Harnet Gordon

Harnet Gordon likes the outdoors as much as the next guy, but the idea of potentially trading jobs and economic growth for a small swamp area strikes him as naïve, dangerous, and ultimately counterproductive for the environmental cause.  Gordon follows local economics closely and is certain that the Cleveland metropolitan area is poised on the brink of a recession.  In the last few years he has seen Ford Motor Company, Daimler-Chrysler, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., LTV Corp, and Office Depot each lay off hundreds of workers in Northeast Ohio.  Gordon feels that the region simply cannot afford to wait until the airport has reached capacity before making the needed expansions.  If it does, airfares will rise, the number of destinations will plateau, and Cleveland will lose its competitive edge in the region over cities such as Pittsburgh, Detroit, and Cincinnati.  Now, more than ever before, Gordon believes it is imperative to expedite the expansion of Cleveland's Hopkins International Airport.  "Today, Hopkins is vital to our region's continued growth....  We need a better airport to compete in this growing economy."^[1]

Gordon has three strong arguments that he wants to make in his presentation to the group the mayor has assembled:

1. The airport serves two economic development functions.  First, it is an industry that creates jobs and income.  Second, it is an essential part of Northeast Ohio's economic infrastructure, allowing this region's producers to be better integrated into the national and international economy.
2. Cleveland Hopkins Airport currently serves as Continental Airlines' regional hub.  The area benefits from being a hub, not only through the many jobs it generates, but also through increased numbers and destinations of departing flights.  Continental Airlines has made it clear that it requires an extended runway and other expansions in order to continue its hub operations at Cleveland Hopkins.  Because airlines can easily move their hubs from one airport to another, it is crucial for Cleveland to meet Continental's expansion demands.  "If the airport capacity isn't increased in the near future, we can't make the hub competitive in the Midwest with the other airlines' hubs."^[2]
3. In addition to keeping the Continental hub, the expansion is needed to attract new businesses.  Recently, package shipper DHL/Worldwide Express chose to locate its $170 million hub and sorting operations in Cincinnati rather than Cleveland.  The reason:  Cleveland did not have large enough airport facilities to host them.

To Gordon, the hard economic fact is that developing a tax base that can support amenities such as environmental preservation depends first and foremost on securing a strong regional economy.  In support of this view, Gorden points towards the fact that countries of the world and regions of the U.S. with the strongest economies tend to be the most concerned with local environmental conditions.  Halting development at the airport to preserve one small wet area that has previously received little public attention will ultimately occur at the expense of larger economic and environmental health.

^[1]  Quote from Gordon Harnet, co-chairman of the Greater Cleveland Growth Association's air-service committee, as cited in The Cleveland Plain Dealer, 2/2/01.

^[2]  Quote from Dave Messing, a spokesman for Continental Airlines, as cited in The Cleveland Plain Dealer, 4/8/01.

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