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Mayoral election in Cleveland, Ohio (2017)
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| 2017 Cleveland mayoral elections |
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| Election dates |
| Filing deadline: June 29, 2017 |
| Primary election: September 12, 2017 General election: November 7, 2017 |
| Election stats |
| Offices up: Mayor, city council, & clerk of the municipal court |
| Total seats up: 19 (click here for other city elections) |
| Election type: Nonpartisan |
| Other municipal elections |
| U.S. municipal elections, 2017 |
The city of Cleveland, Ohio, held an election for the mayor's office on November 7, 2017. Mayor Frank Jackson was re-elected after running against City Councilman Zack Reed. The two took the top two spots in the primary and faced off in the general election. Reed argued that he would make the city safer and that Mayor Jackson lacked a sense of urgency in responding to problems. Jackson said that he had pulled the city through the recession and had proven his ability to move the city forward.
The other primary candidates were City Councilman Jeffrey Johnson, State Rep. Bill Patmon (D), Eric Brewer, Brandon Chrostowski, Robert Kilo, Tony Madalone, and Dyrone Smith. James Jerome Bell and Camry Kincaid ran as write-in candidates.
Cleveland also held an election for all 17 city council seats; click here for more information about those races. A primary election occurred on September 12, 2017, and the general election was on November 7, 2017.
The filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was June 29, 2017. Candidates for mayor needed to collect 3,000 valid signatures from Cleveland voters in order to get on the ballot.[1]
Elections
General election
Candidates
☑ Mayor Frank Jackson (i)
☐ Councilman Zack Reed
Results
| Mayor of Cleveland, General Election, 2017 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Frank Jackson Incumbent |
59.52% | 36,196 |
| Zack Reed | 40.46% | 24,605 |
| Write-in votes | 0.02% | 15 |
| Total Votes | 60,816 | |
| Source: Cuyahoga County Board of Elections, "General Election Official Results," November 22, 2017 | ||
Primary election
Candidates
☑ Mayor Frank Jackson (i)
☐ Eric Brewer
☐ Brandon Chrostowski
☐ Councilman Jeffrey Johnson
☐ Robert Kilo
☐ Tony Madalone
☐ State Rep. Bill Patmon
☑ Councilman Zack Reed
☐ Dyrone Smith
☐ James Jerome Bell (Write-in)
☐ Camry Kincaid (Write-in)
Results
| Mayor of Cleveland, Nonpartisan Primary Election, 2017 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Frank Jackson Incumbent |
38.66% | 12,968 |
| Zack Reed |
22.00% | 7,378 |
| Jeffrey Johnson | 15.44% | 5,178 |
| Brandon Chrostowski | 9.45% | 3,171 |
| Robert Kilo | 5.21% | 1,748 |
| Tony Madalone | 4.57% | 1,534 |
| Bill Patmon | 2.67% | 894 |
| Eric Brewer | 1.45% | 486 |
| Dyrone Smith | 0.40% | 135 |
| Write-in votes | 0.15% | 50 |
| Total Votes | 33,542 | |
| Source: Cuyahoga County Board of Elections, "Official Election Results," September 12, 2017 | ||
Polling
Dyrone Smith, Tony Madalone, and James Jerome Bell were also part of the poll. Each got 1 percent.
| 2017 Cleveland Mayoral Primary Election | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | Frank Jackson | Eric Brewer | Brandon Chrostowski | Jeffrey Johnson | Robert Kilo | Bill Patmon | Zack Reed | Camry Kincaid | Not sure | Margin of error | Sample size | ||||||||
| Zogby Analytics (August 2-8, 2017) | 33% | 3% | 2% | 8% | 2% | 2% | 12% | 2% | 35% | +/-4.4 | 504 | ||||||||
| Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org. | |||||||||||||||||||
Campaign finance
Endorsements
The table below shows endorsements for the 2017 Cleveland mayoral election.
| Endorsements for Cleveland mayoral candidates | ||
|---|---|---|
| Endorsement | Frank Jackson | Zack Reed |
| Cleveland Building & Construction Trade Council[2] |  |
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| Cleveland Stonewall Democrats | |
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| Cuyahoga County Democratic Party | |
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| Pipe Fitters Union Local 120 | |
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| International Union of Painters & Allied Trades District 6 | |
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| Cleveland Building & Construction Trades Council | |
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| United Union of Roofers, Waterproofers & Allied Workers | |
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| Firefighters Local 93 | |
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| Cleveland Police Patrolmen's Association[3] | | |
| Teamsters Local 416[4] | | |
| Amalgamated Transit Union Local 268[4] | | |
| U.S. Representative Marcia Fudge (D) | |
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| U.S. Representative Marcy Kaptur (D) | |
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| Cuyahoga County Executive Armond Budish (D) | |
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| Councilman Jeffrey Johnson[5] | | |
| SEIU District 1199[6] | | |
| Teamsters Local 507[7] | | |
Additional elections on the ballot
- See also: Ohio elections, 2017
The general election for mayor Cleveland shared the ballot with elections for all 17 seats on the Cleveland City Council, eight judgeships on the Cleveland Municipal Court, clerk of the municipal court, and two statewide ballot measures.
