Jim Rokakis's guest appearances

Jim Rokakis

The City Club of Cleveland Podcast

Ahead of the Curve

Karen Freeman-Wilson

Bernie Sanders

Michael Bennet

Pete Buttigieg

Jimmy Carter

Mark Zuckerberg

Paul Hawken

Ryan Smith

Marlon James

Lawrence Krauss

Ronald Reagan

Dan Rooney

Ralph Nader

Hugh Hefner

Ben Cohen

OwlTail

This episode covers the history of the foreclosure crisis in Greater Cleveland and operationalizing state and national policy initiatives.About Jim Rokakis:Jim is Vice President of Western Reserve Land Conservancy and Director of its Thriving Communities Institute. He is involved in a number of activities, including the establishment of almost 60 County Land Banks throughout Ohio and working in Columbus and Washington, D.C. to raise funds for Ohio communities to deal with distressed properties. Rokakis served for 19 years on the Cleveland City Council – the last seven as chairman of the finance committee. In 1997, Rokakis took office as Cuyahoga County Treasurer. Faced with Cuyahoga County’s mortgage foreclosure crisis, Rokakis helped to write and pass House Bill 294, which streamlined the foreclosure process for abandoned properties. Additionally, Rokakis was the driving force behind a bill that allowed for the creation of the Cuyahoga County Land Reutilization Corporation, also known as the Cuyahoga Land Bank.Former Attorney General, and current Governor Mike DeWine recently stated that Rokakis was the reason behind his decision to allocate 75 million dollars of Ohio’s 93 million dollars from the “Robo-signing” settlement for demolition. Rokakis helped to put the Ohio program and its rules into place. He played an integral role in the U.S. Treasury Department’s decision to allocate a portion of the Hardest Hit Fund for demolition and in Cuyahoga County’s commitment of $50 million dollars for demolition. Working with the Ohio Congressional delegation he led the effort to reallocate an additional 2 billion dollars to the Hardest Hit Funds last December—with 192 million of those dollars coming to Ohio. To date, Rokakis has raised almost 450 million for the demolition of over 40,000 blighted structures in Ohio. He is the recipient of numerous local, state and national awards, including being named “County Leader of the Year” by American City and County Magazine in 2007, and the recipient of the Cleveland Foundation’s Wadsworth Award in 2016. In December 2011, Rokakis was featured on the CBS program “60 Minutes”, discussing the need to fund demolition in distressed urban areas. He has written for numerous publications including the Washington Post where he wrote the cover story for the Outlook section about the foreclosure crisis and Cleveland’s Slavic Village neighborhood.Rokakis earned his undergraduate degree at Oberlin College and his Juris Doctorate degree from Cleveland-Marshall School of Law.

This episode covers the history of the foreclosure crisis in Greater Cleveland and operationalizing state and national policy initiatives. About Jim Rokakis: Jim is Vice President of Western Reserve Land Conservancy and Director of its Thriving Communities Institute. He is involved in a number of activities, including the establishment of almost 60 County Land Banks throughout Ohio and working in Columbus and Washington, D.C. to raise funds for Ohio communities to deal with distressed properties. Rokakis served for 19 years on the Cleveland City Council – the last seven as chairman of the finance committee. In 1997, Rokakis took office as Cuyahoga County Treasurer. Faced with Cuyahoga County’s mortgage foreclosure crisis, Rokakis helped to write and pass House Bill 294, which streamlined the foreclosure process for abandoned properties. Additionally, Rokakis was the driving force behind a bill that allowed for the creation of the Cuyahoga County Land Reutilization Corporation, also known as the Cuyahoga Land Bank. Former Attorney General, and current Governor Mike DeWine recently stated that Rokakis was the reason behind his decision to allocate 75 million dollars of Ohio’s 93 million dollars from the “Robo-signing” settlement for demolition. Rokakis helped to put the Ohio program and its rules into place. He played an integral role in the U.S. Treasury Department’s decision to allocate a portion of the Hardest Hit Fund for demolition and in Cuyahoga County’s commitment of $50 million dollars for demolition. Working with the Ohio Congressional delegation he led the effort to reallocate an additional 2 billion dollars to the Hardest Hit Funds last December—with 192 million of those dollars coming to Ohio. To date, Rokakis has raised almost 450 million for the demolition of over 40,000 blighted structures in Ohio. He is the recipient of numerous local, state and national awards, including being named “County Leader of the Year” by American City and County Magazine in 2007, and the recipient of the Cleveland Foundation’s Wadsworth Award in 2016. In December 2011, Rokakis was featured on the CBS program “60 Minutes”, discussing the need to fund demolition in distressed urban areas. He has written for numerous publications including the Washington Post where he wrote the cover story for the Outlook section about the foreclosure crisis and Cleveland’s Slavic Village neighborhood. Rokakis earned his undergraduate degree at Oberlin College and his Juris Doctorate degree from Cleveland-Marshall School of Law.

Episode 9: Jim Rokakis

County Discussion Table with Jim Rokakis