Armond Budish, Cuyahoga
County Executive and Beach-
wood resident. The parade to
which he refers is the Cavaliers'
victory motorcade and rally in
Cleveland on June 22. "There
were masses of people as far as
you could see."
Moreno dealership, and it
rode two cars behind Cleve-
land-born rap star Machine
Gun Kelly. He was joined on
the "long ride to go a short
distance" by his family, includ-
ing wife Amy and sons Ryan,
34, and Daniel, 29. While he
says the ride was a thrill for
him, he describes the crowd
as not exactly responding in
for LeBron and the other Cavs
players." In some ways, though,
Budish was no different.
seat and delivered a two-min-
ute speech during which he
called LeBron "the Aristotle
from Akron" and, among other
things, announced that the
county proclaimed the occa-
sion "Cavaliers Day" in recog-
nition of the team's accom-
plishment. When he finished,
he received some immediate
positive feedback.
he notes. But was he nervous?
"I always get a little nervous
when I'm talking to groups
and that was the biggest live
before."
"He's been investing a lot in
Cleveland, and I encouraged
him to continue doing it."
ed term ending December
2018, Budish's job when not
civically involved with champi-
onship celebrations involves
managing a budget of more
than $1 billion, composed of a
$400 million general fund and
inclusive of Health and Human
Services funds, as well as pass-
through federal dollars.
development, partly accom-
plished by way of job creation.
One method of achieving
employment gains has been
through offering start-up and
early-stage business funding
sourced through two funds
containing a total of $40 mil-
lion, provided by state dollars
and venture capital. Last year,
his office lent $4.5 million to
Jumpstart, which provides dol-
lars to local businesses. Small
loans in the $25,000 - $100,000
range with varying interest
rates are also available to help
businesses get off the ground.
is too small for banks, so that's
where we can help," he states.
lion available per year, where
low interest loans are granted
for projects that will create
jobs. The loan terms are three
to seven years.
grow, which is new for this office."
tact Ted Carter, the economic
development director, at
216.443.7275.
Van Aken renewal project on
Beachwood's border. Another
project to benefit the community
as a whole is lakefront develop-
ment in Euclid, where a marina
and boardwalk will be created.
long-term life enhancement,
Budish says that his office has
stressed funding for teacher
training and spending more
dollars per student. The money
is spread throughout the
county, with about half devot-
ed to Cleveland children, and
half to children in suburbs. The
funding is budgeted to last
through 2020.
ed Ohio's 8th District in the
state House of Representatives
and served as Speaker of the
House from 2010 to 2011,
marking him as the first Jewish
person to hold that office. He
was re-elected to the House in
2010 and 2012, and thereafter
was term-limited.
cializing in estate planning and
elder law with the firm Budish,
Solomon, Steiner & Peck and has
written widely on the subject of
elder law-related issues.