Pictured are Cleveland mayoral candidate Justin Bibb and former Cleveland mayor Jane Campbell, the city's first and only woman mayor

Clevelandurbannews.com and-Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com

By Kathy Wray Coleman, associate publisher, editor-in-chief

CLEVELANDURBANNEWS.COM, Cleveland, Ohio – Today, former Cleveland mayor Jane Campbell, the city's only female mayor in history, endorsed nonprofit business executive Justin Bibb for mayor at a meet and greet with West Park residents on Cleveland's west side, Bibb the top vote getter among seven all Democratic mayoral candidates on the ballot for the Sept 14 nonpartisan primary.

A youthful looking 34-year-old Black man who interned with former president Barack Obama when Obama was a junior U.S. senator representing Illinois, Bibb will face Council President Kevin Kelley, 53,  for a Nov 2 runoff, Kelley a White west side councilman and establishment candidate endorsed by current mayor Frank Jackson and a handful of council persons, among others.

"I was our city's 56th mayor. I know what it takes to lead our city, and Justin has the bold vision and energy to lead real change," said Campbell, a White woman and former state representative who served one term as mayor from 2002-2006 and was ousted in a close election by then council president Frank Jackson, the city's retiring four-term Black mayor.

Bibb was elated with the endorsement and said he is appreciative of Campbell's support of his candidacy.

"Mayor Campbell was a trailblazer for the city and I'm honored to have her endorsement and support," Bibb said in a press release on Thursday to Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com," Ohio's Black digital news leader. "She [Campbell] led the city after the September 11 terrorist attacks and stabilized the budget in the face of an economic recession. Mayor Campbell confronted crisis after crisis with compassion and competence, and it's those leadership qualities I will bring to the job."

Campbell's endorsement of Bibb follows a list of prominent endorsements he has received, including that of the Cleveland Plain Dealer Newspaper, Ohio's largest newspaper, and former three-term Black mayor Michael R. White, Campbell's predecessor.

Campbell, 68, said that although Justin has never held public office she believes he can win in November, and that if elected, he will inject "a new brand of leadership to the city."

The former mayor said that she sees Bibb as the best of the two candidates to move the largely Black major American city of some 372,000 people forward.

"Justin Bibb brings hope for Cleveland's future. He will push the limits and break the status quo mentality that delays and denies progress. He'll bring best practice programs and fresh ideas to a city government stuck in the past," said Campbell.