Richard Starr
2022 - Present
2026
3
Richard Starr is a member of the Cleveland City Council in Ohio, representing Ward 5. He assumed office on January 3, 2022. His current term ends on January 5, 2026.
Starr is running for re-election to the Cleveland City Council to represent Ward 5 in Ohio. He is on the ballot in the general election on November 4, 2025. He advanced from the primary on September 9, 2025.
Biography
Starr attended East Technical High School. As of his 2017 campaign, Starr was studying sports management and business management at Baldwin Wallace University. He has served as co-chair of the My Brother’s Keeper Outreach Committee and as a board member for the New Tech at East Tech Advisory Committee.[1]
Elections
2025
See also: City elections in Cleveland, Ohio (2025)
General election
General election for Cleveland City Council Ward 5
Incumbent Rebecca Maurer, incumbent Richard Starr, and Myras Holmes are running in the general election for Cleveland City Council Ward 5 on November 4, 2025.
Candidate | ||
 | Rebecca Maurer (Nonpartisan) | |
 | Richard Starr (Nonpartisan) | |
| Myras Holmes (Nonpartisan) (Write-in) | ||
| ||||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for Cleveland City Council Ward 5
Incumbent Richard Starr and incumbent Rebecca Maurer defeated Beverly Owens-Jackson in the primary for Cleveland City Council Ward 5 on September 9, 2025.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Richard Starr (Nonpartisan) | 69.4 | 627 |
| ✔ | | Rebecca Maurer (Nonpartisan) | 25.4 | 229 |
 | Beverly Owens-Jackson (Nonpartisan) | 5.2 | 47 | |
| Total votes: 903 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Johnnie Brown (Nonpartisan)
Endorsements
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2021
See also: City elections in Cleveland, Ohio (2021)
General election
General election for Cleveland City Council Ward 5
Richard Starr defeated incumbent Delores Gray and Frank Kidd Jr. in the general election for Cleveland City Council Ward 5 on November 2, 2021.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Richard Starr (Nonpartisan) | 55.7 | 904 |
| Delores Gray (Nonpartisan) | 44.0 | 714 | ||
| Frank Kidd Jr. (Nonpartisan) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 0 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.2 | 4 | ||
| Total votes: 1,622 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for Cleveland City Council Ward 5
Incumbent Delores Gray and Richard Starr defeated Dyrone Smith in the primary for Cleveland City Council Ward 5 on September 14, 2021.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Delores Gray (Nonpartisan) | 47.7 | 534 | |
| ✔ | | Richard Starr (Nonpartisan) | 45.0 | 504 |
 | Dyrone Smith (Nonpartisan) | 7.2 | 81 | |
| Total votes: 1,119 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Igor Ternovsky (Nonpartisan)
2017
The city of Cleveland, Ohio, held elections on November 7, 2017. A primary election occurred on September 12, 2017. The mayor and all 17 seats on the city council were up for election. The filing deadline for candidates who wished to run in this election was June 29, 2017.[2]
Incumbent Phyllis Cleveland defeated Richard Starr in the general election for Ward 5 of the Cleveland City Council.[3]
| Cleveland City Council, Ward 5 General Election, 2017 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Phyllis Cleveland Incumbent |
58.09% | 1,116 |
| Richard Starr | 41.75% | 802 |
| Write-in votes | 0.16% | 3 |
| Total Votes | 1,921 | |
| Source: Cuyahoga County Board of Elections, "General Election Official Results," November 22, 2017 | ||
Incumbent Phyllis Cleveland and Richard Starr defeated Larry Wanzo Sr. in the primary election for Ward 5 of the Cleveland City Council.[4]
| Cleveland City Council, Ward 5 Nonpartisan Primary Election, 2017 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Phyllis Cleveland Incumbent |
52.33% | 629 |
| Richard Starr |
41.76% | 502 |
| Larry Wanzo Sr. | 5.91% | 71 |
| Total Votes | 1,202 | |
| Source: Cuyahoga County Board of Elections, "Official Election Results," September 12, 2017 | ||
Campaign themes
2025
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
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2021
Richard Starr did not complete Ballotpedia's 2021 Candidate Connection survey.
2017
Starr's website highlighted the following campaign themes:[5]
Public safety
- Excerpt: "We need additional mentoring opportunities for teens and young adults. We need to aggressively seek funds to demolish abandoned homes, which attract crime. Increased community policing is one of the keys to making our neighborhoods safer."
Targeted programs
- Excerpt: "We need special programs for youth and seniors, plus community re-entry opportunities for those trying to make a fresh start."
Jobs
- Excerpt: "We need to emphasize workforce development programs and use incentives to ensure the Opportunity Corridor creates jobs, not just a shortcut for commuters."
Education
- Excerpt: "Mentoring programs will help keep kids in school and graduate. I will also restructure school outreach programs to focus more on educating parents."
See also
2025 Elections
External links
|
Candidate Cleveland City Council Ward 5 |
Officeholder Cleveland City Council Ward 5 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Richard Starr campaign website, "About Richard," accessed October 27, 2017
- ↑ Cuyahoga County Board of Elections, "2017 Election Calendar," accessed February 2, 2017
- ↑ Cuyahoga County Board of Elections, "2017 Candidate List," July 7, 2017
- ↑ Cuyahoga County Board of Elections, "2017 Candidate List," July 7, 2017
- ↑ Richard Starr campaign website, "The Issues," accessed October 27, 2017
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Delores Gray |
Cleveland City Council, Ward 5 2022-Present |
Succeeded by NA |
| |||||||||
