Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com, the most read Black digital newspaper in Ohio and in the Midwest, and the most read independent digital news in Ohio. Tel: (216) 659-0473. Email: editor@clevelandurbannews.com.
By Kathy Wray Coleman, associate publisher, editor in chief.
CLEVELAND, Ohio-Cuyahoga County Councilwoman Shontel Brown (pictured), also the chair of the county Democratic Party, is the first of some seven perspective candidates seeking to fill the seat left by the resignation of Ohio 11th Congressional District Congresswoman Marcia L. Fudge to host an in-person campaign event in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
Fudge resigned her seat after she was confirmed on Wednesday as secretary of Housing and Urban Development in the cabinet of President Joe Biden.
Brown, 45, will host an open-to-the-public meet and greet with friends and supporters at 11 am Saturday, March 13 at Mount Olive Baptist Church on Cleveland's largely Black east side, an outside event in the parking lot of the church, her campaign said on Thursday.
Her event is the first campaign event of any likely candidate for the 11th congressional district seat to occur since Fudge's confirmation as HUD secretary earlier this week.
Face masks are required to attend per city ordinance.
Ohio Gov Mike DeWine, per state law, will set a date for a special election to fill the former congresswoman's seat amid a crowded group of contenders.
In addition to Brown, other declared candidates for the Democratic nomination for Fudge's seat are former state Sen. Nina Turner, who co-chaired Bernie Sanders' 2020 unsuccessful campaign for president, former state representative. John Barnes Jr, former state senator Shirley Smith ,former Cleveland city councilman Jeff Johnson, former state representative Bryan Flannery, and Tariq Shabazz, a U.S. Navy veteran.
All of them are Black, except Flannery, who is White.
Brown is a Fudge ally, though Turner leads in fundraising and has raised over a million dollars to date, her campaign has said.
Johnson, also a former state senator, is hosting a virtual meet and greet on March 14 on Youtube at 7 pm with the Cleveland Heights Progressives and Turner has an online fundraising event on March 31 at 8 pm sponsored by a group dubbed Central Ohio grassroots volunteers.
Smith and Barnes have not announced any upcoming public campaign events and neither have Flannery and Shabazz.
Ohio's largely Black 11th congressional district includes most of Cleveland, a majority Black pocket of Akron, and some suburbs of Cuyahoga and Summit counties.
It is a Democratic stronghold, as is Cuyahoga County, the second largest of Ohio's 88 counties.
Hence, the candidate who wins the Democratic primary is all but assured to become Fudge's replacement in Congress.
A former chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, Fudge served in Congress for nearly 12 years before accepting Biden's offer to lead HUD.
Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com, the most read Black digital newspaper in Ohio and in the Midwest, and the most read independent digital news in Ohio. Tel: (216) 659-0473. Email: editor@clevelandurbannews.com. We interviewed former president Barack Obama one-on-one when he was campaigning for president. As to the Obama interview. CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE AT CLEVELAND URBAN NEWS.COM, OHIO'S LEADER IN BLACK DIGITAL NEWS.
