Pictured are State Senator Shirley Smith (D-21), State Representative Armond Budish (D-8) (in tie), and fired former Cuyahoga County sheriff Bob Reid, all three whom are vying for the Democratic nomination for Cuyahoga County executive this year
By Kathy Wray Coleman, Cleveland Urban News. Com and The Cleveland Urban News.Com Blog, Ohio's Most Read Online Black Newspaper and Newspaper Blog. Tel: 216-659-0473. (Kathy Wray Coleman is a 20-year investigative and political journalist and legal reporter who trained for 17 years at the Call and Post Newspaper, Ohio's Black press)
(www.clevelandurbannews.com) / (www.kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com)
CLEVELAND, Ohio- The executive committee of the Cuyahoga County Democratic Party on Saturday did endorsements for the May 6 Democratic primary election and
endorsed state Rep. Armond Budish (D-8), a Beachwood Democrat, for the Cuyahoga County executive slot left vacant by Ed FitzGerald's decision to forego a re-election bid to instead seek the Democratic nomination this year for Ohio governor. (Editor's note: This article addresses some of the endorsements by the Cuyahoga County Democratic Party on Saturday , Feb 1 for the May 6, Democratic primary election, with emphasis on endorsed Black candidates).
Budish, a former state House speaker and minority leader, got 382 votes from executive committee members at the endorsement meeting at Euclid High School Saturday morning, fired former county sheriff Bob Reid secured 68, and state Sen. Shirley Smith (D-21), a Cleveland Democrat and only Black in the race, got 46 votes. Also in that race for the Democratic primary is Tim Russo.
Also endorsed were Congresswoman Marcia Fudge (D-11), a Warrensville Heights Democrat and chair of the Congressional Black Caucus of Blacks in Congress, and Marcy Kaptur (D-9), a Toledo Democrat whose ninth congressional district also includes parts of the majority White west side of Cleveland.
Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson nominated Budish saying he was a good leader.
Whether Reid or Smith will bow out of the race for county executive since Budish got an overwhelming endorsement remains to be seen, and is unlikely, sources say. Under the new governance structure adopted in 2010 by voters and implemented in 2011 the county executive hires and fires the once elected county sheriff, clerk of courts, recorder, fiscal officer, coroner and treasurer
The winner of the May 6 Democratic primary will likely face Cuyahoga County Councilman Jack Shron Jr. (R-6) in November, who is the only Republican thus far to take out petitions.
The Dems endorsed state Rep. Sandra Williams (D-11), a Black Cleveland Democrat, for the seat open in Ohio Senate legislative district 21 due to term limits of Smith who, by law, could not seek re-election. Nobody was endorsed for Williams' state legislative district 11 seat .
Some of the endorsements come without clearance on the ballot by the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections, which has set a deadline for Wednesday for prospective candidates to file petitions for certification on the May ballot.
Kenny Yuko, a former state representative got the nod to replace state Sen Nina Turner (D-25), a Black Cleveland Democrat seeking the Democratic nomination for Ohio Secretary of State, a seat now held by Republican Jon Husted, who is also seeking reelection. Turner has endorsed both Yuko and Budish, neither of whom are Black.
The seat to replace state Rep. Barbara Boyd (D-9) , a Black Cleveland Heights Democrat who is termed limited, could easily go to her daughter Janine Boyd, a Cleveland Heights City Council member who got the endorsement Saturday.
State Rep. John Barnes Jr (D-12) and state Rep. Bill Patmon (D-10) are the remaining two of the six Black legislators that represent Cleveland areas along with state Sens. Smith and Turner, and state Reps Boyd and Williams. Both Barnes and Patmon are seeking reelection.
Other party endorsements include some of the seats on the 11-member Cuyahoga County Council, and some judicial offices, including the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas , a general division court, and the Ohio Eighth District Court of Appeals.
Cuyahoga County Councilwoman Yvonne Conwell(D-7)
was endorsed, though no endorsements came for the seats given up by Cuyahoga County Council President C. Ellen Connally (D-9), a former Cleveland Municipal Court judge, and County Councilman Julian Rogers (D-10), who took a top job at Cleveland State University.
Conwell, Connally and Rogers are all Black along with County Councilman Pernel Jones Jr. (D-8), who is not up for reelection. The four of them are the only Blacks on county council, which is a separate entity from the 17-member Cleveland City Council.
Cuyahoga County, which includes the cities of Cleveland and East Cleveland, among other municipalities and villages, is 29 percent Black and is the largest of 88 counties statewide.
All Democratic incumbent judges up for re-election were endorsed including Eighth District Court of Appeals judges Patricia Ann Blackmon, and Larry Jones, a former Cleveland Municipal Court judge. Both Blackmon and Jones are Black.
Cleveland Municipal Court Judge Anita Laster Mays, who is also Black, won the endorsement for an open seat on the Eighth District Court of Appeals.
(www.clevelandurbannews.com) / (www.kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com)
