George Victor Voinovich (b. 1936) grew up in the Collinwood neighborhood on the east side of Cleveland, Ohio. He attended Ohio University for his undergraduate studies and received his law degree from The Ohio State University in 1961. Voinovich married Janet Allan in 1962. He began his career as assistant to the Ohio attorney general in 1962 and established a law practice in Collinwood. He was elected to the Ohio House of Representatives in 1966, became Cuyahoga County auditor in 1971, and was elected a Cuyahoga County commissioner in 1976. Governor James A. Rhodes selected Voinovich as his running mate in 1978, but Voinovich served only one term as lieutenant governor. In 1979 he was elected mayor of Cleveland and during his ten year tenure as mayor, he restructured the city's finances, lifting the city from default, promoted neighborhood revitalization initiatives, and supported the development of North Coast Harbor, The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, and The Great Lakes Science Center. He ran unsuccessfully against Howard Metzenbaum for United States Senate in 1988 and was elected governor of Ohio in 1990. In 1999 Voinovich was elected to the United States Senate.
The Records of the Mayor of the City of Cleveland, George V. Voinovich (George Voinovich Papers), 1977-1989, consist of the mayor's office files transferred in 1989 to the Western Reserve Historical Society as an agent of the Ohio State Archives under the Ohio Public Records Law. These include correspondence, memoranda, reports, meeting minutes and agendas, publications, speeches, invitations, regrets, press releases, photographs, and videotapes, with newspaper clippings comprising more than half the volume of the collection.
This collection is of value to researchers studying the history of Cleveland, Ohio, in the late 1970s through the 1980s, especially in regard to its mayors, and George Voinovich in particular. Those interested in the debt crisis of the city and its resolution will find this collection useful. Also those looking for information regarding neighborhood revitalization in Cleveland and the public perception of Cleveland on a national scale will want to consult this collection. Several prominent development projects including the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum and The Great Lakes Science Center were beginning at this time as well so those interested in such projects will also want to consult this collection. Researchers with an interest in George Voinovich's career as a whole will also find this collection useful.
These materials were received as and retained in three separate accessions, Accession 89-084 and Accession 89-105 Series I, and Accession 89-105 Series II, as reflected by the arrangement scheme of the collection. These files have been maintained and listed in original order so as to preserve the integrity of the functions of the mayor's office. The digital version of the finding aid is also key word searchable for the ease of researchers. Within containers, subject files are usually arranged alphabetically by topic, department, or proper name. Containers holding only newspaper clippings or press releases have not been described at the folder level, although contents are usually arranged alphabetically by subject. Where a folder is empty, its title has been listed with "empty" in parentheses. Bound reports are listed by title. The first segment of the collection, Accession 89-084 contains subject files: city departments, subject files: organizations, programs and topics, subject files: city departments 1978-1979, subject files (alphabetical): organizations, departments, and programs, subject files: law enforcement and crime, subject files: community development, subject files: directors and commissioners, subject files: roundtables, subject files: alphabetical, and bound reports and publications. The second segment, Accession 89-105 Series I, contains subject files: state and county, subject files: city and mayoral, E.H. Richards/Staff -Departmental files: economic development, health and human services, staff-departmental files, correspondence-board files, weekly reports, federal files, state files, and newspaper clippings. The third segment contains miscellaneous files, National League of Cities files, and Newspaper clippings, press releases, speeches, and photographs.
The researcher should also consult MS 5318 George V. Voinovich Papers.
Processed by Liping Zhao in 1994 (revised in 2010).
None.
[Container ___, Folder ___ ] MS 5048 Records of the Mayor of the City of Cleveland, George V. Voinovich, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio
Gift of the City of Cleveland Records Commission in 1989.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.