An energetic mayor takes the helm of a decaying metropolis, convincing citizens to pull together and rebuild the city. Long before there was Dennis Archer, Cleveland Mayor George Voinovich showed how to revitalize a downtown, turning a decaying downtown into one that has been nationally lauded as a model for urban renewal.
Archer tends to seek cooperation rather than confrontation.
He has made peace with the suburbs and welcomed their help, rather than emphasizing the Eight Mile border. He encourages city-developer partnerships. Both Voinovich and Archer also put much of their focus on downtown development, building from the core and leaving neighborhood development for later. Now, focus is the source of complaints for some Cleveland residents who say the city's rejuvenation has passed them by. Voinovich took over when Cleveland had a badly stained image nationally after failing to make bond payments in 1979.