Results from all three races were extremely close — and the campaigns in Ward 7 and 14, especially, were contentious — and the Board of Elections’ numbers are as of yet unofficial. But as it stands, both Joneses and Santana are victorious. Santana will become the first female Hispanic city councilperson in the city’s history. Joe Jones had trailed most of the evening, but surged late, overtaking Pruitt, council’s majority whip, and winning by only 20 votes in the current count.
Zack Reed, who lost to Frank Jackson in the mayoral race, and Jeff Johnson, who ran for mayor but was eliminated in the primaries, will surrender their council seats in Wards 2 and 10. Those seats will be filled by 51-year-old Kevin Bishop and current county councilman Anthony Hairston, who easily defeated former City Councilman Eugene Miller.
Challenger Gail Sparks put up a good fight in Ward 4, but for the most part, incumbents cruised to landslide victories. Results below, with incumbents in bold.
THE UPSETS
Ward 1: Joe Jones def. Terrell Pruitt (50.2%/49.8%)
Ward 7: Basheer Jones def. T.J. Dow (51%/49%)
Ward 14: Jasmin Santana def. Brian Cummins (51%/49%)
THE CLOSE CALL
Ward 4: Ken Johnson def. Gail Sparks (56%/44%)
THE NEW BLOOD
Ward 2: Kevin Bishop def. Geoff Fitch (72%/28%)
Ward 10: Anthony Hairston def. Eugene Miller (65%/35%)
THE LANDSLIDES
Ward 3: Kerry McCormack def. Logan Fahey (85%/15%)
Ward 5: Phyllis Cleveland def. Richard Starr (59%/41%)
Ward 6: Blaine Griffin def. Joshua Perkins-McHamm (69%/31%)
Ward 8: Mike Polensek def. Donald Boyd (87%/13%)
Ward 9: Kevin Conwell def. Anthony Body (78%/22%)
Ward 11: Dona Brady def. Gilder Malone (79%/21%)
Ward 12: Anthony Brancatelli def. Shalira Taylor (73%/27%)
Ward 13: Kevin Kelley def. Michele Burk (77%/23%)
Ward 15: Matt Zone def. Alex Karrfalt (80%/20%)
Ward 16: Brian Kazy def. Ellen Cleary (69%/31%)
Ward 17: Martin Keane def. John Kelly (73%/27%)
This article appears in Nov 1-7, 2017.
I can only speak to the Ward 1 race. Upset? No. Pruitt during his tenure did absolutely nothing. He was lazy, aloof, rude and incompetent. During his first recall to active duty, he appointed an individual that worked in the ward while residing in Shaker Hts. She was given his compensation, but had no authority to vote or participate in committee meetings. His overall demeanor in conversations regarding ward issues was in his attitude, “you’re wasting my time.” He never voted against the budgets or proposals presented by the mayor. He supported the dirt bike track. He is an unknown entity within the ward. The only time he was available or seen was of course during election time. At best he is an empty suit feeding at the public troth. This not an upset. This is a change for the better.
Congratulations to Jasmin Santana, but she has an uphill battle against the shadow government behind the mega CDC Detroit Shoreway. Cummins will get some toady reward job at City Hall as already acknowledged in the Clevelanddotcom editorial – he joins Sabra Pierce-Scott, Eugene Miller, Lance Mason and more…. Thank you to Shalira Taylor, who made a dent in the Land Bank machine by garnering votes in gerrymandered Slavic Village against Tony Brancatelli. She heads to Washington next week to meet with HUD Secretary Ben Carson. Stay tuned.