Frank G. Jackson - As Mayor

As Mayor

On December 1, 2005, he announced that he would appoint the city's first point person for regional issues. On December 15, Jackson announced the appointment of his former opponent Triozzi as law director (under the city charter, the law director becomes mayor if the elected mayor is out of the city, resigns or becomes incapable of serving). From the former Campbell administration, Darnell Brown retained his position as the city’s chief operating officer. Valarie McCall, who had previously served as Clerk of City Council, was appointed chief of government affairs.

Shortly after his inauguration, Jackson began working with the Cleveland Police Department. He introduced a new use of force policy that clearly states what previous versions only implied: "Excessive force shall not be tolerated." Mayor Jackson has restored the Cleveland Police Aviation Unit (helicopters) and the Cleveland Police Mounted Unit (horses).

He is a member of the Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition, a bi-partisan group with a stated goal of "making the public safer by getting illegal guns off the streets." The Coalition is co-chaired by Boston Mayor Thomas Menino and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The Downtown Cleveland Alliance, along with help from Mayor Frank Jackson, created a Business Improvement District (BID) for Cleveland's central business district. The owners of buildings and businesses pay fees, which aid in funding the Clean & Safe Ambassadors, who clean the sidewalks and assist visitors when needed, security forces and other projects.

An advocate for regionalism for Cleveland-Cuyahoga County, Mayor Jackson, in his Election Day 2005 speech, said, "We are one Cleveland, we no longer have the luxury of city and suburbs separate."

He has been instrumental in a joint-tax sharing venture between the City of Cleveland and its suburbs. An example of how this agreement works: in July 2006, the Cleveland Cavaliers announced that they would move their practice facility from the Quicken Loans Arena to suburban Independence. In the past, Cleveland would have lost money, but now Cleveland shares revenue with Independence. The Mayors of both cities agreed to this arrangement. Mayor Jackson supports a no-poaching or stealing of businesses from one community to another. A similar agreement was reached with suburban Shaker Heights regarding a significant administrative office move by University Hospitals of Cleveland.

It was announced that Mayor Jackson will head for Japan in September 2011 to study a system that converts garbage into electricity as the city awaits state permission to build a $150 million plant employing such technology.