(Editor's note: See the unofficial ballot of The Imperial Women for the March 6, 2012 primary election below this article. Interested persons can print the unofficial ballot below and take it to the polls if you have not voted already).

CLEVELAND, Ohio-After recommendations by members of an endorsement committee, The Imperial Women, the grassroots group founded around the unprecedented murders of 11 Black women on Cleveland's now infamous Imperial Ave., announced today endorsements for the March 6 primary election in Cuyahoga County, and all but one of the contenders that drew support from the community activists are Democrats.

In closely watched races, most of which are contested, the organization members selected Barack Obama as the Democrat for president of the United States of America, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Dennis Kucinich (D-10) over Marcy Kaptur (D-9) in the District 9 congressional race, Congresswomen Marcia Fudge (D-OH) and Betty Sutton (D-13), and Subodh Chandra for Cuyahoga County prosecutor, also a Democrat.

Though Obama has no challenger for the Democratic nomination for president in his bid for four more White House years, he was endorsed for the primary election by the progressive women anyway.

The women's group unanimously picked Brown, a U.S. senator since 2007 and the husband of author and Pulitzer prize winning journalist Connie Schultz, over his Republican opponent, Ohio State Treasurer Josh Mandel.

Kucinich got the nod over Kaptur because group members say he is home grown as the former boy mayor of Cleveland, and that he is grassroots and not afraid to stand up.

Kaptur got two votes but ran into opposition from some endorsement committee members as a pro life Democrat in a state where state legislators are collectively pushing for some of the most stringent anti- abortion laws in the nation, including the controversial "Heartbeat Bill," a proposed law that is undergoing legislative hearings in the Republican dominated Ohio Senate that passed the Republican controlled Ohio House of Representatives last year.

If it passes any constitutional muster and ultimately becomes state law, the "Heartbeat Bill" would make abortion illegal once a fetal heartbeat is detected, which medical experts say could be as early as six weeks.

Group members also had a concern that Kaptur lives in Toledo and that in merging her district and Kucinich's 10th Congressional District into one via the redistricting by the Republican led state legislature that reduced Ohio's 18 congressional seat to 16 last year, Black and other leaders should have fought more strongly for the state legislature to retain the 10th District seat as one of two congressional seats representing constituents of the predominantly Black major metropolitan city of Cleveland, and its nearby suburbs.

The other Cleveland metropolitan congressional seat is held by Fudge, a Warrensville Hts. Democrat representing the predominantly Black 11 Congressional District, and the only Black in congress among the three neighboring states of Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee.

But the activists also called upon Kucinich and Fudge to be more assertive as to what they say is ongoing malfeasance by Cuyahoga County common pleas court judges, Sheriff Bob Reid and others around the theft of foreclosed homes and the harassment of innocent families through that process, particularly in the Black community, they say.

"They need to step up more as to these foreclosed homes in the Black community," said Community Activist Ada Averyhart.

Dale Blanchard , who is Black, was endorsed for congress in the 14th Congressional District.

For the three seats up for grabs on the Ohio Supreme Court The Imperial Women endorsed Democrats Robert Price, Fannon Tucker and Justice Evette McGee Brown, who is Black and the only minority and Democrat on the seven-member high court for the State of Ohio.

A Cincinnati Municipal Court judge, Tucker is also Black.

Most of the endorsements were relative to contested races, except for a few of the state representative slots , and some seats for Cuyahoga County Council where both contested and non contested races of selection received endorsements.

For Cleveland area state representative seats, endorsed were incumbent Democrats Armond Budish (D-8), Nickie Antonio (D-13) and Mike Foley (D-14), and Black state legislators Rep. Barbara Boyd (D-9), Bill Patmon (D-10), Legislative Congressional Black Caucus Leader Rep. Sandra Williams (D-11, ) and John Barnes Jr.

All six of the endorsed state representatives were supported with the caveat that none of them endorse Tim McGinty for county prosecutor due to his record of cases as a judge overturned on appeal as to his documented harassment of Blacks, women and grassroots activists, and his flaming prosecutorial misconduct when he was an assistant Cuyahoga County prosecutor that sent innocent Black men to prison.

Chandra had been endorsed last Nov. for county prosecutor and remain's the groups qualified favorite , though the women urge candidate Stephanie Hall, who is Black, to stay in politics and public service.

Endorsed for Cuyahoga County Council were Democrats Dale Miller (D-2), Chuck Germana (D-4) and Pernell Jones Jr. (D-8), who is Black.

Divided over the race for the common pleas court seat currently held by Republican judge Joan Syneberg, the group decided no endorsement where defense attorney Cassandra Collier-Williams, who is Black, is Synenberg's Democratic challenger.

Assistant Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Frankie Goldberg was endorsed for juvenile court judge over incumbent judge Joe Russo, and incumbent juvenile court judge Alison Nelson Floyd, who is Black, got the women's endorsement.

Defense Attorney Edele Passalacqua was the only Republican endorsed, and she was endorsed without discussion over incumbent Democratic common pleas court judge Daniel Gaul.

Just off a six months suspension last year by the Ohio Supreme Court for unethical activity leveled against Black defendants that come before him, Gaul got the most opposition of the candidates assessed by the grassroots women for the presidential, congressional, state, county and Ohio judicial offices.

Other nods for the common pleas court seats were Janet Burney, Emanuella Groves, Cullen Sweeney, Dean Vandress, and incumbent judges John Sutula and Shirley Strickland-Saffold.

Strickland-Saffold, Burney, a former juvenile court judge, and Groves, a judge on the Cleveland Municipal Court bench, are all Black.

