BREAKING NEWS: Karrie Howard to become next Cleveland safety director

Former federal and city prosecutor Karrie D. Howard to be sworn in today as safety director

Karrie Howard, appointed by Cleveland mayor Frank Jackson as deputy safety director for operations earlier this year, will be sworn in as Cleveland's Safety Director this afternoon at 1:30PM. 

Howard has been Acting Safety Director since June 1 when Michael McGrath went on vacation. McGrath officially retired this week.

Howard's appointment is seen by some as the culmination of a two-step process that was likely initiated when Howard was promoted from chief prosecutor to assistant safety director earlier this year. The sense is that Jackson wanted to give Howard some experience before promoting him to the top post in the safety department.  It is highly likely that McGrath gave a head's up to Jackson at least at the start of the year that he would retire. 

Some would have preferred Jackson either conduct a national search for a new director, and others stumped for the promotion of an internal candidate. But Jackson is most likely a lame duck, not likely to serve past the end of his record fourth four-year term. He is already the longest serving mayor in Cleveland's history. He has declined to announce whether he will seek a fifth term next year, but several likely candidates are already running unannounced campaigns, including at least two of his allies — City Council president Kevin Kelley and State Senator Sandra Williams — who would be unlikely to be running if Jackson were seriously considering trying to retain the seat.

Under these circumstances, it is highly unlikely that a national candidate would have accepted a job, not knowing to whom he might be reporting in little more than a year. 

Howard is a former Marine and Assistant U.S. Attorney. He ran for a county judgeship in 2018. A few months later he joined the Jackson administration as city prosecutor.

The swearing-in will be televised on TV-20 and also on the city's Facebook page.

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Editor's Note: Today's swearing in ceremony took place ahead of the time originally scheduled. It took place before the time it was first scheduled to be broadcast on TV-20.

Election Day in Cuyahoga County: What We're Watching

Here are some of the storylines we are following as Primary Election Day unfolds in Cuyahoga County; what happens today will go a long way towards setting the stage for even more decisive public choices in November. 

U.S. Senate

• Will turnout in the black community be so miniscule as to persuade the incumbent Sherrod Brown that he must find new ways to strengthen his connection to African Americans?

Governor 

• Will the relatively fresh face and true blue conservatism of Lt. Governor Mary Taylor appeal to enough GOP trumpettes to puncture the tired facade of Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine?

• Will lifelong populist and pretend progressive Dennis Kucinich upset the earnest but unexciting Rich Cordray, whose mild manner shades a true dedication to effective public service?

Ohio Attorney General

• How might the unfolding charter school scandal currently centered on the apparently-criminal-but-in-any-event appalling behavior of ECOT officials affect voter perceptions of State Auditor Dave Yost?

Ohio Treasurer 

• Cincinnati Attorney Rob Richardson is perhaps the most promising black candidate the Democrats have fielded statewide in a non judicial race in memory. How will he fare in northeast Ohio?

State Senate 

• The District 21 race is filled with familiar names. Is this the last time voters will see the names of Jeff Johnson (backed by Congresswoman Marcia Fudge) and Bill Patmon (supported by Mrs. Patmon) on the ballot? Will the quiet but competent Sandra Williams cruise to renomination with the endorsement of Cleveland mayor Frank Jackson?

• Will State Rep. Marty Sweeney get a twofer? The notorious backroom brawler is trying to defeat fellow state Rep. Nickie Antonio for the open 23rd District state senate seat while sliding his daughter, Bride Sweeney, into office as his successor. Two Sweeney successes would confirm that old boy politics remains dishearteningly alive on the westside. 

• State Rep. John Barnes seems to do enough behind the scenes to keep him in the good graces of local municipal officials such that he has their endorsement at election time, notwithstanding his thoroughly uninspiring record in Columbus. Will he win sufficient support in his District 25 primary challenge to Senate Minority Leader Kenny Yuko to convince him to hang around and try again in 2022, when Yuko will be term limited?

Was there an establishment bias in the PeeDee choice to advance the callow ahead of the competent?