Voters in Cleveland may also have been asked to vote to authorize the sale of alcohol at specific times and at specific locations if an establishment in his or her precinct had requested that this be approved. These elections only impacted certain precincts and did not necessarily appear on all voters' ballots.[8]
Issues
Campaign forums
Councilman Zack Reed challenged Mayor Frank Jackson to four debates—each in a different area of the city—before the general election. "I am challenging him to debate me in the neighborhoods in front of the people," said Reed.[9] Mayor Jackson declined Reed's invitation, and a campaign spokesman said, "He's very cognizant of balancing his current city responsibilities with campaigning, and he doesn't want to overdo it." The two candidates participated in one debate on October 19, 2017, hosted by the City Club of Cleveland.[10]
City Club debate
Jackson and Reed met for a debate at the City Club of Cleveland on October 19, 2017. The debate was moderated by Rick Jackson of WCPN public radio and WVIZ-TV. The candidates answered questions about schools, police, and more.[11]
When asked to grade his administration in its effort to improve public schools, Jackson gave himself a C+. He said the schools had made progress since the enactment of the five-year Cleveland Transformation Plan. "I'm not going to say an A because we have a way to go, but I would say a C+, and we're continuing to work on it," he said. In response, Reed said, "You can't call yourself a C+ when the state has called you an F on more than one occasion." The mayor has the power to appoint school board members and the chief executive officer of the school district.[12]
The candidates gave their views on the consent decree about police reform between the city and the United States Department of Justice. "It has been successful, it’s moving in the right direction, and one of the reasons why it’s been successful is because we were working on things before the consent decree," Jackson said. Reed said the consent decree was necessary because of police incidents that occurred under Jackson's leadership. He said Jackson should have fired Director of Public Safety Martin Flask and Cleveland Police Chief Michael McGrath.[13] Reed and Jackson were also asked their opinion of the reinstatement of five police officers who had been terminated after a 2012 incident that resulted in the deaths of Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams. Jackson said he disagreed with their reinstatement, and Reed said it did not matter what he thought, stating that as an elected official he needed to accept the arbitrator’s decision to reinstate the officers. "I may not agree with what the decision was," he said. Jackson responded, "You’re supposed to be running for mayor—it does matter what you think about it."[12]
In his closing statement, Jackson argued that he had carried the city through hard times and helped it move forward. "This is not amateur hour, this is not about rookies," he said. Reed said that he had the experience and qualifications to succeed as mayor. "When he tells you I have no experience, I had way more experience than he had when he became mayor," he said.[11] Watch a video of the hour-long debate below.
About the city
- See also: Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County. As of 2010, its population was 396,815.
City government
- See also: Mayor-council government
The city of Cleveland uses a strong mayor and city council system. In this form of municipal government, the city council serves as the city's primary legislative body and the mayor serves as the city's chief executive.
Demographics
The following table displays demographic data provided by the United States Census Bureau.
| Demographic Data for Cleveland, Ohio | ||
|---|---|---|
| Cleveland | Ohio | |
| Population | 396,815 | 11,536,504 |
| Land area (sq mi) | 77 | 40,858 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White | 40% | 81.3% |
| Black/African American | 48.8% | 12.4% |
| Asian | 2.6% | 2.2% |
| Native American | 0.5% | 0.2% |
| Pacific Islander | 0.1% | 0% |
| Other (single race) | 3.6% | 1% |
| Multiple | 4.4% | 2.9% |
| Hispanic/Latino | 11.9% | 3.8% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate | 80.8% | 90.4% |
| College graduation rate | 17.5% | 28.3% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income | $30,907 | $56,602 |
| Persons below poverty level | 32.7% | 14% |
| Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "Decennial Census" (2010). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2014-2019). | ||
| **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | ||
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Cleveland mayoral election. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Cleveland, Ohio | Ohio | Municipal government | Other local coverage |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Cuyahoga County Board of Elections, "2017 Election Calendar," accessed February 2, 2017
- ↑ Frank Jackson campaign website, "Endorsements," accessed October 5, 2017
- ↑ WKSU.org, "Morning Headlines: Cleveland Police Endorse Zack Reed for Mayor; Talking Drone Lurks at Akron School," October 12, 2017
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Cleveland.com, "CLE Chatter: Unions back Zack Reed (and other campaign tidbits)," October 6, 2017
- ↑ Cleveland.com, "Cleveland Councilman Jeff Johnson endorses Zack Reed after mayoral primary defeat," September 13, 2017
- ↑ Cleveland.com, "SEIU District 1199 endorses Zack Reed in Cleveland mayor's race," October 25, 2017
- ↑ Cleveland.com, "Teamsters Local 507 endorses Zack Reed in Cleveland mayor's race," October 26, 2017
- ↑ Cuyahoga County Board of Elections, "Issue List for Primary Election," accessed July 19, 2017
- ↑ Cleveland Scene, "Zack Reed Challenges Frank Jackson to Four Neighborhood Debates," October 9, 2017
- ↑ Cleveland.com, "Frank Jackson declines Zack Reed's neighborhood debate challenge in Cleveland mayor's race," October 10, 2017
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Crain's Cleveland Business, "Jackson, Reed square off in Cleveland mayoral debate," October 19, 2017
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Cleveland.com, "Mayor Frank Jackson, challenger Zack Reed spar in contentious Cleveland mayoral debate at the City Club," October 19, 2017
- ↑ FOX 8 Cleveland, "Sparks fly during Cleveland’s mayoral debate," October 19, 2017
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