Tuesday, January 16, 2018

CPT: Marcia Fudge, County Council, County Judicial Races, US Senate

Cuyahoga Politics Today

New Political Season brings critical choices, questions
What is the value of a Fudge endorsement?
How does Mandel's exit affect GOP Senate Primary?

If it seems that politics is never-ending, that‘s because it’s true. Our interests, and those of our community — however we may define “interests” and “community” — are being negotiated, threatened, defended, or traded away continually by public officials who appear on your ballot. So it behooves us to pay attention to what our public officials do and say.

Consider that in a little less than 72 hours last week, roughly 100 local Democrats chose the newest member of county council and made recommendations for who should get the party’s endorsement in various judicial and legislative primary contests on the May 8 ballot.  Those choices, made in most cases by people you likely don’t know or seldom think of, have consequences with close-to-home effect upon who gets put in jail, where your taxes go, and which sections of our community get treated better than others.

That likely doesn’t sound fair, but it’s the way our democracy works. And if you don’t like it, you have a real chance to change it this year. And if you decide to get involved, you may set in motion positive changes not only for your neighborhood, but for your judicial system, your state government,  your country, and the world.

That’s not hyperbole. It’s the result of living in Cuyahoga County, which still remains the dominant political goldmine in a crucial battleground state.

Democrats hold the lion’s share of offices in Cuyahoga County. Republicans control some of the suburbs, especially those on the county’s outskirts. Though they are largely irrelevant to county politics — their political interests are generally expressed through the business community — the GOP functions pretty much the same way in its spheres, that is to say through a network of volunteer central and executive committees and ex officio  structures that carry great weight in influencing who gets on the ballot.

So last Thursday, 46 of a possible 75 or so precinct committee members who live in County Council District 10 — Cleveland Heights, East Cleveland, University Heights, Bratenahl, and Cleveland Wards 8 and 10, met at Dem Party headquarters to choose a successor to Anthony Hairston, who resigned his county council seat after winning the Cleveland Ward 10 seat vacated by Jeff Johnson, who opted to challenge Mayor Frank Jackson. [Johnson came in third in the September mayoral primary; he’s now running for the State Senate seat he had 20 years ago.]

Successful professional politicians chart their careers and their alliances with great care. Hairston’s county-to-city council switch was in preparation for at least a year, which meant that his council seat was potentially in play for at least that long. Michael Houser, who won the intraparty vote last week to replace Hairston, had long ago secured the latter’s support to replace him. In Cleveland, that would have been sufficient; a councilperson who leaves under honorable circumstances is permitted to designate a successor who is then ratified by the council.

County Council functions under a different set of rules, set by state law. When a vacancy occurs between elections, the successor is chosen by the Party of the outgoing incumbent. Even though the process is different, neither Houser nor Hairston gave much thought to any particular challenger. So Houser moved into an apartment in the district and apparently expected pretty much to waltz in to the seat.

But the unexpected is part of what makes politics so fascinating. Shortly after the November election, Cleveland Heights mayor Cheryl Stephens realized that a power realignment among council members meant that her colleagues were unlikely to reelect her as mayor. Moreover, she was about to leave her job as director of acquisitions, dispositions & development at the County Land Bank to take a job in Akron. Suddenly, she was seen as a preferred alternative to Houser by many party activists.

For starters, Stephens has an accomplished resume as a public official in both elected and managerial roles. Of perhaps greater weight politically, she represented a chance for the Heights forces to regain the seat that had gone to Clevelander Hairston when Julian Rogers had resigned to take a job with Cleveland State.

Stephens was especially appealing as a potential candidate to Congresswoman Marcia Fudge, who has increasingly sought to play a larger role in local politics. Once Stephens was officially offered her new job — as president and CEO of the East End Neighborhood Development Corporation — and prepared to leave the Land Bank, the conflict between her work and the part-time council position evaporated, and she agreed to seek the county council position.

Suddenly, Stephens seemed the favorite to succeed Hairston on county council.

In politics the currency that matters is votes, and so for 45 days or so Houser and Stephens sought to secure commitments from the precinct committee members of District 10. Fudge’s involvement put a strain on political and personal loyalties. Hairston had pledged his support to Houser but wanted to stay in her good graces. Julian Rogers, the Democratic city leader in Cleveland Heights, is tight with Hairston both politically and personally, but with a base that heavily favored Stephens. County Executive Armond Budish is a Fudge political ally but Houser was one of his executive assistants.

This really should have been no contest. Everyone recognizes the weight of a member of Congress. But for some reason, Rep. Fudge has established a track record of making endorsements but failing to put substance and resources behind them. Thus, she made a robocall on Stephens behalf but did not make the dozen or so phone calls that could have secured the seat for Stephens.

The immediate result was a dramatic 24-22 second-round ballot win for Houser at the party headquarters on Superior Ave. But this small episode has other winners and losers.

Stephens’ combination of experience, expertise, and leadership suggest she would have been a formidable representative of District 10 and a valuable asset to the county on all issues related to development and governmental performance. These were stated priorities when the battle was waged and won over reforming county government.

