Running mate for FitzGerald; Julian Rogers resigning from County Council; Headen victory confirmed

FitzGerald selects Kearney as running mate; Rogers to resign County council seat; mayor-elect Headen’s victory confirmed in Richmond Hts.

Two big announcements today have given additional heft to what was going to be an important day politically on the local political scene in any event.

Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald, the presumptive Democratic Party nominee to take on Gov. John Kasich next year, has announced that

State Senator Eric Kearney of Cincinnati

state Sen. Eric Kearney of Cincinnati will be his running mate. Kearney, who is the Senate Minority Leader, is term-limited and would be ineligible to run for another Senate term.

Today’s second announcement is the report that Cuyahoga County councilman Julian Rogers of Cleveland Heights will be resigning his seat at the end of January to comply with the terms of a new job he just started at Cleveland State University. Rogers is CSU’s new director of community partnerships, a job that will pay him nearly double his $45,000 part-time council salary.

County Councilman Julian Rogers of Cleveland Heights,
attending a meeting in East Cleveland earlier this year

Rogers won in a crowded field in 2010. He was unopposed in 2012 when he ran for a full four-year term. Under terms of the county charter, his successor will be chosen by Democratic central committee members from his district, which includes Under the county charter, precinct members from Rogers' District 10, will have 30 days to pick a replacement after his resignation becomes effective. County District 10 includes Cleveland Heights, East Cleveland, University Heights, Bratenahl, Cleveland Ward 8, and part of Cleveland Ward 10.

The County Board of Elections met this afternoon at 3PM to certify the Nov. 5 election results, which may trigger either some automatic recounts by statute, or encourage some diehards to pay for a recount.

Miesha Headen, Richmond
Heights mayor-elect

The official election results will likely be posted on the elections board website later today. But we can with pleasure and assurance that the reign of Richmond Heights mayor Dan Ursu is at an end. His 55 vote Election Day deficit grew to a 71-vote margin once all qualified provisional and absentee ballots were counted. The final tally was 1021 for Ursu and 1092 for mayor-elect Miesha Headen. Her 2.5% margin of victory is well beyond the .5% margin requirement that would have triggered an automatic recount.

Headen will be sworn in December 1 and assume office the same day.