CLEVELAND — Seven candidates filed complete petitions by Wednesday’s deadline in order to run for Cleveland mayor this fall.
Each candidate was required to submit a minimum of 3,000 valid signatures from registered voters in Cleveland. In the coming days, Cuyahoga County Board of Election officials will attempt to verify the signatures.
Several others who circulated nominating petitions did not qualify for the ballot.
Of the seven candidates, several are newcomers to elected office.
On Sept. 14, an open primary will whittle the field of eight down to two candidates. The final two candidates will participate in the Nov. 2 general election.
The field is vying to replace four-term Mayor Frank Jackson, who announced last month he would not seek reelection.
Bibb is seeking his first role in elected office. He has been active in the social justice movement and helped launch Cleveland Can’t Wait, a nonprofit organization that’s mission is to advance economic opportunity and racial justice in underserved neighborhoods.
According to his campaign bio, Bibb was an intern for Former President Barack Obama when he was a U.S. senator. Bibb would go on to serve as a special assistant for Cuyahoga County, head the Global Cities Practice at Gallup and was a vice president for KeyBank. He is currently the chief strategy officer of Urbanova.
DiBello is also seeking his first role in elected office. DiBello has been a freelance attorney for the last year. DiBello previously worked for Judge Cassandra Collier-Williams. Before Collier-Williams was elected, DiBello worked for her as a clerk and assistant. He would then serve on her 2010 and 2012 campaigns.
He became a staff attorney for Collier-Williams following her 2012 election victory. In 2020, DiBello left the Court of Common Pleas due to coronavirus concerns, according to his campaign bio.
Jones was first elected to Cleveland City Council’s Ward 7 in 2017. Jones became the first Muslim on Cleveland City Council. Jones is the vice chair of the Health and Human Services Committee and is a member of Development Planning and Sustainability, Safety, and Workforce and Community Benefits Committees.
Jones has received national attention as a contributor on national news outlets such as CNN and MSNBC.
“We have a very special opportunity to foster new ideas, new hope, new determination, new leadership to create a city that honors our dreams,” Jones said at his announcement event. “We must maximize this incredible opportunity. In order for us to do that, we have to have leadership that is energetic, that is courageous, that is bold and who listens to the voices of all Clevelanders.”
Cleveland City Council President Kelley entered the race on April 8. Kelley has served Cleveland’s Ward 13 since 2005. Kelley is not running for a fifth term due to his mayoral candidacy.
Before joining City Council, Kelley was a member of the Jesuit Volunteer Corps.
“This is the most important Mayoral election of our lifetime,” Kelley said in his official announcement. “We are coming out of a pandemic that has afflicted thousands of Clevelanders, taken more than 400 Clevelanders’ lives, left countless unemployed, and caused a deep recession – our second in just over 10 years. Navigating these challenges requires not only big ideas, but the knowledge, experience, and commitment to put those ideas to work. That is what I offer Cleveland.”
Kucinich was Cleveland mayor from 1977-79, as he was first elected at age 31. Although he survived a recall effort in 1978, he lost re-election to George Voinovich in 1979.
He continued his political career by becoming a member of Cleveland City Council and the Ohio Senate. In 1997, Kucinich began a 16-year tenure in the U.S. House of Representatives, which ended after losing a 2012 primary to Rep. Marcy Kaptur when Ohio consolidated its U.S. House seats.
During his tenure in the U.S. House, Kucinich ran twice for the Democratic nomination for president.
Since his U.S. House tenure, Kucinich has provided commentary for Fox News.
Former Councilman Reed entered the race in March after an unsuccessful bid for mayor in 2017. Reed earned 40% of the vote against Jackson in the November general election.
Reed served Ward 2 from 2001 through 2017. He lost his seat in 2017 as he opted to focus on a mayoral run over a reelection bid.
Since his 2017 mayoral bid, he worked in the Ohio’s Secretary of State Office as a minority affairs coordinator.
Reed said that Cleveland is “plagued by poverty, violence and lack of opportunity” and that “inaction has become the status quo."
State Sen. Williams announced her candidacy May 3.
Williams was first elected as a state senator in 2015 and won again in 2019. Her district includes downtown and much of the east side of Cleveland. She is the ranking member on the energy and public utilities, ways and means and higher education committees. She also serves on the insurance committee.
She previously served as a four-term member of the Ohio House of Representatives.
“Advocating for Clevelanders has been my life’s work,” Williams said in a statement. “After graduating from John Hay High School, I put myself through college at Cuyahoga Community College, Cleveland State and Tiffin University. Then I spent 10 years working as a corrections, parole, and probation officer. Now for the last twenty years, I have worked on behalf of the people of Cleveland and Northeast Ohio in the State Legislature.”