Cuyahoga Politics Today
Wrapping Up this Year's Primary
Face off on County's Outskirts
By R. T. Andrews
Last month’s primary election was probably the longest Election “Day” in Ohio history. It took on a surreal aspect when Gov. DeWine, acting wisely if belatedly, on March 16 ordered the state’s health director to declare a health emergency necessitating the closing of the polls the following day, March 17.
After considerable confusion, Secretary of State Frank LaRose announced intentions to extend the election until June 2. A meddlesome General Assembly then exercised its authority and shortened the extension by five weeks. So voters had until April 28 to cast their primary ballots but with restrictions that all but eliminated in-person voting for most registered voters, who were forced to resort to Ohio’s unnecessarily cumbersome and slow two-step voting process.
Given the circumstances, and the fact that most candidates were out of money and voters were understandably preoccupied turnout was down for a Presidential election year primary. But the most enduring thing is always the results. And even for a ballot light on contests, there were some truly memorable results.
First, who would have imagined even two years ago that a Greater Cleveland state representative district that is whiter than the state’s population [84.5% vs. 80%], less black than the state’s population [6.9% vs. 11], and with the smallest percentage of residents below the poverty line of the state’s 99 districts, would be heading to a November face-off between a first-term incumbent and a political newcomer who are both African American males?
That’s the case in State District 6, which serpentines around the eastern and southern edges of Cuyahoga County, capturing outer ring suburbs whose unifying characteristics are their racial homogeneity and their wealth.
The District cannot be characterized as liberal by any means. Comprised of fourteen communities before Phil Robinson broke through to win the seat two years ago in Ohio’s modest blue wave, the seat had been long been a Republican stronghold.
Robinson’s challenger this fall will be Shafron “Shay” Hawkins of Lyndhurst, who defeated veteran Highland Heights councilman Ed Hargate in the GOP primary.
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| Phil Robinson, D-6, Solon |
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| Shay Hawkins |
This may turn out to be an unusually issues-based race. While the Plain Dealer endorsed Hargate, saying they were troubled by Hawkins’ vagueness on some issues, the challenger appears in fact to be possessed of very strong views, as might be expected of one with his impressive educational and policy credentials. He has undergraduate and law degrees from Ohio State and an MBA in finance from Columbia Business School. He’s a registered financial representative and a member of the Washington DC bar. Additionally, he has legislative experience, most notably as a key advisor to US Senator Tim Scott, R-NC, relative to the opportunity zone legislation.
Hawkins, 45, won the GOP nod with 54% of the vote, no doubt aided by the endorsement of the county party.
A second notable result was one on the Democratic side where Cleveland Municipal Court judge Emanuella Groves defeated three other candidates to win the nomination for an open seat on the county Court of Appeals. With three women in the race, including another African American municipal court judge, South Euclid’s Gayle Williams-Byers, the math did not seem particularly favorable for either black candidate. But Groves’ 42.7% share of the vote made the race a catwalk, as she more than doubled each of her rivals.
As a side note to this race, the lone male in the race, ran an offensive campaign, mailing campaign literature that targeted Williams-Byers in one piece and Denise Rini — until recently a Republican — in others. Carlin’s lit pieces referencing Williams-Byers ran alongside the devil’s strip of color-coded politics that have plagued this community for too long. We don’t want to call it racist, but it definitely stunk. We will be looking carefully at any future political efforts involving Carlin’s campaign honcho, Chris Glassburn, a longtime confidant of county exec Armond Budish.
A third primary race that captured our attention was the mid-twentieth century campaign mounted by Gabriella Rosalina in another contest for a county appellate judicial seat. This was also a three-woman, one man race, the other candidates being Lisa Forbes, who won handily with 56% of the vote, James W. Satola, and Alyson Monroe Brown.
Our intrigue in this race was watching how Rosalina’s father, Basil Russo, a former Cleveland city councilman who represented the Little Italy neighborhood back in the 1970s, spent so profusely and wildly to get his daughter the nomination.
Russo was council’s majority leader when he challenged Dennis Kucinich in the city’s nonpartisan mayoral primary in 1979. He came in third behind Kucinich and primary winner George Voinovich, who was also victorious that November. Russo later served as a county judge before leaving the bench to make money.
Thirty years after his departure from politics he tried to call in every marker he had. He secured endorsements for his daughter from George Forbes — who was last on the ballot 30+ years ago, losing his only citywide campaign to Mike White in the 1989 mayor’s race — and Congresswoman Marcia Fudge, who has at best a modest track record when it comes to her endorsements. Russo also got endorsements from a host of other long-forgotten or never-remembered public officials with zero ballot box office appeal. Even where one of the sitting council people might have helped the campaign — virtually every one of them endorsed her — the campaign failed to call upon them for any help.
Note we say Russo did all this work. In the few times we saw the candidate on the trail, we were underwhelmed. In fact, she never made it clear that she actually wanted the job.
In the end we can be relieved that the best candidate won. Many of us remember the last time a political pop — a beloved Congressman — supported a daughter for a judgeship. That did not end well.
Forbes will face off against incumbent appellate judge Ray Headen for the two years remaining on the unexpired term.
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The elusive search for equity in public schools
Today is the 66th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision, Brown vs. Board of Education, in 1954 and the unanimous 9-0 opinion written by Chief Justice Earl Warren that outlawed de jure segregation in public education.
FWIW, we think the people who are clamoring today to reopen businesses prematurely in the face of this pandemic, the vigilantes who hunt down joggers and hoodie-wearing Skittles eaters, and who echo every alternative fact uttered over at Fox News, seem like the spiritual descendants of those who opposed the Brown decision.
We’ll say more about the Brown decision this week when we review a book that discusses how the charter school movement adapted from the massive resistance movement that emerged in the South following the decisions in Brown I and II.
Kind of the way a virus mutates to counter a vaccine that restores health.
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2 comments:
Two other factors should be noted in the races where Groves and Forbes won. First, qualifications do count. Primary ballot 2020 does suggests that JUDGE 4 YOURSELF should be taken seriously and rebuked at a price. Second, money is essential in county wide race where established names are absent. But, money alone cannot necessarily be “the” determining factor!
Nice coverage Richard!
Monsieur ? Madame ? Mademoiselle ? Unknown: thank you for reading and thank you squared for for commenting. I also noted that all four J4Y candidates won but I am not an unreservedly endorser of their process. I acknowledge their civic contribution and community service but there is room for improvement in some of their process.
Money is not always dispositive as to outcome but it's better to have it than not.
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