(Cleveland) -Nonprofit agency executive Justin Bibb received the most votes in Tuesday's Cleveland Mayoral primary, and City Council President Kevin Kelley came in second. Bibb and Kelley will face each other in the November general election.
The unofficial final results, according to the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections:
- Justin Bibb, 10, 635 votes, 27.14%
- Kevin Kelley, 7,597 votes, 19.39%
- Dennis Kucinich, 6,481 votes, 16.54%
- Zack Reed, 4,.724 votes, 12.06%
- Basheer Jones, 4.640 votes, 11.84%
- Sandra Williams, 4,478 votes, 11.43%
- Ross DiBello, 632 votes, 1.61%
Bibb told WTAM 11-00 on election night his victory is a sign that voters want change in this year's election. If eelcted, he says he'll make City Hall more responsive, and he'll try to make Cleveland one of the nation's best mid-sized cities.
In his speech to supporters, Kelley said there were people who said he couldn't win, but he believes he will move forward because fo the message he and his supporters put together. He says he wants to deal with issues such as the digital divide.
Former Mayor Dennis Kucinich failed in his bid to return to the office he held in 1978 and 1979, conceding when he wa losing to Kelley by about 1,000 votes. Kucinich wished Bibb the best, saying he ran a good campaign. Kucinich did not want to say why he feels he did not move on to the general election, A lot of voters may have been swayed by negative ads paid for by a political action committee.
Zack Reed, who lost to Mayor Frank Jackson in 2017, says he fought a valiant fight, but just simply didn't do enough.
Either Bibb or Kelley will be next mayor of Cleveland, succeeding Frank Jackson, who has served 16 years as mayor.
1 of 4 Justin Bibb greeted by a supporterPhoto: Ray Davis, WTAM
2 of 4 Kevin Kelley about to greet supporterPhoto: Cache' Roberts, WTAM 1100
3 of 4 Dennis Kucinich concedesPhoto: Tom Moore, WTAM
4 of 4 Zach Reed speaks with supporterPhoto: Steve Bailey, WTAM
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