Pictured are Cleveland Ward 1 Councilman Joe Jones and Ward 6 Councilman Blaine Griffin

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Cleveland Ward 1 Councilman Joe Jones has endorsed Shontel Brown and Ward 6 Councilman Blaine Griffin, Nina Turner relative to the special election for Congress in Ohio's majority Black 11th congressional district, which includes Cleveland, a largely Black pocket of Akron and staggering suburbs of Cuyahoga and Summit counties.

Both Jones and Grifffin are Black.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has set the primary election for Aug. 3 and the general for Nov, 2 as there are seven declared candidates thus far who hope to replace former congresswoman Marcia L. Fudge, Fudge now the secretary of Housing and Urban Development in President Joe Biden's cabinet.

Griffin is city's council's public safety committee chair and a wannabe city council president, and is a former Community Relations Board director under four-term Black mayor Frank Jackson, who has not said whether he will seek an historic fifth term as mayor this year.

Jones leads the ward with the strongest voting bloc of Black voters and the second strongest voting bloc of the city's 17 wards, the largely Black wards of which are east side wards on the majority Black major American city and the majority White wards primarily west side wards.

"We are going to support Shontel Brown 100 percent because she has been committed and dedicated to serving the community," said Jones of his endorsement of Brown.

Griffin was equally supportive of his candidate, and called Turner, also a former city councilwoman of Jones' Ward 1, a " visionary leader, fiercely committed to improving the lives of people in this community."

Each of the city's wards are comprised of roughly 23,000 residents and Cleveland has some 385,000 residents overall.

Griffin's ward consists of Fairfax, Larchmere, Little Italy, Woodland Hills, and parts of Buckeye-Shaker, University Circle, North Broadway, Slavic Village and Union-Miles, and Jones' ward Lee-Harvard, Lee-Seville, Union-Miles, and part of Mount Pleasant.

The endorsement by Griffin of Turner and by Jones of Brown furthers the racial divide, sources say.

Both Brown and Turner are considered front-runners in a hard-to-call congressional race.

Shontel Brown

Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com, the most read Black digital newspaper in Ohio and in the Midwest. Tel: (216) 659-0473. Email: editor@clevelandurbannews.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio — The United Auto Workers Region 2B, which covers Ohio and Indiana, has endorsed Shontel Brown, the chair of the Cuyahoga County Democratic Party and a county councilwoman, in the special election for Congress in Ohio's majority Black 11th congressional district, which includes Cleveland, a largely Black pocket of Akron and staggering suburbs of Cuyahoga and Summit counties.

The UAW has some 2800 members in the 11th congressional district, and Brown has the support of more labor unions than all of the other candidates combined, her campaign said in a press release.

"Shontel Brown has stood with us on picket lines. She listens and brings people together, and that makes her a compassionate and effective leader," said Wayne Blanchard, the Director of UAW Region 2B, which covers Ohio and Indiana. "We are confident Shontel will work with President Biden and with her constituents to Build Back Better."

Brown was elated about the endorsement from the powerful auto union.

"The endorsement of the United Auto Workers Region 2B means the world to me," said Brown. "It is another sign that voters want a congresswoman who will partner with the Biden administration to lead Northeast Ohio's economic recovery from this pandemic."

The first woman and first Black woman to lead the county Democratic party, Brown said that "I hear every day from people in our district who can't afford some combination of health care, housing, education, and groceries. That's unacceptable and must change. I will work with the Biden Administration and organized labor to create a recovery in Northeast Ohio that lifts all families and workers."

Among a long list of others, she has been endorsed by Ohio U.S. Rep. Joyce Beatty of Columbus, 15 labor unions, and dozens of mayors, community leaders, and elected officials.

Brown said that if she is elected to Congress she will work with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris for comprehensive health and economic recovery from the pandemic.

She is a protege of Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Marcia L. Fudge, who has not endorsed in the competitive race to replace her in Congress, Fudge resigning from the congressional seat she held for 12 years after the U.S. Senate, on March 10, confirmed her nomination as HUD secretary.