Ohio House

• District 10 is an open seat with a boatload of candidates vying to succeed the term-limited Bill Patmon. Can community organizer Kyle Earley ride the support of his mentor Nina Turner and the Cuyahoga County Progressive Caucus to victory? Will former Cleveland city councilman T. J. Dow get his career back on track, abetted by councilpersons Kevin (city) and Yvonne (county) Conwell? Or will city councilman Anthony Hairston be able to install his protege Terence Upchurch?

• The most interesting candidate in this race is Ivy League-educated Aanand Mehta,  The Jones Day attorney is one of a growing cadre of second-generation Indian Americans entering the political scene. The Ohio Legislature already boasts one Indian American member [a Republican]. Hamilton County clerk of courts Aftab Pureval, now running for Congress, is one of Ohio Democrats' most promising stars. But in a diverse district that is predominantly African American, it is unclear that Mehta has made substantive connections with those he wishes to represent.

• District 12 is also an open seat. Juanita Brent is the endorsed Democrat and Dimitri McDaniel is a promising newcomer. But we hope voters support Yvonka Hall. We like candidates who educate themselves and the public on  important issues, who work outside politics to serve the community, and who thereby establish their community credentials before declaring their desire to "serve the people". As founder and tireless executive director of the Northeast Ohio Black Health Coalition, Hall checks all those boxes. She is not a go along to get along person and would take a new spirit to Columbus.

County Council

The Plain Dealer endorsement of Michael Houser for county council was concussive for thinking people. There simply is no way at this time that he measures up to the outstanding record of public service that Cheryl Stephens has compiled over three decades as an elected official (mayor and council member in Cleveland Heights), civil servant (economic development official for City of Cleveland and Cuyahoga County) and in the private sector. She is knowledgeable on the issues, well respected in development circles, comes to the table prepared, and is strong willed yet collegial. She is just the sort of thoughtful representative that a mostly meek county council needs around the table.

One might be tempted to think there was an establishment bias in the PD choice to advance the callow ahead of the competent. We hope the voters of County District 10 choose the independent Democrat Stephens over the machine-oriented Houser.

Common Pleas Court

We have written extensively about the highly contested races for the four open seats on the county trial court bench. We have endorsed Michael Rendon and extolled Karrie Howard, who we formally endorse here and whose election to the bench we think is of fundamental importance, both to the community as a whole and the black community in particular. We think both William McGinty and Andrew Santoli are qualified; our choice will be made in the ballot box.

The one race we have not discussed is the most troubling. Andrea Nelson Moore has been raked over the coals for a minor campaign misstep she made in a prior judicial race. Her convoluted and tin-eared explanation for that misstep earned her a zero rating from local bar associations and the Plain Dealer’s scorn. But the fact is she broke no law and, though suspended pending an inquiry, she was never sanctioned. Our problem is that her opponent, blessed with only a modest record of her own but a popular ballot name and an ample war chest, has blasted Moore as if she were a felon. The attacks have been relentless, pervasive, and in the aggregate, offensive. We prefer Moore in this race. 

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Finally, there are some underlying storylines that we are keen to follow. The Democrats are electing precinct committee representatives today. (The Republicans do it in presidential primary years.) A number of insurgents are on the ballot, though likely not enough to affect the party hierarchy. But there is a battle underway for the soul of the county party, and the precinct committee results may offer some markers as to how that is progressing.

The second underlying storyline has to do with endorsements by Cleveland’s most prominent black officials, Congresswoman Fudge and Mayor Jackson. They have backed competing candidates in several races in this cycle. Fudge’s choices often seemed tactical, that is to say, political, while Jackson’s appear more personal, rooted in his appreciation of loyalty.  What will today’s results say about the relative value of their respective endorsements? What will they say for the future of local black politics, especially among increasing speculation that Cleveland's next mayor will be white?

CPT | Lessons from George Forbes • Chaos in local Democratic ranks • Playing the Race Card

Cuyahoga Politics Today

Sometimes you can't tell the players even with a scorecard

​

Some time last century, when I was an observer if not yet a student of local politics, and certainly not a regular political reporter, I eased myself inconspicuously into an informal gathering on Cannon Road in Bedford Heights of a few dozen black elected officials.

