Austin Davis, Nikki Hudson Join Incumbents in City Council Election Wins; Tanmay Shah Leading Danny Kelly in Race Too Close to Call

The new 15-seat version of Cleveland City Council will look a lot like the previous iteration of the legislative body, according to unofficial results from the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections. But it will have at least two new faces, two familiar incumbents will be gone, and if one major upset stands, a new progressive voice.

That one major upset is in Ward 12 where Tanmay Shah, who mounted the only significant campaign by a challenger in any ward across the city, holds a single-digit lead on incumbent Danny Kelly — 1,463 votes to 1,456.

Provisional ballots, if there are any, won’t be counted for weeks and regardless, the razor-thin margin means there would be an automatic recount. In other words, it’ll be awhile before the Board of Elections certifies the results.

But if the result holds, it would represent a stunning upset by the Democratic socialist candidate. Despite Kelly’s unimpressive Council record, he enjoyed support from both Council President Blaine Griffin and Mayor Justin Bibb.

Meanwhile, all the other Council incumbents on the ballot running either unopposed or against challengers will be returning to office, soon be joined by two new members who ran and won in wards with no incumbents.

The first of those additions is Austin Davis, who won Tuesday’s election for the Ward 7 seat in a hotly contested and expensive campaign. An attorney and former senior advisor to Mayor Justin Bibb, Davis comfortably bested fellow challenger Mohammad Faraj 62-38 in the battle for one of two open seats. He will soon represent the near west side, including Ohio City, Tremont and Detroit-Shoreway.

Joining Davis as a fresh face for Council’s next term is Nikki Hudson, who ran unopposed after challenger Andrew Fontanarosa dropped out of the race. The Edgewater Parke resident has been a neighborhood activist and member of the Friends for Cudell Commons Park group, a board member of the Northwest Neighborhoods CDC, and chair of her block club.

With wards being redrawn earlier this year, reducing Council from 17 to 15 seats due to population loss, two races featured incumbent-on-incumbent battles.

In what became the most expensive and contentious one in the city, Ward 5 elected Richard Starr over fellow incumbent Rebecca Maurer. The new ward, which includes Central, parts of Slavic Village, and a section of downtown, opted for Starr by a 65-35 margin.

And in Ward 10, the second race featuring two sitting members ended with yet another term for long-long-long-longtime Councilman Mike Polensek. The elder statesman of the body prevailed easily over Anthony Hairston, leading with over 67% of the vote in the race to represent Collinwood after a summer that saw he-said, he-said drama over allegations whether Polensek, who was first elected to his seat in 1978 (!), would or would not seek another four years.

In Ward 1, Joe Jones, the Councilman lately besieged by a series of controversies and an official censure by his fellow Councilmembers for various incidents of misconduct, nevertheless outlasted Ohio House Rep. Juanita Brent by a breezy 63-37 margin.

In Ward 9, Kevin Conwell likewise coasted to victory against challenger Alana Belle with more than 75% of the vote.

In Ward 8, Stephanie Howse-Jones earned another term as she bested Perkins 75-25.

In Ward 4, Kris Harsh dispatched challenger Rehan Waheen, leading 71-29.

In Ward 3, Deborah Gray emerged victorious with more than 80% of the vote.

Incumbents Charles Slife (Ward 15), Jasmin Santana (Ward 14), Brian Kazy (Ward 13), Blaine Griffin (Ward 6), and Kevin Bishop (Ward 2) all ran unopposed.

Subscribe to Cleveland Scene newsletters.