Community leaders, activists, organizing to oppose judge who acquitted Brelo in '137 bullets' case

Councilman Conwell, community activists say ‘no’ to Judge O’Donnell candidacy

By Rhonda Crowder

SPECIAL TO THE REAL DEAL PRESS

Councilman Kevin Conwell, Bishop Eugene Ward and others gather to announce the campaign to defeat Judge John P. O’Donnell in his bid to win a seat on Ohio Supreme Court this fall.

Cleveland Ward 9 Councilman Kevin Conwell, Bishop Eugene Ward and a cadre of activists gathered yesterday at the GlenVillage amphitheater on East 105^th St.  and Ashbury Ave. in Cleveland’s Glenville neighborhood to denounce the endorsement by the state and county Democratic parties of Judge John P. O’Donnell for the Ohio Supreme Court in this year’s race.

“With Judge O’Donnell, the Democrats are taking us for granted,” said Conwell. “We’re telling our people to march to the polls. We cannot put Judge O’Donnell on the court after he allowed Brelo to go free.”

O’Donnell was the judge in the trial of Michael Brelo, the Cleveland police officer charged in the “137 shots” case for shooting Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams on November 29, 2012, at the conclusion of a 22-minute police chase which started in downtown Cleveland and ended in the parking lot of Heritage Middle School in East Cleveland.

Thirteen police officers fired 137 shots into the automobile, killing Russell and Williams, but only Brelo, who stood on the hood of the car and fired down into the windshield, was charged.

Brelo waived a jury trial in the case, putting his fate in the hands of the judge. O’Donnell found Brelo not guilty, reading a 34-page opinion from the bench that the community has hotly contested ever since.

“Do not vote for Judge O’Donnell. They’re going to be mad at me for going against the ticket but...”, Conwell continued, “we’re putting together a committee to make sure our community knows. We cannot accept this.”

Fred Ward, president of FIINPAC (Formerly Incarcerated Individuals Necessary PAC), said, “I was in the courtroom during the ‘137 shots’ trial. I saw the condescending attitudes. I’m asking all who care about justice to not support Judge O’Donnell. He shouldn’t be on the bench at all. That’s my official word.”

Mariah Crenshaw, lead researcher at Chasing Justice, LLC, agreed. “We not only need to not vote for him, he needs to withdraw for the race. We don’t reward bad behavior,” she said, arguing that O’Donnell exhibited unethical behavior during the trial.

Bishop Ward said, “We continue to be exploited as a people. We’re not concerned about Democrat or Republican. We’re concerned about justice. [Brelo] fired 49 bullets out of one gun. You cannot continue to ask for elevation and don’t know how to treat people.”

Crenshaw also talked about “prosecutorial accountability,” saying all the officers should have been charged. “Let’s be real about what happened in that case.”  

Activist Richard Jones echoed Crenshaw on “prosecutorial accountability.” He said the prosecutor set the case up for Judge O’Donnell to rule the way he did.  

Activist Al Porter said the Democratic leaders who are upholding O’Donnell don’t deserve to hold onto their seats either.

A spokesman for the committee said they will be meeting with groups from Akron, Youngstown, Cincinnati, Columbus and Toledo. He urged everyone to, “Call five people you know and tell them to not vote for Judge O’Donnell. Call them every week.”

Conwell led a similar effort against O'Donnell in 2016 that had measurable success.

“I feel insulted that the Democratic Party didn’t give us anybody else,” said Conwell. “You can’t let somebody go for killing black folk and expect us to vote for you.”

• • •• • • 

Sounds of silence overwhelm talk of Cleveland's future

-->

In what may have been the last question* from the audience after a panel presentation on how catalyst projects throughout metro Cleveland impact the small business community, city councilman Kevin Conwell, whose Glenville area ward encompasses deep poverty cheek by jowl with the region's wealthiest concentration of institutional assets, rose to ask how the kinds of projects being discussed might be designed to benefit the whole community, especially those parts that suffer from "abject poverty".

Cleveland City Councilman Kevin Conwell's 8th Ward
encompasses the wealth and power of University Circle

as well as the poverty and promise of Glenville.

Conwell’s “tale of two cities” question was asked against the backdrop of a recent incident that clearly had him distressed; he had referenced the same issue earlier that week at the annual meeting of Famicos Foundation. Conwell spoke in both instances about having to call the city's health department over the filthy and unsafe conditions at Park Place, a 122-unit concrete estate that sits near the southwestern foot of University Circle. While geographically the estate sits just off the west end of Opportunity Corridor,

Park Place Apartments, where Councilman Kevin Conwell,
who lives about two blocks east of the complex, says that
residents are complaining of rodent infestation and other
unsanitary conditions. He has called for action by the city's
health department.

culturally there is a mile deep chasm between its tenants and the accumulated wealth perched just above it.

