Incumbent Frank Jackson easily advances to general election

Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson faced a crowded field eight challengers in Tuesday’s primary and it appears that an unprecedented fourth 4-year term is still in the cards as Jackson easily advanced to the November 7 General Election.

As we went to print more than 50 percent of the votes had been counted and Jackson had more than 8,000 of them, doubling the totals of his two closest opponents Councilmen Zack Reed and Jeff Johnson.

Reed held a slim margin of 3,018-2,415 over Johnson and none of the remaining candidates appear to have any remote possibility of a runoff with Jackson.

In what was yet another traditionally low voter turn-out, the mayor’s race was the big ticket on the primary ballot in both Cleveland and East Cleveland when retired Judge Una H.R. Keenon was trailing Brandon King by 125 votes to 106.

King, the former city council’s vice president, assumed Gary Norton's position as Mayor who was removed.

Among the safest winners from the primary were City Council President Kevin Kelley in Ward 13, Kevin Conwell in Ward 9, Ken Johnson Sr. in Ward 4 new comer Blaine Griffin in Ward 6.

Kenneth Bishop and Geoff A Fitch were in a tightly contest battle in Ward 2, and Richard Starr and Phyllis E. Cleveland was too close to call at press-time.