I suspect it was in the early ‘90s, not long after George Forbes had closed the book on his three decades long electoral career with a knockout at the hands of Mike White in the epochal 1989 Cleveland mayoral campaign.

Forbes nonetheless dominated the room, much like Joe Louis would have even years after his ring destruction by Rocky Marciano. I found a space in the large room just off Forbes’ shoulder, and during a hiatus in the proceedings asked him a now forgotten question about how he had accomplished some particular political feat. He paused briefly, and then said unforgettably, “I never made my move too soon.”

Emboldened by my success in mining that nugget, I later in the meeting asked the political maestro another question about how he had managed to remain city council president for so long. His reply was pithy as it gets: “I could count,” he said.

Reflecting on those racially charged days of the late ‘70s and the decade that followed, coinciding as they did with the saga of court-ordered student bussing and the unsuccessful effort to eradicate at least sixty years of de facto segregation and both public and private discrimination in the “Best Location in the Nation”, Forbes said he knew he could always depend on the votes of every black councilman. Given the council’s racial makeup, Forbes said, he needed only to focus at critical times on getting the one or two votes he needed from white councilmen to maintain his power.

Narrow-minded tribal politics still dominates our political, commercial and professional spaces here in Northeast Ohio. Our gross insularity and collective sense of inferiority are primary to an understanding of why our Amazon bid was a vain exercise and why we continue to live in small minded and selfish ways amidst our abundant natural and historic assets. I suppose it also helps why so many in these parts cling to the faded image of Chief Wahoo, and why it took the modern day version of Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis last month to ordain the icon’s banishment with all deliberate speed.

Irrespective of policy positions or level of government, a sense of timing and the ability to count that Forbes recalled are indispensable elements in the toolkit of any successful politician. Indisputably and lamentably, the events of the past few weeks in the run up to yesterday’s 4pm filing deadline for this year’s May 8th primary, underscore some pitiful realities of local politics.

First, racialized and tribal politics continue to bedevil Cuyahoga County. Nowhere is this truer than in our process for selecting judicial candidates and electing judges, areas where voters have too little information and even less understanding. County Democratic Party chair Shontel Brown famously declared the process of selecting judicial candidates “broken” last month at the party’s executive committee meeting.

Unfortunately, while her description was accurate, Brown stepped on her message in many ways. Following the lead of her acknowledged whisperer, the novice chair inexpertly put her fist on the scale while standing behind a threadbare curtain. She compounded her blunder by calling out the results of the process in a way that was guaranteed to make the problem worse, especially in the short term. While trying to speak of principle, she cast her argument in terms of race in a way that revealed an underlying hypocrisy: she would have been happy with the process had it yielded results to her liking.

This assessment is not meant to assail Brown. It’s the way we too often deal with race in America. We don’t have honest conversations on the subject. In fact, when a recent US Attorney General said as much, he was vilified for his audacious candor. Clear thinking about race is hard work.

At the meeting, Brown was able to secure a short-term victory for her handlers that avoided their total embarrassment and that of the party, that would have resulted if not even one of the half dozen capable candidates of color had secured endorsement in any of the four open seats.

Congresswoman Marcia Fudge would have been disastrously exposed by such a result. Not only had she cut a deal with southwest side party boss Bill Mason to ensure a different result; she had publicly declared her support for her two favored candidates: Andrea Nelson Moore and Deborah M. Turner.

The racialized gymnastics Brown indulged in her speech to avoid a humiliating defeat for Fudge may have secured the party endorsement for Moore, but a painful price will be paid for that fleeting success. Here’s why:

White politicians frequently try to score rhetorical points by claiming some black person “played the race card”, an assertion that race is improperly introduced into consideration of some issue. This is usually a vile maneuver that black people recognize as an attempt to deny voice to what is always omnipresent in America: the consequences of our history as a slave nation which even after the Civil War sanctioned all manner of racial violence and injustice in myriad personal, legal, formal and structural ways, practices that continue even today, albeit in more refined and subtle ways.