Conwell's question came after a discussion featuring Kyle Dreyfuss-Wells, chief executive of the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District; Carl Naso, CFO of the Port of Cleveland; David Ebersole, Cleveland's economic development director; and Deb Janik, senior vice president for real estate and business development at the Greater Cleveland Partnership, the nation's largest chamber of commerce.

Before Conwell's question brought the discussion down to earth, Janik had extolled the Opportunity Corridor, saying the project was a "foundation upon which to rebuild every single neighborhood". She praised her organization for its role in Cleveland's over-hyped "public-private partnership" development model, saying that "no one does [PPP] better than Greater Cleveland, and no one ever has." Unable to check her enthusiasm, Janik professed her belief in Cleveland's being the "greatest city in the country".

These comments fairly cried out for the counterpoint that Conwell's question provided. As we discussed with a friend afterwards, clearly just asking the question is not enough. But too often at such civic engagements — this annual meeting of the Uptown Business Association, held in the elegant quarters of Case Western Reserve University's Alumni Center — the concerns Conwell raised are invisible and unvoiced.

Several weeks ago, the managing partner of a midsize downtown law firm ratcheted up a civic debate on Cleveland's sorry ranking across a variety of metrics in contrast to our perceived municipal competitors. There was an immediate cry to round up and interrogate the usual suspects, worthy of Captain Renault at the end of Casablanca. Amid cries to form this or that committee or commission, there was scarcely a peep from Cleveland's black community, whose issues must be addressed if this region is ever to stop circling the drain.

There should not be a public meeting in Greater Cleveland on the status, accomplishments or prospects of our city or region, attended by any would be leader or representative of the black community, where the disparities and inequities of our community are not discussed. Nowhere is the timidity and fecklessness of our current leadership more in evidence than in our inability or unwillingness to even put our issues on the table.

Outside of our local sports icons, the three most celebrated public figures in most black homes are likely Martin Luther King, Carl Stokes and Muhammad Ali. All are now nearly universally lauded for their courageous stands born of principled conviction. But every one of them was vilified when they were standing strong. And many of those who sing their praises the loudest today battled them viciously every step of the way.

Where are today's representatives capable and willing to speak truth to power?

* We were unable to stay and hear any response to Conwell's question.

# # #

Campaign Watch Update: Strickland-Portman debate in Cleveland tonight; Candidate forum in Glenville

Third And Final Portman-Strickland Debate for Ohio U.S. Senate tonight

Debate to be broadcast on radio and television throughout the state

The third and final debate between U.S. Senate candidates Rob Portman and Ted Strickland takes place at 7pm tonight at the Idea Center at Playhouse Square. The debate is sponsored by The City Club of Cleveland.

Media partners are WVIZ/PBS and 90.3 WCPN ideastream in Cleveland, WEWS in Cleveland and WCPO in Cincinnati. Moderators are Karen Kasler of the Ohio Public Radio and Television Statehouse News Bureau and Danita Harris of WEWS. The debate will originate from ideastream studios at the Idea Center and be broadcast by television and radio stations across Ohio. Tickets to the event sold out within hours of its announcement. 

The debate will air live, without commercials, from 7 to 8 p.m. on these television and radio stations across Ohio:

         WVIZ/PBS and 90.3 WCPN ideastream (Cleveland) – Live stream at ideastream.org

         WEWS (Cleveland) – Live stream at newsnet5.com/video/live-video

         WYTV (Youngstown)

         WNEO Fusion Channel (Alliance/Youngstown)

         89.7 WKSU (Kent)                                                                      

         C-SPAN (National) – Live stream at c-span.org

In addition, the Ohio Channel will air the debate on Sunday, Oct. 23 at 8 p.m. and Wednesday, Oct. 26 at 10 p.m.

The audience will be made up of community members and supporters of both candidates. Some audience members will have the opportunity to ask questions. The candidates squared off in two earlier debates: Oct. 14 in Youngstown and Oct. 17 in Columbus.

The Cleveland debate is the only one carried live across multiple platforms throughout Ohio between these candidates.

“This is one of the races the entire nation is watching, and we feel privileged that the citizens of Ohio, the campaigns and our partners are entrusting us with this important responsibility,” said City Club CEO Dan Moulthrop. “We’re looking forward to an engaging and fair debate.”

• • •

Local Candidates forum in Glenville tonight

County Councilwoman Yvonne M. Conwell and Cleveland Ward 9 Councilman Kevin Conwell are co-hosting a Candidates Forum tonight at True Vine Baptist Church, 711 East 105 Street. The public is invited.

