Laverne Jones Gore has filed to run against Mayor Justin Bibb as he seeks a second term leading the City of Cleveland.
In Ward 1, state Rep. Juanita Brent and several others are challenging incumbent Council Member Joe Jones.
Candidates had to file petitions by June 11 at 4 p.m. with the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections to run for mayor, City Council and judge in Cleveland. The board released an unofficial list of candidates after the deadline passed on Wednesday.
Gore, a Republican, ran for Congress in 2021 and Cleveland mayor in 2009, among other offices. Bibb is the president of the Democratic Mayors Association. Cleveland’s races are non-partisan, so party affiliation does not appear on the ballot.
The city will hold primary elections Sept. 9 for council races with more than two candidates. The top two vote-getters from those contests will face each other in the general election Nov. 4. There are no primaries in judicial races, which instead go straight to the general election.
Some current City Council members are facing off
City Council is shrinking from 17 wards to 15 to account for population decline, pitting some incumbent council members against one another.
Two incumbents, Richard Starr and Rebecca Maurer, will face each other to represent Ward 5. In Ward 10, which covers the Collinwood neighborhood, two other incumbents have filed to run: Anthony Hairston and Michael Polensek.
Polensek, who has served on council since 1978, said he will talk with family and close friends about whether to stay in the race. He’ll make a decision by July 3, he said.
He filed to run for another term “to make sure that I don’t take anything for granted here,” he told Signal Cleveland. He said that he was concerned about the future of major projects in his ward.
“I also am aware that I’ve been here for some time and I’m not getting any younger,” he said.
Polensek added that he runs an effective campaign and has resources at his disposal.
“I have 1,000 signs sitting in my garage right now,” he said. “If anyone wants to see them they can be my guest.”
Five council members are running unopposed: Council President Blaine Griffin, Kevin Bishop, Brian Kazy, Jasmin Santana and Charles Slife.
Full list of Cleveland candidate petitions for the fall election
Read on for a list of the Cleveland candidates who have filed petitions to run for office this year. The Cuyahoga County Board of Elections has not yet verified the petition signatures of every candidate on this list, so it may change before ballots are set.
The deadline for write-in candidates is June 30 for mayoral and City Council candidates and Aug. 25 for judicial candidates.
Cleveland Mayor
- Justin Bibb (incumbent)
- Laverne Jones Gore
Ward 1
- Aylwin S. Bridges
- Marc G. Crosby
- Joe Jones (incumbent)
- Lesa Jones Dollar
- Juanita O. Brent
Ward 2
- Kevin L. Bishop (incumbent)
Ward 3
- LaShorn Caldwell
- Deborah A. Gray (incumbent)
- Ras A. Olugbenga
- Sharon Spruill
- Erch V. Stubbs
Ward 4
- Kris Harsh (incumbent)
- Rehan Waheed
Ward 5
- Rebecca Maurer (incumbent)
- Beverly Owens-Jackson
- Richard A. Starr (incumbent)
Ward 6
- Blaine A. Griffin (incumbent)
Ward 7
- Michael Africa
- Austin N. Davis
- Mohammad Faraj
- Mike Rogalski
Ward 8
- Stephanie Howse-Jones (incumbent)
- Leon Meredith
- Charlotte Perkins
- Tony Perry (write-in)
- Teri Ying-Liang Wang
Ward 9
- Alana Belle
- Kevin Conwell (incumbent)
- Tony Evans Jr.
Ward 10
- Anthony T. Hairston (incumbent)
- Keith Hemphill
- Michael D. Polensek (incumbent)
Ward 11
- Andrew Fontanarosa
- Nikki Hudson
Ward 12
- Andrew Defratis
- Danny Kelly (incumbent)
- Tanmay Shah
Ward 13
- Brian Kazy (incumbent)
Ward 14
- Jasmin Santana (incumbent)
Ward 15
- Charles Slife (incumbent)
Cleveland Housing Court
- W. Moná Scott (incumbent)
- Cheryl M. Wiltshire
Cleveland Municipal Court
- In Son J. Loving
- Heather McCollough
Cleveland Municipal Court
- TJ Dow
- Khalilah Lawson
Cleveland Municipal Court
- Brett Earle Horton
- Nikki McGowan
- Joseph Russo
- Ray Tarasuck
- Christopher Woodworth
What questions do you have for Cleveland City Council candidates?