It therefore cuts deeply and sets back the pursuit of racial justice, equity and inclusion when naked appeals based on racial tribalism are privileged to the exclusion of excellence and merit. So when outstanding candidates like Karrie Howard who are African American strive and strain intensively over many months to cultivate support on the basis of merit, that work can be undermined by narrow racial appeals that facilitate personal agendas. The foes of racial justice and equity derive aid and comfort in the hypocrisy, and the public interest in a strong and competent judiciary is not served.

This leads to a second pitiful reality underscored by the past few weeks: the manic dysfunction of the county Democratic Party. It is of course chronically broke, but that is the least of its problems. More seriously, it is devoid of vision and leadership. Senior elected officials — county executive Armond Budish and Cleveland mayor Frank Jackson are prime examples — are content to use it but invest nothing of their considerable political resources into making it an effective instrument that articulates, harnesses or advances the collective will either of its members or those it purports to represent. 

Thirdly, this void at the top, and the thoroughly undisciplined and chaotic environment it permits, is an open invitation to ambitious and self-serving politicians to recreate the moral corruption of the Dimora-Russo era.

Fourthly, while there are more black elected officials in Cuyahoga County than ever in history, black people have less real collective political power locally than at any time since at least 1965. This has disastrous consequences for every public issue: health, education, transportation, public safety, workforce readiness, infrastructure demands, regional viability, you name it.

# # #

The backlash from shortsighted and costly tactics employed to secure the Moore nomination were evident in every open judicial race, and even some non-judicial contests, leading up to yesterday’s filing deadline. Those tactics cost Howard an endorsement on his merit — he needed 60% approval but was held to 59.3% by Fudge allies. Consider the irony: a black man wins support from white people on the content of his character and his accomplishments ; meanwhile some black people fail to support him based on an agenda that has those same black people calling out white people for bias.

The situation, as we predicted, also brought a late flurry of “name” candidates into the electoral mix. Thus there were last minute filings by a Gallagher, a Russo, and a McGinty, all familiar ballot surnames. Meanwhile, another familiar ballot name — Kilbane — moved from one slot to another, and then back to her original slot, all within 48 hours.

We will have more to say on the primary races in our next post, and maybe also on the radio. Details on that later, if it comes to pass.

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CPT • Fudge directs pushy gavel to get — at most — a costly endorsement wash

 Cuyahoga Politics Today

Fudge involvement in judicial endorsement process likely to carry stiff price for dubious gain

The Cuyahoga County Democratic Party’s Executive Committee met this past Saturday at Euclid High School amid high drama and intrigue.

Let’s say a couple of things right up front. Congresswoman Marcia Fudge imposed her will to secure a victory at the meeting, albeit a short term, narrow and costly one. She got one of her endorsed candidates, Andrea Nelson Moore, endorsed by the party leaders, an unlikely outcome but for Fudge’s intervention.

As we have been discussing here, here, here and here this past week, Democrats have a poor track record when it comes to supporting qualified candidates of color for office in majority white districts. It is highly unlikely that the Congresswoman’s heavy hand is going to impact that dismal record favorably. In fact, in the short term, she may have made it worse.

Here’s why.

Of the handful of black and Hispanic candidates seeking judgeships in one of the coveted “open” slots (i.e., no incumbent in the race), those who theoretically started with the best chance were Moore and Deborah Turner, each a familiar ballot names. But from the beginning the African American candidate with the inside track has been Karrie Howard, the ex-Marine and former federal prosecutor.

Howard started earliest, has worked the hardest and smartest, been the most strategic, and would seem to have the most money, in part because he hasn’t run recent exhaustive races, as have Turner and Moore. From the evidence he seems also to have been the only African American candidate who worked countywide. As a result, even after the scorched earth tactic Fudge put in place the night before, Howard fell only a couple of voters shy of securing the party endorsement. In that sense, he was a Fudge casualty, deprived of a significant advantage he had labored to win for more than a year.