The following candidates have confirmed their attendance:

Judge Steve Gall, Common Pleas Court; Judge Diane Palos and Judge Francine Goldberg of the Common Pleas Court, Domestic Relations Division; Kelly Ann Gallagher, Sherrie Miday, and Andrea Nelson Moore, each of whom is seeking election to Common Pleas Court; County Councilman Anthony Hairston; and Meryl Johnson, candidate for the State Board of Education.

Other candidates may appear as well.

Black Political Leadership in Cleveland & Civil Rights, Pt. II

A few weeks after last year’s November elections, a gaggle of black elected officials and political operatives met at the Harvard Community Center in Cleveland’s Ward 1 to assess the aftermath of the statewide Republican sweep and the uncertain landscape of local politics following the election of Cuyahoga County’s first-ever county executive and county council.

The meeting was the bright idea of State Senator Nina Turner and State Representative Sandra Williams, two of the area’s more diligent state legislators. They invited virtually every local black elected official they could identify, including every black Democratic precinct committee they knew about. 

The meeting drew plenty of suburban council people, as well as old political heads-without-portfolio like Lang Dunbar, and Bill Crockett; up-and-comers like Ward 11 Dem leader Anthony Hairston and Euclid councilman David Gilliham, and seasoned operatives such as Lynnie Powell, Kenn Dowell, Michael Taylor, and Bob Render.

The stated agenda was to analyze the 2010 election returns, to try and divine the reasons behind low and unenthusiastic voter turnout in black communities, and to craft a forward-looking strategy.

The approach was thoughtful. There was promise in the air when the meeting began with perhaps sixty-five attendees arranged in a semi-circle. People were initially respectful as Turner called the meeting to order, stated the agenda and offered the podium to Arnold Pinkney, dean of local black politics.

That was the high point of the meeting.

Mr. Pinkney’s account of the election was distressingly feeble, astonishingly devoid of insight, and absurdly self-serving in its assessment of the strategic and tactical errors of the Ted Strickland/Ohio Democratic Party-led statewide campaign. The essential takeaway from his presentation was that the state party should have hired him to get out the vote instead of some out-of-state crew.

No one challenged his eminence regarding this assessment so Sen. Turner then attempted to move to the agenda’s next item: abysmal turnout by black voters.

It serves no point to offer a blow-by-blow account of how the meeting quickly degenerated into a verbal free-for-all. Suffice it to say there were destructive efforts to derail if not highjack the agenda. These efforts had been primed if not planned and led to silly and distressing assertions of political primacy and potency. The leading protagonists were eventually restrained and the shouting match ended with desultory attempts to restore a semblance of stability.

This was such a depressing turn of events that I have been reluctant if not unable to write about it.

• • •

There was an elephant in the room that day whose gigantic shadow caused many of the attending elected officials to become discombobulated. They behaved as if they were playing musical chairs on quicksand. The music was cacophonous, and nobody knew which of the too few chairs were safe to sit in.

The cause of this erratic and discomfiting behavior was a radical realignment of political forces on many levels. New networks were being empowered and you couldn’t tell the players even with a scorecard.

On the state level — Democrats had been thoroughly ousted. Republicans were in, led by a combative governor who would soon demonstrate that black people had no rights the GOP was bound to respect.

On the county level, there reigned a new county executive, an Irish former G-man, Ed FitzGerald. He owed much of his electoral victory to support rounded up by newer black political leaders who were not in attendance: East Cleveland mayor Gary Norton Jr., Cleveland councilmen T. J. Dow and Kevin Conwell, and suburban leaders like Joe Fouche of Oakwood Village.

There appeared to be not a single person in the room with an inkling of how FitzGerald would deal with the black community and its established political leadership.

Moreover, the uprooting of the corrupted county government structure had facilitated the emergence of new leadership for the county Democratic Party. New party chairman Stuart Garson had been selected, courted, and ratified by Congresswoman Marcia Fudge as new party chair six months earlier, but his connections to the rank-and-file were even more a mystery than FitzGerald’s.

To cap it off, in two years on the job Fudge had yet to consolidate the mantle of leadership that had flowed so long from the 11^th District Congressional seat, first from the dynastic authority and political skill of Lou Stokes, and then from the dynamism and infectious indefatigability of Stephanie Tubbs Jones.

So, with every traditional political lighthouse either adrift or under uncertain or foreign control, there should have been no surprise when the captain-less crew engaged in unseemly jousting for control of the helm, shouted mutual accusations of mutiny, and wanted to throw shipmates overboard.

This sorry state of affairs has continued for much of the last year, as evidenced by infighting among the leaders of the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus over state legislative redistricting.

We will look at that on Thursday.