Democrats sweep county offices again

Cuyahoga County's corruption and patronage scandals had very little effect on this week's election. The three county Democrats with Republican challengers beat them as soundly as ever.

Incumbent county commissioner Peter Lawson Jones (pictured) defeated Bay Village Mayor Debbie Sutherland, even though she made the scandals her top issue.

Compare Barack Obama's vote totals in Cuyahoga County to the local races:

President
Barack Obama (D) 441,836 68%
John McCain (R) 196,369 30%
Total 646,994

County Commissioner
Peter Lawson Jones (D) 341,976 62%
Deborah Sutherland (R) 206,319 38%
Total 549,125

County Recorder
Lillian J. Greene (D) 351,454 70%
Cathy Luks (R) 151,438 30%
Total 502,892

Prosecuting Attorney
Bill Mason (D) 402,366 74%
Annette Butler (R) 142,227 26%
Total 544,593

How many people who voted for Obama split their tickets to vote for Sutherland? About 6 percent of the electorate. Sutherland got more votes in Cuyahoga County than McCain, a sign her arguments made some impact, but not nearly enough to break up Democrats' one-party rule.

It's also a sign of Jones' popularity and reputation. Voters knew he is not implicated in the FBI probe. Sutherland's best argument against him was that he had not done enough to curb patronage hiring.

What could ever cause Cuyahoga County voters to elect a Republican to county office again? I think the Democratic candidate would have to be facing a felony charge. (A misdemeanor charge isn't enough, we learned in 2004.)

This doesn't end the debate over the problems in county government. It just shifts it away from the ballot box. The Cuyahoga reform commission's recommendation is due tomorrow. And the FBI probe continues. Indictments of elected officials would cause big change fast.

Mason pushes back against Plain Dealer

Tense times between Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Bill Mason and the Plain Dealer. Yesterday the paper published a very back-handed endorsement of him. In today's paper, Mason challenges its report on racial disparities in the justice system.

Saturday's editorial blasted Mason as too political and says he's maintained friendships with questionable people (we assume they mean Pat O'Malley). The editorial board says it wouldn't have endorsed him had his opponent, Annette Butler, run a stronger campaign.

Mason responds to the PD's "Justice Blinded" series (see part 1 here, part 2 here) in a Forum op-ed today. His arguments that the series was flawed are serious enough that the PD ran a follow-up news story about them.

In the story, Mason also pledges to study the clear racial disparities in the drug-crime sentences of black and white offenders in Cuyahoga County. But he denies his office is causing the justice gap, and he attacks some of the catchy anecdotes in "Justice Blinded."

Articles like the "Justice Blinded" series usually identify a trend with statistics, explain why it's happening, and offer dramatic anecdotes to make the point memorable. All three parts should hold up.

From the evidence Mason has offered, it looks like some of the paper's shocking tales -- of a black person getting a felony and jail time while a white person who committed a worse crime gets treatment -- were not the prosecutor's fault.

Blaming Mason wasn't the whole point of the series, but it did identify the prosecutor's office as a major influence in who gets treatment or a plea deal and who doesn't. Mason argues that other court institutions, from judges to the probation department, deserve more blame for the justice gap than the series suggests.

Mason hasn't refuted the series, but it looks like he's found some weaknesses in it. Anyone who reads the series should also read today's two articles.

Annette Butler debates Bill Mason

Annette Butler, the Republican candidate for prosecutor, debated Bill Mason today, trying to convince a City Club audience that the Democratic incumbent ought to go. The debate put Mason under the sort of cross-examination you don't see often in our one-party town.

Butler held up the Sunday and Monday Plain Dealer and read the headlines from the paper's exposé of racial disparities in drug case sentences. The paper found statistics and damning anecdotes that showed black drug defendants in Cuyahoga County getting felony convictions while white drug defendants -- including the sheriff's son -- were convicted of the same or worse offenses but got drug treatment or plea deals and no felony record. (See the stories here and here.)

Mason called the reports "troubling" and "disconcerting" and said he'd find funding to study the issue. The articles placed much of the responsibility on his office, but he said several parts of the justice system influence sentences, including police, the courts, and the probation department. Butler said she'd create standard practices and policies to make sure prosecutors treat defendants equally.

Butler also criticized Mason for his partial resistance to open discovery -- allowing defense attorneys open access to prosecutors' files. She said she'd guarantee open discovery for all defendants. A worker for Cleveland's rape crisis center gave Mason a big assist on this issue, saying she was concerned open discovery wouldn't protect victims and witnesses enough. Mason agreed, while saying he was open to some changes in the rules.

Mason also got grilled about the FBI's county corruption investigation. An audience member asked why the FBI hadn't informed him in advance about the July raid of county offices, and she asked where citizens could go to report corruption in the county, clearly implying she felt they couldn't go to Mason. He said his office has prosecuted 140 "public officials," including policemen and teachers. He said the feds don't always include local law enforcement in raids, and that they understand Mason has an inherent conflict of interest because the prosecutor's office represents county government in civil cases.

The audience also found a few weak spots in Butler's case for herself. A policeman asked Butler if she was going to go easier on defendants charged with possessing crack pipes. She said yes: "It's costing a fortune to prosecute them as felonies," she said. "I'll spend a lot of energy on the bad guys, not a whole lot of it on crack pipe cases." Mason replied he wouldn't choose which laws to prosecute.

Another questioner asked Butler how she would make up for a near-lack of criminal-case experience. She spent 24 years with the U.S. Attorney's office, handling civil matters. Butler said she would draw on her management, trial, and appellate experience and her three years of teaching criminal law. Mason, who suggested last week that Butler wasn't worthy of debating him, avoided criticizing her today, except to say: "I think experience in this office matters a lot."

City Club debates coming soon

The City Club of Cleveland has announced its debate schedule for October. I'm going to report on a few for the blog.

Can't wait to see Dennis Kucinich debate Jim Trakas next Friday. The Peter Lawson Jones-Debbie Sutherland debate, Oct. 29, is a can't-miss -- that might be the most interesting race in town this year, what with the county scandals and all.

And I actually want to see Annette Butler, the Republican candidate for prosecutor, debate an empty chair. Bill Mason isn't going to show. Obviously, he thinks we're a one-party town, and he's calculating that debating Butler would give her legitimacy and publicity. But, as with the Jones-Sutherland race, the Republicans have created a serious contest for prosecutor by nominating a qualified candidate with some tough questions for the incumbent.

Here's the complete list of debates.

Friday, October 17: 10th Congressional District: Dennis Kucinich, James P. Trakas, Paul Conroy.

Monday, October 20: Cuyahoga County Prosecutor: Annette G. Butler. (William Mason has not responded.)

Tuesday, October 21: 11th Congressional District: Marcia Fudge vs. Thomas Pekarek

Wednesday, October 22: Ohio Attorney General: Richard Cordray vs. Michael Crites

Thursday, October 23: Ohio Supreme Court: Maureen O’Connor vs. Joseph D. Russo

Monday, October 27: Ohio Supreme Court: Peter M. Sikora vs. Evelyn L. Stratton

Tuesday, October 28: 13th Congressional District: David S. Potter vs. Betty Sutton

Wednesday, October 29: Cuyahoga County Commissioner: Peter Lawson Jones vs. Deborah L. Sutherland

Thursday, October 30: 14th Congressional District: Steve LaTourette, David Macko, Judge William O’Neill

All debates start at noon. Tickets are $15 for members and $25 for nonmembers ($18 and $30 for the Kucinich-Trakas-Conroy debate) -- call (216) 621-0082. Most City Club talks are available online as podcasts afterward.