But what is potentially worse for the community is that Howard’s campaign could now attract new opponents drawn by the turmoil that Fudge has created. Absent her involvement, the black community was going to have at least one endorsed Democratic judicial candidate – Howard – for an open seat. With her intrusion, there is still one – Moore – who may pay a price in the primary for the bare-knuckle way it was achieved.

Moreover, the Fudge camp cannot have endeared itself to the collateral damage suffered by incumbent State Sen. Kenny Yuko, D-25 and judicial candidate Emily Hagan, each of whom failed to garner what would normally have been a routine endorsement, but for the overt racial pall the Congresswoman introduced into the proceedings.

Democrats nationally have a lot to sort out as their separate wings do battle in the wake of what would seem to both interparty and intra-party realignment in this fluid political turmoil. Republicans are doing the same thing internally as they grapple with whether Republicanism going forward will mean only white nationalism.

The judicial endorsements were not the only ones of consequence at the recent Dems. In addition to the Yuko race, notable results included Marty Sweeney’s eyebrow-raising lopsided victory over Nickie Antonio in a battle of state reps looking to be the Dem nominee for State Senate in District 23; Lakewood councilman Tom Bullock handily defeated former State Rep. Mike Skindell in their endorsement battle over in District 13.

State Sen. Sandra Williams, D-21 easily bested the Fudge-supported challenge of former Cleveland councilman Jeff Johnson.

Also coming away with endorsements in contested primaries were state rep. hopefuls Terrence Upchurch [District 10] and Juanita Brent [District 12].

We leave for a future post the comments of party chair Brown, who decried the “broken” judicial endorsement process. You can see a portion of her statement here.

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Single Payer Healthcare

US Senator and 2016 presidential candidate Bernie Sanders is leading a town hall meeting tonight on Medicare for All. The program is expected to look at the: 1. current state of health care in the US; 2. possible economic impacts of single-payer system; and, 3. how universal health care works in other countries.

The event will be live-streamed by a number of online outlets, including NowThis, ATTN, and The Young Turks, in addition to Sanders’ own social media accounts.

The town hall is set to run from 7-8:30PM tonight.

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#MeTOO

Laverne Gore and Jack Boyle co-host one of the few local talk shows that we know about that seek to discuss important public issues. Tonight, their “Race Relations in America” program will discuss the #MeToo movement.

The program airs Tuesdays from 6-7PM on WERE/1490 AM.

We have not yet had a chance to listen to this show but we’d love to know what its listeners think of it. Also, if there are other locally-produced substantive programs out there dealing with the intersection of race, class, and/or culture issues, let us know at rta AT theRealDealPress.com.

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CPT: Local Democrats struggling with inclusion, diversity

 Cuyahoga Politics Today

The Cuyahoga Democratic Party

Inside the judicial endorsement process

​Black people who came of age during the Civil Rights Era of the ‘50s and ‘60s were regularly exhorted by our parents that we had to be twice as good as the white man just to get half a chance.

While African Americans have made great strides in many arena of our society over the past several decades, that progress has been uneven. In  politics, for instance, it remains damnably difficult for a black man to be elected a county judge in Cuyahoga County.

One might say that it should be difficult for anyone to be elected a judge, and we would agree. Integrity, judgment, temperament, experience, intellect, emotional and social intelligence should be a part of the makeup of every member of the bench. Unfortunately, none of these competencies are requirements. Basically you just need to have five years of bar admission and be less than 70 on day one of your term.

This means that just about any lawyer can run. You will be immensely helped if you have a wide circle of friends, a good name, and either your own money or the ability to raise a hunk of it.

SOME NAMES MATTER

And did we say a good name? Here are some names on the county judicial roster as of December 31:

• CELEBREEZE [2 judges with this surname] [Frank D. Jr., Leslie Ann]

• CALABRESE

• McCORMACK

• McCORMICK

• McCLELLAND

• GALLAGHER [7] [Eileen T., Eileen A., Hollie Lauren; Kelly Ann; Laura J.; Sean C.; Shannon M.]

