Millions of federal stimulus dollars poured into competing Great Lakes ports over the last year, but the financially troubled Port of Cleveland missed the boat.
The reason: Officials at the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority asked for only one stimulus grant — $45 million to buy and retrofit a container cargo ship — and received not a dime. And they applied for no grants for another round of funding this year.
John Baker, local head of the International Longshoremen’s Association and president of the Great Lakes Maritime Task Force places the brunt of the blame on the port’s previous leadership.
“These people left the port in the lurch,” Baker said. “The whole past half year, the port has done nothing.”
Former President and CEO Adam Wasserman resigned his $282,000 job in November and pocketed a $330,000 buyout. The port’s maritime director and government liaison also quit.
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Article courtesy cleveland.com
