit, and have experienced what Lakewood is looking for in their City Council representative. Not only will my experience in employment services allow me to leverage what Lakewood has to offer to secure some anchor companies to replace the jobs we’ve lost in Lakewood, my consulting skills have prepared me to work with people with a wide variety of demographics. I know what it takes to get multiple stakeholders to agree on one course of action moving forward so all voices feel like they are heard while also retaining the best practices needed to implement successful change management. While my opponent will focus on his law degree in what makes him an expert in public policy, I have the life experience to know that you are going to need more than just knowledge of the law to get people to compromise and move forward on major issues.

I look forward to meeting you eventually and hopefully earning your vote this November.

Here is my LinkedIn profile if you would like to review my resume:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/bpresutto/


UPDATE - Thank you for taking my call, Brian. I look forward to meeting this week.

[Dan Alaimo]

I vouch for and support the Brad Presutto reflected in the words above. Brad is a very open person, but I prefer the word 'transparent' because that is what we need in City Hall now.

One side issue in this race: if Meghan George wins as mayor, a replacement will be needed. Jason Shachner has said he will support Sam O'Leary in that situation, a conceivable swing vote on council between the old guard and the change that so many of us desperately want to see.

[Jason Shachner]

Hi Dan,

Unfortunately, that is a distortion of what I said. What I stated was that I would take into consideration every candidate that applied. I would not automatically eliminate an applicant because he or she previously held office, including Sam.

Best,

Jason

[Brian Essi]

Hi Brian -

I’m sorry we keep missing each other. I’d love to grab a coffee with you, stop by, or even just have a quick phone call (216.288.7045). I have written a couple of articles for the Lakewood Observer about some of my immediate concerns for Lakewood City Council. In addition to making sure I was dedicated and loyal to the residents of Ward 2 by being dependable, accessible, and trustworthy, I want to address the immediate concerns around our water bills skyrocketing, the loss of jobs in Lakewood, and retaining & improving on the existing green space Lakewood has available. Any time you can spare to discuss specifics, I’d gladly make sure I was available to meet.

In regards to my educational and employment background, I grew up about an hour south of here, in Wadsworth, Ohio where I graduated high school. It is here where I got my initial taste for civil service whether it was for our mock city government, Buckeye Boys State (mock Ohio government sponsored by the VFW), Model Congress, and one of the top high school debaters in the state by my senior year, 1998. I got my undergraduate degree here in Cleveland at John Carroll University. Not only did they have a stellar reputation in the Cleveland area, they had a growing debate team that was challenging the top debate programs in the country (Harvard, Dartmouth, Wake Forest, University of Michigan, Michigan State, etc). While working on my degree in Political Science and Environmental Studies, I interned with the Cuyahoga County Clean Air Conservancy and Earth Day Coalition. I got to work on the initial projects that brought the CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) busses to the RTA and wrote grants for a variety of other groups that were bringing alternative fuel vehicles to the Cleveland area in the late 90s/early 2000s.

After graduating from JCU in 2002, I moved to the Denver area to pursue a job that would bring those same CNG busses to Denver. While there, I started a masters program to become a high school teacher. If working to promote renewable mass transit was not successful, I wanted to work on a fallback plan of being a high school teacher and debate coach. While finishing my teaching certification, I had found out that my father was going to lose his leg to sarcoma cancer. It was then I decided to leave Denver, and move back to Cleveland to take care of family. It is what brought me to Lakewood almost 15 years ago. Thankfully, after a successful amputation at the left hip, he has been cancer free and has been watching his 5 grandkids born and grow up.

Once I returned to Lakewood, I struggled to find a teaching job so I decided to go the corporate route and become an adult learning specialist. I worked for a variety of banks, insurance companies, and financial institutions training staff on how to be a bank teller, financial adviser, annuity specialists, underwriters, mortgage & escrow analysis, sales agents, or a variety of other financial service roles. In addition to numerous HR, training, and recruiting certifications, I also acquired a variety of financial and life insurance licenses. I managed teams as small as two people to a team of almost 60 spread out over multiple cities and counties.

When you are in the training sector, companies tend to place you in the general Human Resources area. It was due to this relationship that I was able to get experience in the recruiting field. Companies and leaders quickly saw my ability to attract and assemble a team of highly skilled individuals, empower them to grow, and got them promoted to other areas of the company to excel. My role quickly changed to become a leader over new teams or departments that were struggling. I was able to quickly turn around teams that became the role models for other teams to emulate, including winning the 2017 Rookie of the Year at Alexander Mann Solutions because I was able to take a team that was consistently putting out quality numbers of 72% to 98.9% within 8 months. Whatever department or role I managed, I was always the subject matter expert on hiring and retaining top talent. I was routinely asked to participate in the interviewing and hiring process for roles, but I also was asked to share these hiring best practices with a variety of different companies to help them hire in areas that had historically high turnover rates.

After working in the private sector almost twenty years now, I have decided to start my own company this year, Level Up Employment LLC. We specialize in career counseling and professional writing services. While recruiting throughout the country, I quickly realized that a majority of the working age public do not know how to adequately assemble a resume, prepare for an interview, and sometimes not even know how to efficiently search for a career in avenues outside of their last role. The companies that exist out there that offer assistance with career counseling are all targeted and priced towards executive level employees. Unfortunately, that doesn’t help the recent high school or college kid get their foot in the door or help a stay at home parent reenter the workforce once their children have entered school age. My company offers these services at a tenth of the price point of our competitors while offering the same level of service. We also offer these services to small businesses, school clubs or groups, and nonprofits. With unemployment low right now, the smallest advantage could make all the difference in landing a career that could help someone struggling to get back on their feet or that young family pay for the children through college.

