The March 19 primary election will determine who moves on to the general election in November as the endorsed Democratic candidate for county prosecutor. Early voting is already underway. Matthew Ahn is the challenger.
Opening statement
“A fundamental truth is that we create justice for all when we think big about what our communities need and when we seek to prevent crime, not just react to it,” Ahn told a crowd of more than 400 people at a Greater Cleveland Congregations event recently.
“Justice, for All” is Ahn’s campaign slogan. He has repeatedly said he wants to rely on research and data to prevent crime and make communities safer long-term.
Experience
Ahn has been a lawyer for 10 years. He was a law professor at Cleveland State University. He worked for the federal public defender’s Northern District of Ohio office for two years after graduating from law school.
Issue: Bindovers
Bindover is the process of transferring criminal cases against youths ages 14-17 to adult court when they’re charged with serious crimes. There are two types of bindovers, mandatory and discretionary. Mandatory bindovers are required by law based on the age and seriousness of a crime. Discretionary bindovers are based on a judge’s decision about whether a child can be rehabilitated in juvenile court. Most bindovers are mandatory. Cuyahoga County leads Ohio in bindovers by a wide margin, and nearly all bound-over youths are Black.
Ahn has committed to pausing discretionary bindovers and working to understand the disparities in bindovers in Cuyahoga County.
Ahn wants to come up with a system “that is fair, that is more data-driven, that is more evidence-based so that we can actually best hold children accountable in a way that will make sure that they are not going to come before the court again,” he said in a Feb. 15 forum with the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association.
Studies show children tried as adults are more likely to re-offend when they’re released compared to children kept in juvenile court, Ahn said.
“And I want to be clear, I’m not saying that children who commit serious crimes don’t require serious punishments,” Ahn said. “But there are mechanisms such as the serious youthful offender sentence in juvenile court that are available even when a child is kept in juvenile court.”
Issue: New county jail
The Cuyahoga County Council has approved plans to build a new jail in Garfield Heights and an increase in sales tax to pay for it. The county executive has proposed building a diversion center and offering other resources at the same site.
Ahn wants to see the jail and courts remain together downtown. He was vocal at County Council meetings about his disapproval of the Garfield Heights location.
“When you separate a jail and a court system, you end up with detained individuals late for court at a much higher rate,” Ahn said. “They’re going to stay in jail longer than they need to.”
The separation will also create continuing transportation costs for the county and difficulties for attorneys who need to visit clients. “It’s an entire logistical mess,” he said.
Issue: Diversion
The Cuyahoga County Diversion Center opened in May 2021 with the intent to keep people experiencing mental health issues out of the criminal justice system and reduce the county jail population. Five months after opening the center, the county started allowing organizations, individuals and family members to also use the center’s services, not just police.
“I believe there is still a lot to do in terms of encouraging police departments to use the diversion center to its fullest extent,” Ahn said. “That is something that I would make a priority.”
At the Feb. 20 forum, Ahn said that while the diversion center has been helpful, it “has not actually made a meaningful impact on our jail population.”
He referenced the diversion center’s quarterly reports from when it opened in 2021 through November 2023 — only 117 people were taken to the center instead of being arrested. Most people who have used the diversion center – 1,500 people – were referred to the center without facing possible arrest.
Issue: Cash bail
The bail system was created to ensure people appear for trial and pretrial hearings. Cash bail is the amount of money defendants post to be released from jail until their trial. If they show up to all their court hearings, they get their money back. “It is not supposed to be used as punishment,” according to the American Bar Association.
“I’ve already committed to not asking for cash bail,” Ahn said, “because cash bail is a system that does not have a whole lot to do with public safety. It is based more in whether you have the ability to pay your way out of jail.”
Ahn said the current system keeps people in jail because they can’t afford even low bail amounts. The system also gives people charged with serious crimes the opportunity to pay their way out of jail when they can afford it.
“We should be using a public safety-based system,” Ahn said. “Either you are a threat to the community or a flight risk and you should be in jail, or you’re not and you should be released with whatever conditions will ensure the safety of the community.”
Endorsements
Ahn has been endorsed by several current and former elected officials, the co-presidents of Black Lives Matter – Cleveland, the Cleveland Stonewall Democrats, and others. The complete list is available on his web site.
Campaign funds
From July 1 through the end of 2023, Ahn raised $146,400. He reported $119,600 on hand.
Ahn’s largest donor was Paul Blavin, a philanthropist and co-founder of Massachusetts-based Mercy BioAnalytics, who contributed $50,000 to the campaign. Ahn also reported a $40,000 donation from his mother, Seong-Ae Mun.
In a news release, Ahn said most of his donations were less than $250.