Council president draws attention

In the primary, he gained more votes than Campbell, a fellow Democrat. CLEVELAND (AP) -- Low-key City Council President Frank Jackson emerged as the favorite to be elected mayor Nov. 8 by finishing a convincing first in the eight-way nonpartisan primary in which Mayor Jane Campbell placed second. The win gave Jackson four weeks to show voters a personal history that backers believe will make a compelling connection in working-class Cleveland. Jackson and Campbell are Democrats, with markedly different pedigrees. Highlighting differences Campbell, 52, earned her political stripes working in the state Legislature and had an urban-suburban constituency as county commissioner before her election as mayor in 2001. She lives in a tony neighborhood adjacent to Shaker Heights, an upscale suburb. Jackson's mother was a cleaning lady and he served in Vietnam before working his way through college and law school, never moving from his impoverished central neighborhood. He has represented the gritty area east of downtown for 16 years, the last four as council president. Jackson, 59, has bluntly detailed his family's hard-luck background, mentioning at campaign stops that he has relatives in prison, jobless, drug-addicted or teenage and pregnant. "People wanted to know, who is Frank Jackson? What does Frank Jackson mean? And why should we vote for him for mayor?" Jackson told The Associated Press in an interview in his sparsely furnished campaign office in a former auto dealership. David Elkins, associate professor of politics at Cleveland State University, said Jackson has tried to highlight the perceived personal differences with Campbell.