Peter Lawson Jones turned to the cluster of local leaders from around the county who stood behind him on the steps of Cleveland City Hall
JONES: I want to thank you for this wonderful display of support.
In attendance were Cleveland's Frank Jackson and an assortment of suburban mayors, including South Euclid's Georgine Welo, who said Jones had been unfairly lumped with other County officials currently under investigation on corruption charges.
WELO: You can't just throw everybody out. You've got to look at who's there. And the other thing is, you've got to have some continuity. You have to have someone who has known the issues and who has lived the issues.
The Jones campaign announced that 32 mayors were backing the incumbent commissioner. His Republican challenger, Debbie Sutherland, had a similar rally this past summer when she announced that 17 suburban mayors were backing her...including two Democrats.