Houser is much more of an unknown quantity. He has long been eager to win elective office but already whispers abound that he will take his orders from County Executive Budish.

Houser takes office immediately and will need to tend his political flanks immediately. The filing deadline for the office is February 7 and a Board of Elections spokesperson has confirmed this seat will be on the May 8th primary ballot, providing an early test of political strength for Houser and any challengers, including possibly Stephens, who is rumored to be considering a run.

A larger issue remains, and it was on display two days after the District vote. What does it mean when the Congresswoman cannot secure a seat for a highly qualified candidate of her choosing over a political novice? Let us note that race was not a consequential factor in this contest; both Houser and Stephens are black. But given that Fudge has chosen increasingly to involve herself in local party politics — she pushed for the election of Shontel Brown as local party chair; she has taken early sides in several  state legislative battles, even supporting challengers over incumbents — her constituents are entitled to question her end game.

This is no idle question. There are four open countywide judicial seats in this year’s election cycle. There are no black or Hispanic male judges on the county bench. Five African Americans and one Hispanic — three men, three women — are among the competitors for the four seats. Fudge is widely regarded to have negotiated with some party powers to secure endorsements of two black women lawyers in their respective races. Yet when forty city and ward leaders from across the county met last Saturday to present recommendations to the party’s Central Committee, which will meet this Saturday to act on those recommendations, not a single judicial candidate of color received a recommendation, and Fudge’s two choices were defeated handily.

We will explore this issue in tomorrow’s post.

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Last week brought news that State Treasurer Josh Mandel, possibly the least-liked state public official of this century, was ending his campaign to win the GOP nomination for US Senate and challenge incumbent US Senator Sherrod Brown. Mandel was expected to defeat his challenger for the nomination, wealthy Cleveland businessman Mike Gibbons. But Mandel withdrew citing an undisclosed medical issue concerning his wife.

Gibbons does not have a clear field, however. Congressman Jim Renacci, who was in the midst of an uphill battle for the GOP gubernatorial nomination against Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine and Lt. Governor Mary Taylor, is now shifting over to the Senate race.

Gibbons is a relative unknown politically. He will be a guest tonight on “Race Relations in America with Laverne and Jack”, which airs Tuesdays from 6-7PM on WERE TalkCLE Radio 1490/AM.

Mandel was such a distasteful candidate — he specializes in ugly campaigns — but it seems that he will be replaced by another Trumpster.

While we are on the subject of that Senate contest, we understand why many Republicans don’t like to talk about the racist who heads their party. But we would like to hear what our own Ohio Senators, Sherrod Brown and Rob Portman, think about Trump’s “s***hole countries” comment.

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4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I,for one - as an activist in Cleveland Heights, am pleased to see the shake up taking place among our local Democratic party machine.
I have not approved of how Cheryl Stephens has "run" City Council, of her behavior during Council meetings, and her obvious desire for greater political power; all the while without giving consideration to the real needs of this city or its residents. Take for instance establishing FutureHeights as this city's defacto "economic development" arm and labeling it this city's "Community Development Corporation".
I believe there needs to be a major change in how replacements to City Council here in Cleveland Heights and on the Cuyahoga Council are made. Since 2010, Cleveland Heights City Council "appointed" 5 Council members. So voters were denied the right to choose their "representative" every 14.4 months, while those involved in the backroom wheeling and dealings among the Democratic party elite chose who would get a position of power here.
This is abuse of power and denial of voters' rights.
I welcome actions that throw open the doors to secret meetings where those in power have comfortably been deciding the fates of citizens and allocation of resources in this city and in this county.

Diane L. Hallum
Director, Citizens Leadership

Richard said...

Hi Diane,
Thank you for your thoughtful comment. There is certainly much that we agree on, especially with regard to opening up the democratic process.
One of the invisible barriers has an element of self-infliction. We don't understand what's going on so we stay away, reinforcing what appears to be opaque.
I got involved in the Heights Dems just by attending meetings and asking questions in an open, non-blaming manner. I was welcomed.
Part of what we are trying to do in these latest pieces is to shed light on the processes. Politics isn't rocket science but it does have its nuances, but they are accessible by those willing to put in the time and the work.
I hope you keep reading and commenting and sharing.
RTA

Richard said...

Diane,

I meant to add that I don't see a sinister motive in the mid-term council changeovers of the past few years. Several were due to member relocations related to job or family issues.
Is there some element of who you know going on in the replacement process? Absolutely. As a friend of mine says, people do business with folk they know, like and trust. A candidate needs to build relationships with colleagues and also with the electorate.
Did you interview for an appointment?
Are you a likely candidate for Council in the future?

RTA

Unknown said...

Not mentioned is the fury that some of us felt about Cheryl Stephens' open support for the Noble Road dump. I spoke with her about it long after it had become a raw and open wound in East Cleveland, and she reaffirmed her support.
I, for one, am thrilled that she is no longer the mayor of Cleveland Heights, nor working at the land bank, nor was she selected for the county council seat.