Regular readers of this space have no doubt observed that The Real Deal is an evolving blog. Last week we offered our first commentary on the Cleveland Cavaliers. Today we offer our first news scoop, not a biggie as scoops go, but perhaps a harbinger of things to come, especially for followers of the Cuyahoga political scene.
We learned just a few moments ago that Nina Turner, whose name has been bruited about as a possible candidate for the new post of Cuyahoga County chief executive, filed today to run for a full term as state senator representing the 25th District. Turner was appointed to this position to fill the unexpired term of Lance Mason, who resigned in 2008 to accept an appointment by Governor Strickland to be a common pleas judge.
We think this represents the sound move for Turner, who rocketed to local political prominence last year as one of the few black elected officials to endorse Issue 6, the successful ballot measure creating the new form of county government that takes effect next January 1. Our guess is that she realized that popularity with the Plain Dealer and Issue 6 proponents would have been of little avail in a run for county executive against opponents who plan to raise and spend the estimated cost of such a campaign.
While the Senator could still file to run for county executive before the June 24 deadline, the idea is improbable given the May primary for the race she has just entered. She would either have to abandon her supporters if she won, or file to run for a bigger office after being unable to hold the home base seat to which she had been appointed. In neither instance would she be displaying the sound political judgment she has shown at this stage in her relatively young career.
Her return to the Ohio Senate is by no means guaranteed, as she may face substantial challenge from foes eager to punish her for her Issue 6 stance or hoping to capitalize on her perceived weakness as a result of carrying the Issue 6 banner in one of the very areas where the issue was rejected by voters.
4 comments:
Interesting. At first, when I saw only the first half of the headline in email, I thought maybe it was going to be about her deciding to put her hat in the ring for county exec. Now that would have been interesting.
I guess even bloggers can tease a little bit. But unlike local news outlets, I promise to be judicious, since Real Deal readers deserve better.
Not a huge surprise, the more you delve into the nitty-gritty of Issue 6 and the forces behind it that are now controlling our county government. It's turning out to be a long, complicated narrative, with some people who have been waiting patiently for a long time to wrest control of the county's government away from its citizens. Nina Turner was useful to them, but there is no major role for her in the new structure other than show pony. She can probably exert more influence and do herself more good in the state senate, even as artificially tilted toward Republicans as it is. This county government thing is going to get very strange — well, stranger than it already is.
Anon: With respect to "this county government thing", we are heading into uncharted territory. I will be watching closely as, I expect, will you.
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