• BOYLE

• KILBANE

• RUSSO [5] [Anthony J., John J.; Joseph D., Michael J., Nancy Margaret]

• SWEENEY

• DONNELLY

• McDONELL

• O’DONNELL

• O’MALLEY

• GAUL

• GALL

• CORRIGAN  [3] [Brian J.; Patrick F.; Peter J.]

• SUTULA [2] [Kathleen Ann; John D.]

• CLANCY

• SHAUGHNESSY

• SHEEHAN

• RYAN [Michael John]

On the municipal court level, perhaps waiting to move up, are such names as O’Leary, Cassidy, Sweeney, Carroll, O’Donnell, Gilligan, Fitzsimmons, and Hagan.

Among those who have pulled petitions in advance of this year’s Feb. 7 deadline are these judicial hopefuls: Kilbane [Ashley], O’Malley [Jennifer L], Sheehan [Michelle], Santoli [Andrew J.], and Satola [James W.]. And there will also be some of the aforementioned incumbents — a Donnelly, a Celebreeze Jr., and a Gallagher — seeking higher judicial perches.

Understand that the recitation of these surnames is in no way meant to disparage either our judicial system or the many fine and honorable judges who sit on our local benches.

But I am saying that the only black judge mentioned so far would have had a much tougher electoral row to hoe if his name wasn’t Michael John Ryan.

For the record, there are seven African American women on the county bench, out of a total of 59 judges: Patricia Ann Blackmon, Cassandra Collier-Williams, Alison Nelson Floyd, Tonya R. Jones, Anita Laster Mays, Melody Stewart, and Shirley Strickland Saffold. Besides Judge Ryan at Juvenile Court, appellate court Judge Larry A. Jones is the only other black male currently on the county bench.

Thirty-four of these coveted county judicial seats are in the general division of Common Pleas Court. The general division, which handles both civil and criminal matters, is where felony cases are heard and disposed of, making it the fulcrum of the criminal justice system, and thus where the overwhelming number of criminal defendants are people of color, mostly males, mostly black men.

This is why the absence of even one male judge of color is such a huge issue, not just for the thousands of people who pass through this system every year, but even in the judicial conferences of these 34 judges. Whatever they talk about, there should be at least one black male there to offer some sorely needed perspective, of a sort that even empathic, brilliant and persuasive judges who are not black men cannot fully represent.

The foregoing discussion is a long but necessary predicate to understanding our earlier assertion about how hard it is for a black man to be elected a judge countywide in Cuyahoga County.

Basic Numbers

Some basic arithmetic is in order here. There are 12 Common Pleas judge races on the ballot this year. These are six year terms, and so a third of the 34 total general division seats are up every two years. There is heightened attention in this cycle because only eight incumbents are running for reelection, meaning there are four “open” seats.

Given the built in advantages an incumbent has when running for re-election, it is hardly surprising that as of this writing, only one candidate is challenging any of the eight incumbents seeking re-election.[*]

There are six African American or Hispanic candidates running for Common Pleas judgeships as of now, not counting incumbents running for reelection. Two are black men — Karrie Howard and Retanio Rucker. Two are Hispanic: Pablo Castro and Michael Rendon. And two are African American women: Andrea Nelson Moore and Deborah Turner.

With all six of these minority candidates running for an open seat, along with half a dozen other candidates, clearly there will be some head-butting between some of the candidates of color. Normally, this is where senior party leadership — your party chair and/or other power brokers — step in and urge/convince/cajole/force one or more candidates to shift slots or even drop out “for the good of the party”. We’ve seen this recently on the state level, where on both the GOP and Democrat sides, there has been consolidation among gubernatorial hopefuls, as in DeWine-Husted and Cordray-Sutton.

This has not happened with any effectiveness in these judicial contests. For the better part of a year, there have been disquieting rumors about a developing alliance between east and west side Democratic factions. I say disquieting because the history of the Democratic Party has not been good where the rubber meets the road. Black Democrats often fail to win endorsements against white candidates even when the former meet that “twice as good” standard. And when they do, the endorsement often seems to count for less, as westside Democrats either skip over the black candidate or even cross party lines to vote for the Republican.[†]

Further adding to the discomfort of the cross-county alliance is that one party thereto is former county prosecutor Bill Mason. During his dozen or so years as county prosecutor, Mason seemed to double down on the legacy of the notorious John T. Corrigan, whose thirty plus year run as prosecutor was distinguished by two accomplishments of significance to the black community: his office routinely over-indicted black defendants and he regularly recruited and supported hard-on-crime judicial candidates.

