Political consultant Kenn Dowell may be out of the race for a Democratic seat on the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections, but Melody Stewart and Christopher Nance are in.
Stewart is a former Ohio Supreme Court justice. Along with her fellow Democratic candidates for the state’s top court, she enjoyed strong support from party diehards but came up short against Republicans last year. Before that she was an appellate judge, deciding cases out of Cuyahoga County.
Nance is vice president of construction and inclusive talent initiatives at the Greater Cleveland Partnership, where he works on such issues as community benefits agreements for construction projects.
The decision on a new board appointment effectively rests with the Cuyahoga County Democratic Party’s executive committee, a sprawling and sometimes fractious group of hundreds of local party insiders. They’ll meet Feb. 8 to vote on the seat.
The race for the board seat may become a test of U.S. Rep. Shontel Brown’s sway within the party. Brown has endorsed Nance. She circulated an email recently lauding his “true passion for election integrity and voter protection.”
In a letter to executive committee members, Nance pointed to his work on voting issues with the late U.S. Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones and Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner. (Nance later sent out a letter of support from Brunner, the last remaining Democrat on the Ohio Supreme Court.)
“Over the last 20+ years, I have had the privilege of serving in two appointed roles where protecting the right to vote and ensuring election integrity were the focal points,” Nance wrote.
Stewart highlighted her experience with election law in an email Friday evening to executive committee members.
“Sitting on the Supreme Court required that I routinely review and rule on major election cases coming out of the Ohio Secretary of State’s Office, the Ohio General Assembly, the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections and Boards of Elections throughout the state,” Stewart wrote.
She also included a few words of support from Inajo Davis Chappell, the outgoing board member whose seat she’s running to fill.
The parties, not the voters at large, recommend board members for appointment by the secretary of state. Two seats belong to Democrats and two to Republicans. The secretary of state breaks ties.
This post was updated to clarify the selection process for board members.