Strickland-Saffold was endorsed with the caveat to consider revisiting the Elsebeth Baumgartner case, which is the case of a White former attorney and pharmacist from Ottawa County who is in prison for eight years for exposing alleged judicial case fixing and sending a  retired, handpicked, visiting judge, who had harassed her for her activism, an email exposing his alleged impropriety .

The Imperial Women want Baumgartner released from prison, and her undemocratic sentence vacated by Strickland Saffold.

For one of the two open seats for the Ohio Eighth District Court of Appeals, Joseph Compoli was endorsed over Eileen T. Gallagher, a judge in the general division of the 34-member Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas.

Group members say that Gallagher is unfit for the bench and is harassing homeowners with Cuyahoga County Foreclosure Chief Magistrate Stephen Bucha as to illegal foreclosure activities designed to enhance rich and corrupt mortgage companies and banks like the powerful Deuseche Bank.

Some races did not receive endorsements due to a lack of interest, or the presence of a noteworthy division by group members over the respective competing candidates.

Elaine Stone, a Maple Hts community activist and member of the Imperial Women, spearheaded the endorsement committee session with other  committee members including Imperial Women Leader Kathy Wray Coleman, Ada Averyhart, Marva Patterson, Betty Mahone, Denise Taylor, Angelique Cunningham, Frances Caldwell, Jeane Joy, Cheryl Wilson and Jean Whitte.

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UNOFFICIAL BALLOT OF THE IMPERIAL WOMEN FOR THE MARCH 6, 2012 PRIMARY ELECTION IN CUYAHOGA, COUNTY

FEDERAL OFFICES:

PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA- Barack Obama (D)

U.S. SENATE- Sherrod Brown (D)

U.S. REPRESENTATIVE TO CONGRESS 9TH DISTRICT- Dennis Kucinich (D)

U.S. REPRESENTATIVE TO CONGRESS 11TH DISTRICT- Marcia L. Fudge (D)

U.S. REPRESENTATIVE TO CONGRESS 14TH DISTRICT-Dale Blanchard (D)

U.S. REPRESENTATIVE TO CONGRESS 16TH DISTRICT- Betty Sutton (D)

STATE OFFICES:

STATE REPRESENTATIVE-8TH DISTRICT- Armond Budish (D)

STATE REPRESENTATIVE-9TH DISTRICT- Barbara Boyd (D)

STATE REPRESENTATIVE-10TH DISTRICT- Bill Patmon (D)

STATE REPRESENTATIVE- 11TH DISTRICT- Sandra Williams (D)

STATE REPRESENTATIVE-12TH DISTRICT- John Barnes Jr. (D)

STATE REPRESENTATIVE- 13TH DISTRICT- Nickie Antonio (D)

STATE REPRESENTATIVE 14TH DISTRICT- Mike Foley (D)

CUYAHOGA COUNTY OFFICES:

CUYAHOGA COUNTY PROSECUTOR- Subodh Chandra (D)

CUYAHOGA COUNTY COUNCIL:

CUYAHOGA COUNTY COUNCIL DISTRICT 2- Dale Miller (D)

CUYAHOGA COUNTY COUNCIL DISTRICT 4- Chuck Germana (D)

CUYAHOGA COUNTY COUNCIL DISTRICT 8- Pernell Jones Jr. (D)

CUYAHOGA COUNTY COUNCIL DISTRICT 10- Julian Rogers (D)

OHIO JUDICIAL OFFICES:

JUSTICE OF THE OHIO SUPREME COURT-FULL TERM COMMENCING 1/1/2013-Robert Price (D)

JUSTICE OF THE OHIO SUPREME COURT-FULL TERM COMMENCING 1/2/2013-Fannon Rucker (D)

JUSTICE OF THE OHIO SUPREME COURT-UNEXPIRED TERM ENDING 12/31/2014-Evette McGee Brown (D)

OHIO COURT OF APPEALS-8TH APPELLATE DISTRICT- FULL TERM COMMENCING 1/3/2013- Joseph Compoli (D)

CUYAHOGA COUNTY COURT OF COMMON PLEAS GENERAL DIVISION-FULL TERM COMMENCING 1/3/2013- Emannuella Groves (D)

CUYAHOGA COUNTY COURT OF COMMON PLEAS GENERAL DIVISION-FULL TERM COMMENCING 1/6/2013-Edele Passalacqua (R)

CUYAHOGA COUNTY COURT OF COMMON PLEAS GENERAL DIVISION-FULL TERM COMMENCING 1/7/2013- DeanVanDress (D)

CUYAHOGA COUNTY COURT OF COMMON PLEAS GENERAL DIVISION-FULL TERM COMMENCING 1/10/2013- Shirley Strickland-Saffold (D)

CUYAHOGA COUNTY COURT OF COMMON PLEAS GENERAL DIVISION-UNEXPIRED TERM ENDING 1/5/2015- Cullen Sweeney (D)

CUYAHOGA COUNTY COURT OF COMMON PLEAS GENERAL DIVISION-UNEXPIRED TERM ENDING 1/1/2017- Janet Burney  (D)

CUYAHOGA COUNTY COURT OF COMMON PLEAS JUVENILE DIVISION-FULL TERM COMMENCING 1/1/2013- Frankie Goldberg (D)

CUYAHOGA COUNTY COURT OF COMMON PLEAS JUVENILE DIVISION-FULL TERM COMMENCING 1/2/2013-Alison Nelson Floyd  (D)

By: The Imperial Women

Elaine Stone, Corresponding Secretary

Email: Theimperialwomen@imperialwomen.com

Phone: 216-932-3114.