First County
Prosecutor Debate: Herald of a New Era?
Longtime
county prosecutor John T. Corrigan, who held the position from 1956 to 1991,
surely turned over in his grave last night.
In
a remarkable scene that would have been unimaginable two decades ago, four
candidates seeking election to the powerful position showed up in the inner
city to present their credentials to rank and file county residents, and
probably of greater importance, to hear from those most affected by the justice
system exactly what needs to be fixed.
The
scene was set in motion by the decision last year of outgoing prosecutor Bill
Mason not to stand for reelection, even though he had used his political muscle
to preserve the office as an elected position in the new county government that
debuted this year.
The
November 2009 county election approved a new county charter that had been stitched
together in a thoroughly non-transparent process by a small group of largely
unaccountable politicians.
All
of that helped set the stage for last night’s spectacle in which a historically
fractured community of activists staged a campaign event at a rundown and
deservedly little-known facility euphemistically called Lil Africa Party
Center.
Into
the heart of Cleveland’s eastside black community last night eagerly came
graduates of such illustrious universities as Yale, Cornell, and Stanford, to
be cross-examined on the record by alumni of assorted federal penitentiaries
and state prisons, who were prominent on the select and well-chosen panel and
in the audience, which itself was a surprising and peculiarly diverse admixture
of professions, geography, and ethnicity.
Well more than a hundred county residents paid
close attention to the debate. Their numbers included state and county elected
officials, formerly incarcerated persons [aka “felons”], grandmothers, and
advocates for justice and a new day for citizens, victims and defendants alike.
No Clear Debate Winner
While
no candidate delivered a knockout blow to rivals or self-destructed, this first
joint appearance of a compressed primary election campaign did afford each
participant opportunity to test individual strengths and probe opponent weaknesses. And
each candidate perforce put on display aspects of personality and temperament
that could factor in voter assessments of how he/she would be likely to handle
the enormous discretionary power and manifold daily challenges that will
confront the next prosecutor.
Candidates
McDonnell and Chandra were easily the most assertive, though in different ways.
McDonnell is a bear of a man, gregarious, forthright and practically in your
face with his insistence on being the most experienced trial attorney from
either the defense or prosecutorial side. Chandra’s apparently boundless
confidence in his superior fitness for the office appears to emanate from a
sense of intellectual excellence. He seems to have thought about every issue
the next prosecutor will encounter, and to have worked out a three or five point
program to address it.
Triozzi
and Hall are much less assertive in their presentation, evoking instead a more
nuanced approach. This seemed especially true of Triozzi, the only candidate on
stage with judicial experience. In what may have been only Hall’s second public
appearance ever as a candidate for any race — she appeared at the endorsement
meeting of the Democratic executive committee at Music Hall last month — she is
still becoming comfortable with public speaking. Hall brings a unique resume to
the race as both lawyer and police officer. She is also the only woman and the
only African American in the race.
Many Public Concerns
After
one turn from each panelist, moderator T. J. Dow, the Cleveland Ward 7
councilman, opened the floor to audience questions. A long and diverse line
quickly formed. They had well-formed questions and by and large presented them
succinctly.
The
questions dealt with an abundance of concerns: public corruption, excessive use
of police force, the grand jury process, bias, fairness, diversity, truancy,
police perjury, over-indictments, jury selection, prosecutorial misconduct,
children and family services, domestic violence.
The
depth and breadth of the questioners’ concerns was eloquent testimony to how in
need of repair is the county judicial system.
More debates scheduled
At
least two other debates have been scheduled for the six candidates
participating in the Democratic primary. No Republican has filed for the office
so the March 6 primary winner will be the presumptive county prosecutor-elect.
The
Cleveland Heights Democrats will host the candidates in debate next Thursday,
January 12, 7 PM at the Heights Community Center, One Monticello Blvd. [corner
of Mayfield Rd.].
On
Saturday, February 4, the East Cleveland Coalition will sponsor a candidate
debate from noon to 2:30 PM at the East Cleveland Library, 14101 Euclid Ave.
Early voting starts in 26 days.
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