Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson Will Take On Patmon, Marking Second Time In History That Two Blacks Compete For Mayor In General Election
Posted Wednesday, September 9, 2009 By Kathy Wray Coleman (National and Cleveland, Ohio Area News- Coleman is a freelance journalist who last year interviewed now U.S. President Barack Obama one-on-one for the Call & Post newspaper, Ohio's Black press, shortly before Ohio's March 4 Primary for the Democratic nomination for president of the United States of America) Frank G. Jackson, the 56th mayor of the predominantly Black major metropolitan city of Cleveland, Oh., silenced his critics Tuesday evening, winning the nonpartisan primary election with 72 percent of the vote in a stunning blowout. Embarrassing his four opponents, and surprising some of his critics, Jackson out distanced his closest challenger, former city councilman Bill Patmon, by a 5 to 1 margin. Two additional opponents of the mayor, both write-ins, went essentially unnoticed by voters, as did the four noticeable ones, apparently. Cleveland voters easily handed the former Cleveland City Council President and