Mayoral races highlight hope for Democrats

Associated Press

CINCINNATI

It’s mayoral election time, which means Ohio Democrats will finally get some wins.

After a Republican sweep a year ago of statewide offices as Donald Trump scored a decisive victory in the presidential swing state, Democrats are in rebuilding mode and leaning on the urban areas that are among their last voting strongholds. Democratic incumbents face Democratic challengers in three of the state’s largest cities, with Dayton’s Democratic mayor unopposed for re-election.

While the mayoral campaigns revolve around local issues of strong interest to city residents such as crime, public transportation and budget crunches, they can have broader political significance. Ohio State University political scientist Paul Beck says the Democrats need to develop some potential stars, and winning and governing cities is a place to start.

“The Democrats have a very thin bench, so they’re looking for vote-getting appeal,” Beck said. “These are not high-visibility races, but they are important for candidates with any kind of statewide ambitions; they have to have done well in their own locales.”

Dayton’s mayor, Nan Whaley, is already trying to use her local popularity for a springboard into the governorship, running statewide for that nomination while assured of re-election at home. She was the youngest woman elected to Dayton city commission in 2006.

Whaley is among four candidates for the party’s nomination while four Republicans are vying ahead of 2018 elections when Democrats will try to slow GOP momentum stoked in 2014 when Gov. John Kasich’s landslide re-election led Republicans across the state.

In Cincinnati, incumbent John Cranley, a former councilman who twice ran unsuccessfully for Congress, is trying to fend off councilwoman Yvette Simpson.

In Cleveland, three-term incumbent Mayor Frank Jackson faces longtime east side Councilman Zack Reed. A runoff was required after Jackson earned 39 percent of the vote in a crowded primary field to Reed’s 22 percent in the September primary.

In Toledo, Mayor Paula Hicks-Hudson, a former city council president, is seeking her first full term after winning a special election two years ago to serve out the term of her predecessor, D. Michael Collins, who died after suffering cardiac arrest.

Meanwhile, Democratic incumbents in Columbus and Akron are still midway through their first terms.