The attorney rose to local prominence as one of the key people responsible for bringing the 2016 Republican National Convention to Cleveland — he (along with others at Kohrman, Jackson & Krantz) prepared the winning bid and served as the Host Committee’s general counsel, secretary and treasurer. In June, he gave an impassioned speech at the City Club of Cleveland, viewed as controversial by some, in which he boldly pointed out factors contributing to the region’s economic stagnation.
The Accidental Power-broker: Pinney describes his role in the community as “an outspoken civic volunteer” with no political aspirations or agenda — he supports candidates on both sides of the aisle — who’s simply using his position to speak out. “I never once envisioned that I would get up there, criticize the whole system, and then I’d be the guy to change the system — I don’t think that was realistic,” he says.
Keys to Power: “You have to be well informed, and you have to be definitive and assertive,” he says. “If you don’t have command of the information, you can’t command the room.” Public service is also critical. “Cleveland is such a small-but-big city that the civic circles are tight,” he observes. “And our size allows people like me to have a voice.”
By the Numbers: Pinney relied on third-party data to make the points in his City Club speech. KJK hired economists to ferret out detailed statistics on the state of the regional economy — population retention and job creation in the tech sector, for example — after initial data failed to support the improved picture he was supposed to be writing about in a 2017 column. “The fact that nobody was able to refute the statements [I made in the speech] demonstrates that there are major gaps in our system,” he says.
15,000: That's the number of times Pinney’s City Club speech has been viewed on YouTube at press time. He's also given 40 speeches since then as of press time.
The Direct Approach: Pinney believes it’s one of the reasons his speech got so much coverage. “I used intentional verbiage that triggered more headlines, particularly the concept of being last,” he says.
Getting Results: His words have spurred public and private initiatives such as a two-day session in December to plan an inclusive 2019 summit to determine how best to get the Cleveland community to work together and collectively achieve a better economic future.