CLEVELAND – Some voters in Cleveland’s Ward 4 are wondering why former Cleveland City Councilor Ken Johnson, despite his July 30, criminal convictions on 15 federal counts, including theft from a federal program and tax violations.
Rachel Scalish, special adviser to Cleveland City Council, said current law allows those convicted of a crime to vote, but Scalish said Johnson would not be able to run under the city charter if he was in the September and November primaries win 2nd general election.
Scalish said if Johnson somehow won the general election it would create a vacancy in Ward 4 that Cleveland City Council would fill on a temporary basis, triggering a special election for the seat in 2022.
“The primaries for the special elections would take place 100 days after the vacancy, and the special elections would take place two months or eight weeks after that primary,” said Scalish. It’s all happened, there is nothing we can do as councilors or elected officials it’s really up to the state. “
Ward 4 resident and elector Kari Collier said she believes state law should be changed that the possible scenario with Johnson could overturn the votes of the nine other candidates who could legitimately take office. Collier said she was concerned that any votes cast for the other candidates this September and November could fall if the city council is forced to negotiate a temporary appointment for the council seat of Ward 4 in January.
“That will take other candidates out of the vote, and that means the really good ones will suffer,” said Collier. “A felon should not be allowed to vote. Not allowed to do both, especially not to hold an office, that is absolutely ridiculous. “
Baldwin Wallace University professor and News 5 political analyst Tom Sutton said he believed the current state law should be changed as it could have a negative impact on voter turnout and confidence in the electoral process.
“That certainly gives the whole concept of candidacy and who is elected a bad name,” said Sutton. “It doesn’t help much with the turnout, which is already very, very low in Cleveland. During the August special election for the seat of the 11th District Congress, Cleveland only had a 13% turnout. “
Sutton said he believes there needs to be a new approach to who gets to be on the ballot.
“There needs to be some alignment of state and local laws when it comes to these issues, and it needs to be a little more aggressive about who can vote. My concern is with the voters, the residents, and these issues of integrity and making people see that the process is worth it, ”said Sutton.
News 5 has asked Johnson to comment on this story, but we are still waiting for a response. Johnson’s attorneys, who served on Cleveland Council for 40 years, have rescheduled the case.
Johnson is due to be convicted on Oct. 8, and if that happens, the Secretary of State’s guidelines could allow the Election Committee not to count Johnson’s votes in the general election. But if Johnson’s conviction is delayed, he could remain a viable candidate, and if he wins it would trigger an appointment to the city council.
Despite all the possible scenarios, Ward 4 Shaker Square businessman and Edwins Restaurant Leadership Institute owner Brandon Chrostowski said he was confident Ward 4 voters will make informed decisions.
“Justice got us into this mess and justice will get us out of this mess,” Chrostovsky said. “Every vote counts and it is so important to be an informed voter here.”
“You have to be an informed voter, you have to cast a vote, you have to be an active participant in the system. My stomach turns when I know a hard-earned voice has gone somewhere, maybe it shouldn’t. But at the same time we have to be active in our coordination process, we have to be committed and know what’s going on, ”continued Chrostowski. “The Ward 4 residents are smarter, they are active, they are committed, and I believe they will make the right decision on September 14th.”
