Cleveland Real Estate News

Cleveland real estate sometimes takes a back seat for me when politics rears it’s head. I wrote a post about this new group of politicos, in and out of office and their planned gathering at the University of Oklahoma. Well, today was the day. CNN/The Associated Press cover it here.  Two themes, one about a Bloomberg candidacy:

“….Some of the event’s organizers themselves have bluntly billed the gathering as a warning to the major party candidates that they are prepared to back an independent candidate — someone like Bloomberg — if they do not see more cooperation among the declared contenders….”

The second theme for the less cynical I thought was stated well by Bloomberg himself:

“People have stopped working together, government is dysfunctional, there’s no collaborating and congeniality….  America is being held back….”

Now two theories. The CNN article talks about how some of the current candidates have embraced the issue of bipartisanship, they say, as a result of the emphasis by people like Bloomberg and this bipartisan group.  In reality, some candidates like Obama had this main theme all along. I do agree that issues, when they seemingly become important to a large part of the population, get incorporated into things like legislation, society and our culture. I keep hoping for example that a large groundswell of interest from people (vocal ones) will get us on line with better passenger and freight rail in Ohio.

My theory is that we might be able to actually have different political beliefs and ideas, discuss and debate them, and come up with good solutions, if we approach everything from a position of respect and yes, bipartisanship. If we don’t have to worry about how we position ourselves, we can just roll up our sleeves and let the ideas fly?

Back to being in Cleveland real estate. I have to listen to what my clients want, and in some cases, help them formulate what they want as we go along. We all (buyers, sellers, agents who represent them) have to be willing to listen and hear what the other person is saying.  Thinking of a seller as your adversary, if you are a buyer, doesn’t serve you very well. If I think the buyer’s agent is my adversary when I am trying to broker a contract for a seller, then I am not serving that seller very well.  It’s true of those in government who represent me (and you!) as well. And it’s more than ‘can’t we just all get along,’ it’s about being willing to listen to all the ideas out there and trying to broker what is good for all of us.

So back to the conference. The Examiner-Enterprise covers it here.  PR Newswire covers it here.  In fact, this quote from the Public Agenda group itself nails it for me:

“….Until leaders invest trust in the American people, create more
opportunities for average citizens to explore issues from multiple points
of view and help them confront the facts of our nation’s greatest
challenges through dialogue, our government will remain shackled by
political maneuvering and gamesmanship,” said Public Agenda President Ruth
A. Wooden. “Remember, parties are made of people. So until there is substantial change in the way our citizens are engaged in policy issues, efforts to overcome partisanship will, at best, shift who controls the bully pulpit….”

You can also go to Facing Up to read about how Public Agenda is trying to apply their ideas. What do you think? Peace Out – 3C