I feel my educational background and almost 40 years of life experience sets me apart from my opponent. I have worked in a wide variety of fields, private and public, for profit and not for profit, and have experienced what Lakewood is looking for in their City Council representative. Not only will my experience in employment services allow me to leverage what Lakewood has to offer to secure some anchor companies to replace the jobs we’ve lost in Lakewood, my consulting skills have prepared me to work with people with a wide variety of demographics. I know what it takes to get multiple stakeholders to agree on one course of action moving forward so all voices feel like they are heard while also retaining the best practices needed to implement successful change management. While my opponent will focus on his law degree in what makes him an expert in public policy, I have the life experience to know that you are going to need more than just knowledge of the law to get people to compromise and move forward on major issues.

I look forward to meeting you eventually and hopefully earning your vote this November.

Here is my LinkedIn profile if you would like to review my resume:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/bpresutto/


UPDATE - Thank you for taking my call, Brian. I look forward to meeting this week.

Mr. Presutto,

Thank you for taking the time to provide such a detailed and articulate explanation of your educational and professional background (and more). Your expertise in writing is evident--as an employer reviewing resumes and writing of prospective employees, I applaud your business pursuits. I look forward to meeting you.

Mr. Austin,

You are correct--we do have very good choices this election cycle.

[Bridget Conant]

Hi Dan,

Unfortunately, that is a distortion of what I said. What I stated was that I would take into consideration every candidate that applied. I would not automatically eliminate an applicant because he or she previously held office, including Sam.

Best,

Jason

Mr Shachner

Did you not recently campaign in your ward door to door with Sam O’Leary?

That implies to me that you and O’Leary are of the same mind. Why would you then not vote for your friend, who you agree with on policy and who helped your campaign, to replace George on council, should she win?

[Dan Alaimo]

Hi Dan,

Unfortunately, that is a distortion of what I said. What I stated was that I would take into consideration every candidate that applied. I would not automatically eliminate an applicant because he or she previously held office, including Sam.

Best,

Jason

Jason,
Thank you for the clarification and I apologize for spreading an inaccuracy. Bridget also makes a good point, though. You are spoken well of by people I respect so let's exchange enough info off the boards so we can set something up. I'll send a PM through the Observer's service but feel free to reach out any other way you can. I'm not hard to find.

[Jason Shachner]

Bridget,

No, I have not canvassed with Sam.

If elected and if I am in a position to fill a vacancy on council, I intend to consider every applicant and vote for the best person for the position.

Dan,

Thank you for the message. I look forward to speaking with you.

Best,

Jason

[Bridget Conant]

Bridget,

No, I have not canvassed with Sam.

Perhaps you consider “canvassing” differently than I do. Let me be more clear.

Did you visit households on Onandaga as part of an effort to introduce yourself. And was Sam O’Leary with you at that time?

[Jason Shachner]

Yes I was introducing myself to people on Onandaga on July 29. No, Sam O'Leary was not with me.

[Michael Deneen]

Yes I was introducing myself to people on Onandaga on July 29. No, Sam O'Leary was not with me.

THis proves one thing.....Sam the Sham is in trouble.
Here we have a council candidate actively trying to distance himself from the O'Leary campaign. (Despite the fact that they are both supported by the exact same set of supporters......Summers, Budish, FitzGerald, etc)
Schachner wouldn't be saying this if he thought Sammy was winning.

[Brian Essi]

Yes I was introducing myself to people on Onandaga on July 29. No, Sam O'Leary was not with me.

THis proves one thing.....Sam the Sham is in trouble.
Here we have a council candidate actively trying to distance himself from the O'Leary campaign. (Despite the fact that they are both supported by the exact same set of supporters......Summers, Budish, FitzGerald, etc)
Schachner wouldn't be saying this if he thought Sammy was winning.

Mr. Deneen,

It is dangerous to ascribe motives or draw conclusions even if there is some objective behavior that creates a circumstantial case.

I recall council members supported by the same crowd distanced themselves for Mary L Madigan and then Tom Bullock.

O'Leary is well funded and has just begun his campaign of lies distorting his pathetic record---people less informed than you will gulp his Kool Aid---one or two gallon sized mailers a week filling their mailboxes from now until November.

[Mark Kindt]

Where Do They Stand On Ethics In Government?

This is an important council race, because whoever is elected may hold a key vote in the passage of pending Ethics-In-Government legislation now in city council.

Tristan Rader introduced this important reform legislation.

It would be a major step forward to see Lakewood move in the direction of modern norms in this area.

Lakewood has been in the dark ages on this for years and we've paid the price with endless conflict-of-interests riddling and eroding public trust.

I look forward to hearing from both Mr. Presutto and Mr. Shachner on where they stand on this issue.

This is a key issue across all of the contested council races, in my opinion. For me this is the "Litmus" test!

If a council candidate is not prepared to support robust ethics-in-government legislation, they should not be running for office. It is as simple as that.

Ethics-in-government is job one!

For those who choose to be oath-takers, the duty and honor associated with that choice sounds in both law and ethics.

This is above politics.