Editing Cuyahoga County, Ohio (section)

==Government==
{{Main|Cuyahoga County Council|Ohio county government|Cuyahoga County Sheriff's Office}}

The Cuyahoga County Council and Executive exercise direct government over unincorporated areas of Cuyahoga County. As of 2012, this consisted of two small areas: [[Chagrin Falls Township, Cuyahoga County, Ohio|Chagrin Falls Township]] and [[Olmsted Township, Cuyahoga County, Ohio|Olmsted Township]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Johnston|first=Laura|title=Cuyahoga County Council could consider charging for plastic bags, in first general law proposal|work=The Plain Dealer|date=February 10, 2012|access-date=April 9, 2016|url=http://www.cleveland.com/cuyahoga-county/index.ssf/2012/02/cuyahoga_county_council_could_consider_charging_for_plastic_bags_in_first_general_law_proposal.html}}</ref>

Cuyahoga County had long been led by a three-member [[County commission|Board of County Commissioners]], which is the default form of county government in the state.<ref>{{ORC|3|5|01|name=Board of county commissioners - election, term}}</ref> In July 2008, [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] agents began raiding the offices of Cuyahoga County Commissioners and those of a wide range of cities, towns, and villages across Cuyahoga County. The investigation revealed extensive bribery and corruption across the area, affecting hundreds of millions of dollars in county contracts and business. The investigation led to the arrest of county commissioner [[Jimmy Dimora]]; county auditor Frank Russo; [[MetroHealth]] vice president John J. Carroll; former [[Strongsville, Ohio|Strongsville]] councilman Patrick Coyne; former [[Ohio District Courts of Appeals]] judge Anthony O. Calabrese III; former Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas judge Bridget McCafferty; Cuyahoga County Sheriff Gerald McFaul; former [[Cleveland City Council]] member Sabra Pierce Scott; Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas judge Steven Terry; and a wide range of attorneys, building inspectors, consultants, contractors, school district employees, and mid and low level county workers.<ref>{{cite news|last=Caniglia|first=John|title=Cuyahoga County corruption investigation winds down to the finish as bulk of case completed|work=The Plain Dealer|date=January 14, 2013|access-date=April 9, 2016|url=http://www.cleveland.com/countyincrisis/index.ssf/2013/01/cuyahoga_county_corruption_inv.html|postscript=none}}; {{cite web|last=Dissell|first=Rachel|title=The Cuyahoga County corruption case: a who's who|website=The Plain Dealer|date=December 30, 2011|access-date=April 9, 2016|url=http://www.cleveland.com/countyincrisis/index.ssf/2010/09/the_cuyahoga_county_corruption.html}}</ref>

On November 3, 2009, county voters overwhelmingly approved the adoption of a new county charter, which replaced the three-commissioner form of county government with an elected [[county executive]] and county prosecutor, and an 11-member [[county council]]. Each council member represents a single geographic district, with no [[at-large]] districts. The elected offices of auditor, clerk of courts, coroner, engineer, recorder, sheriff, and treasurer were abolished. The county executive was given authority to appoint individuals to these offices, which became part of the executive branch of the county. [[Summit County, Ohio|Summit County]] is the only other Ohio county with this form of government.<ref>{{cite news|last=Johnston|first=Laura|title=Cuyahoga County's new government structure will likely bring gradual change, experts say|work=The Plain Dealer|date=November 9, 2009|access-date=April 9, 2016|url=http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2009/11/reforms_will_roll_in_but_chang.html}}</ref>

In the November 2, 2010, election, [[Lakewood, Ohio|Lakewood]] Mayor [[Ed FitzGerald]] (D) defeated [[Matt Dolan]] (R) to become the first [[County Executive of Cuyahoga County, Ohio|Cuyahoga County Executive]].<ref>{{cite news |first=Brian |last=Byrne |title=Ed FitzGerald is first Cuyahoga County executive |url=http://www.cleveland.com/sun/all/index.ssf/2010/11/ed_fitzgerald_is_first_cuyahog.html |newspaper=[[The Plain Dealer]] |location=Cleveland, Ohio |date=November 3, 2010 |access-date=November 16, 2010}}</ref> The first [[Cuyahoga County Council]] was also elected, with [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrats]] winning eight seats, while [[Republican Party (United States)|Republicans]] won three.<ref>{{cite news |first=Amanda |last=Garrett |title=Three Republicans heading toward victory on Cuyahoga County Council; Dems likely to take other 8 seats |url=http://www.cleveland.com/politics/index.ssf/2010/11/cuyahoga_county_council_5_race.html |newspaper=[[The Plain Dealer]] |location=Cleveland, Ohio |date=November 2, 2010 |access-date=November 16, 2010}}</ref>

On September 25, 2018, Cuyahoga County passed legislation which specifically protects LGBTQ+ people in their anti-discrimination laws. The protections under the bill specify equal access for the LGBTQ+ community to employment, housing, and public accommodations. The county is one of 20 municipalities in [[Ohio]] with this specific protection. Alongside the new language, the legislation creates a three-person Commission of Human Rights for Cuyahoga County which would support citizens looking to file a discrimination complaint.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Astolfi |first1=Courtney |last2=clevel |last3=.com |date=September 26, 2018 |title=Cuyahoga County Council passes anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ community |url=https://www.cleveland.com/metro/2018/09/cuyahoga_county_council_passes_1.html |access-date=May 13, 2022 |website=cleveland |language=en}}</ref> This legislation evokes the Ohio Fairness Act, a bill currently stalled in the House and Senate which would amend this anti-discrimination legislation on a state level.<ref>{{Cite web |title=History |url=https://equalityohio.org/about/history/ |access-date=May 13, 2022 |website=Equality Ohio |language=en-US}}</ref>