Mason went Corrigan one better, recruiting precinct committee people, in some cases the wives, brothers, or other relatives of his hundreds of assistant prosecutors, so as to dominate every aspect of the party not directly controlled by the crooked tandem of Jimmy Dimora and Frank Russo, who were both party leaders and high-ranking county public officials, carrying out their criminal enterprises across the street from Mason’s office.

The Russo-Dimora cabal was busted by the Feds; the duo went to prison, convicted along with several dozen others in the huge corruption scandal. The whole affair led to a new form of county government, beginning with the 2010 election, and Mason entered private practice.

After a too short hiatus, Mason has once again become a major player in party politics, perhaps an even more dangerous one since he can operate without the confines of an oath of office and through a network of college buddies and personal allegiances that have remained intact.

His eastside horse-trading partner? Why that would seem to be Marcia Fudge, occupant of the most sacred political perch in the black community: Congressional representative of the 11^th District.

We said earlier merit is not what gets your name on the ballot. So we mean no disrespect when we talk here about horse trades. All but the most naïve judicial candidates discover early on the need to make the rounds of those who can help them — people like the Congresswoman and the former prosecutor and typically, the Party chair.

Bargain, then Stand and Deliver?

As the candidates made their rounds in this election cycle, Fudge and Mason struck a bargain on who they would collectively back. Mason’s prime candidates were Andrew Santoli and Emily Hagan. Fudge wanted Deborah Turner and Andrea Nelson Moore. The deal wasn’t intended to remain a secret because it could only be effected by passing the word to city and ward leaders and ultimately the precinct committee people who do the actual voting.

For the judgeships, the endorsement process is two-fold. The first step was last week, when city and ward leaders gathered to make their recommendations to the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee meets this Saturday to act on the recommendations. They can accept or reject any recommendation, and endorse or issue no endorsement in any race. Typically, however, they tend to follow the city and ward leader recommendations.

So what happened to the Fudge favorites? Neither was recommended by the 41 assembled city and ward leaders. Twenty-one votes were required to win a recommendation. Turner got 13 in her slot, coming in second to Karrie Howard, to the great surprise of many. Howard got 17 votes, and another 10 went to Mickey Mottl, a Parma native son. [We’ll write more about Howard soon.]

Moore was likewise unsuccessful, making Fudge zero for two. Mason went two for two, raising the question of whether he was unable to deliver for Fudge or chose not to.

In any event, the result is that with four open seats and six candidates of color who range from fair to outstanding, the most loyal and largest contingent of the Party could not get a single one of its candidates recommended in the first round.

This has heightened tensions considerably for Saturday’s Central Committee meeting. As is always the case, the results will depend on who is best able to turn out their troops. The stakes are high. The entire community needs a diverse bench of highly competent jurists. The black community needs representation. The County Democratic Party needs to demonstrate something more than the back of its hand to qualified black candidates.

The current party chair is County Councilwoman Shontel Brown of Warrensville Heights. The local Congresswoman is Marcia Fudge of Warrensville Heights. Both are black.

What is to be concluded if they are unable to deliver a single endorsement this Saturday?

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[*] Even though judges are nominated through partisan primaries, candidates appear on the ballot without party designation. Since seven of the incumbents seeking re-election are Democrats, it is possible that nine of these 12 judgeships, including two of the four open seats, will be decided in the primary, because as of today, only two Republican candidates have publicly pulled petitions for any of these contests.

[†] This is not just a local phenomenon. In 2006, Democrats swept to victory statewide against the GOP in five of six contests. The sole loss came in the state auditor’s race, where Barbara Sykes, a black woman, lost to Mary Taylor, who is now Lieutenant Governor and a contender for the 2018 GOP gubernatorial nomination.