McGinty wins Democratic primary for county prosecutor, might face Black Independent candidate Ed Wade in November, Hall places 2nd

Tim McGinty, who won Tuesday's Democratic primary for Cuyahoga County prosecutor, greets supporters at a recent fundraiser for his candidacy.

Stephanie Hall, the only Black and woman in the race for Cuyahoga County prosecutor who out did three men, two with greater name recognition than she before the celebrated contest for the county's most powerful office

Robert Triozzi, a former law director under Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson, who was endorsed by the mayor and came in fourth in the race for Cuyahoga County prosecutor. He allegedly got punched in the face at a poll location on Tues.

James McDonnell came in fifth place for the Cuyahoga County prosecutor's seat in spite of television commercials and endorsements from some suburban mayors and municipal prosecutors

Subodh Chandra, a candidate for Cuyahoga County prosecutor pushed by a cadre of community activists and U.S. Rep. Marcia L, Fudge (D-OH), made a third place finish

Edward Wade, a Cleveland criminal defense attorney who will challenge Tim McGinty as an Independent candidate in the Nov. general election, if signatures to the county board of elections by its deadline on March 5 are enough to place his name on the ballot.

By Kathy Wray Coleman, Editor, The Kathy Wray Coleman Online News Blog.Com and Cleveland Urban News.Com(www.kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com) and (www.clevelandurbannews.com)(kathy@kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com)

CLEVELAND, Ohio-With 100 percent of 1082 precincts reporting, former Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Judge Tim McGinty likely walked away with the county prosecutor seat on Tues., winning the Democratic primary with 35 percent of the vote, according to unofficial results from the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections.

"Thank you, but no comment," said campaign manager Brendan Doyle when asked for a response by Cleveland Urban News.Com and The Kathy Wray Coleman Online News Blog.Com on his candidate's commanding lead when absentee ballots were counted and McGinty had then garnered 42 percent of the vote.

Defense Attorney Edward Wade, who lost a race last year for Cleveland Municipal Court against incumbent judge Angela Stokes, a daughter of retired 11th Congressional District Congressman Louis Stokes, will oppose McGinty in Nov. as an Independent, if signatures to the county board of elections by its deadline on March 5 are enough to place his name on the ballot.

Wade is Black.

Current county prosecutor Bill Mason did not seek reelection after winning three back-to-back terms.

Stephanie N. Hall, the only Black and woman in the race, nestled in a second place finish, winning 21 percent or 23,877 votes. She snatched any attention that McGinty did not get away from Subodh Chandra, a former federal prosecutor and prior Cleveland law director endorsed by Congresswoman Marcia Fudge and a wealth of area grassroots organizations who finished third with 19,813 votes, and from Robert Triozzi, who got 16, 720 votes, even with endorsements from Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson and Stokes.

A prior Cleveland judge and former law director under Jackson accused of maliciously prosecuting Black women and girls, and the mayor's enemies, Triozzi allegedly got punched in the face at a poll location on Tues., allegedly by a mentally ill man., though some say it was pay back for his harassment of people.

Defense Attorney James J. McDonnell, whose last minute television commercials and popular name, could not boaster his standing or serve to out do the popular McGinty, finished in last place with 15,244 votes.

A former Cleveland police officer, assistant Cuyahoga County prosecutor and foreclosure magistrate who is now in private practice, Hall won support from pockets of women and Blacks across Cuyahoga County, which has a Black population of roughly 29 percent."

While McGinty promises to be hard on crime if he wins in Nov. , Hall and Chandra told an audience at the first debate for county prosecutor held earlier this year at Lil Africa Party Center in Cleveland that was hosted by The Imperial Women Coalition, The Cleveland African-American Museum and The Audacity of Hope Foundation, that if elected they would push for less incarceration of Blacks with drug problems and more substance abuse programs , and they said that the death penalty, with its discrepancies considered, is not good for the Black community.

The only candidate among the five contenders to ever hold public office other than Triozzi, McGinty, whose catchy but likely hypocritical campaign slogan is to "I will make it right " in the midst of an ongoing county corruption probe of a host of Democratic officials and some of their affiliates, did not get a mandate as 65 percent of Cuyahoga County voters said no to him in favor of the other four opponents.

And community activists are still hot on his trail because of his record as a judge and former assistant County prosecutor that is hostile to the Black community, including malicious prosecutions and biased, retaliatory and illegal orders to send Blacks to prison that were overturned on appeal.

Some of them said after his victory yesterday that if he beats Wade he should come due on his campaign verbiage to the three Black Cleveland councilmen that endorsed him on his publicly announced promises to them, including to hire more Blacks in the county prosecutor's office, and to prosecute judges and county officials allegedly participating in mortgage fraud and the theft of homes for rich mortgage companies and banks and their friends via illegal foreclosure activities in the common pleas court.

"I just hope that in the unfortunate circumstance that Tim McGinty wins in Nov. he wrote down all the promises he made because we did and we will be watching him," said Ada Averyhart, a community activist and member of grassroots groups The Imperial Women, The Carl Stokes Brigade, two of several community activists groups that vehemently opposed his candidacy as detrimental to the Black community in particular and the larger community in general.

Reach Kathy Wray Coleman by email at kathy@kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com, and by telephone at 216-932-3114.