By Kathy Wray Coleman, associate publisher, editor-in-chief
CLEVELAND, Ohio –The Cleveland Plain Dealer, Ohio's largest newspaper, has endorsed former Ohio senator and Bernie Sanders surrogate Nina Turner in the Democratic primary in the crowded race in Ohio's largely Black 11th congressional district to replace former congresswoman Marcia L Fudge, now the U.S. secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
"There is one person in this crowded field who has shown she isn't afraid to stand up to power and to partisan shibboleths, who has the guts to say what she thinks and do what's right for her constituents and country, who is passionate about public service and knows the issues, the personalities, the challenges better than anyone else in this race," the editorial reads in part " That person is Nina Turner."
Published on Sunday, the editorial went on to compliment Turner and says Turner is courageous, capable and smart, and uniquely qualified to lead Ohio's majority Black 11th congressional district
"Many in this race cite the need for the next member of Congress from a district encompassing large parts of Cleveland and Akron to address generational poverty, systemic racism, Black voting rights, unequal access to health care and other urban, social ills," the Plain Dealer editorial board wrote in endorsing Turner. "The candidate best-equipped to tackle those challenges, hands-down, is Nina Turner."
The Turner campaign quickly embraced the endorsement and said in a press release on Sunday that if she wins and is sent to Washington she will fight for poor people and the middle class.
"I am running on an opportunity agenda that centers our economic policies on the poor, the working poor and the barely middle class," Turner said. She said she believes the people come first and that if given the opportunity she will act on their behalf in Congress.
"I am going to work everyday to serve the people of Ohio's 11th congressional district. My seat will belong to the people. We all have a role to play in lifting this district and my hope is to be a partner with Ohio's elected officials, educational institutions, non-profits, faith leaders and the business entities that are focused on improving the lives of people in Northeast Ohio, in our state and throughout the country," Turner said.
Turner is among 13 Democratic candidates in the special primary race, which is Aug 3, and the winner will face the Republican primary winner for the Nov 2. general election. Her endorsement was all but expected after the newspaper's critical coverage of Turner's closest opponent, Cuyahoga County Councilman and County Democratic Party chairwoman Shontel Brown, the paper's nearly lily White editorial board calling for Brown to drop out of the race for ignoring its editorial demand that she step down as party chair until the election is over for what they say is a conflict of interest.
Brown's supporters say the editorial demand is racist and was not demanded of Brown's predecessors who led the county Democratic party, including former county commissioner Jimmy Dimora, who is serving a 28-year federal prison sentence on racketeering and public corruption convictions. Nonetheless, the endorsement is a win for Turner, the front runner.
Ohio's 11th congressional district includes most of Cleveland, mainly its majority Black east side, and several of its eastern suburbs of Cuyahoga County, and a Black pocket of Akron and a few of Akron's Summit County suburbs. It is roughly 53 percent Black and is of one of two majority minority districts in Ohio impacted by the redistricting provisions under the Civil Rights Act of 1965.
In large part the politically divisive congressional race is seen as a contest between Brown and the progressive Turner, who is also a former Cleveland Ward 1 councilwoman, and between the moderate and progressive factions of the Democratic Party.
Both of them have a long list of endorsements, including, mayors, congress people, and city, county and state lawmakers. Among others, Turner is endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, U.S. Rep Alexandra Ocasio-Cortex of New York, and Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson, who is not running for a fifth term this year, as well as six of greater Cleveland's state lawmakers, and Brown has snagged the endorsements of Columbus Congressman Joyce Beatty, Hillary Clinton and U.S. House Minority Whip Rep James Clyburn of South Carolina.
In addition to Turner and Brown the other democratic candidates in the race are former Ohio senators Shirley Smith and Jeff Johnson, former state representative John Barnes Jr., the Rev. Pamela Pinkney Butts, Tarique Shabazz, Lateek Shabazz, Martin Alexander, James Jerome Bell, Will Knight, Isaac Powell, and Dr. Seth Corey, a Cleveland Clinic physician and researcher at the Lerner Research Institute.
Turner's campaign has raised more than $3.3 million to date, out distancing her opponents in fundraising and in television and other ads, though Brown, the underdog in comparison to Turner polls show, is holding her own.
Candidate Shontel Brown's mentor, Fudge was confirmed as HUD secretary by the U.S. Senate on March 10, leaving the congressional seat vacant until after the November election.
With Cleveland as its largest city, Cuyahoga County is a Democratic stronghold and the second largest of Ohio's 88 counties. And it is a 29 percent Black county. Cleveland is a Democratic stronghold too.
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.
