Sandra Morgan overwhelmingly won election over incumbent Lateek Shabazz in East Cleveland and will now return as mayor for a four-year term to run the struggling Cleveland suburb. Morgan claimed about 84% of the vote in unofficial results.
Morgan, a former Kent State administrator, supports the state of Ohio’s plan to place the city’s finances under state control.
“I welcome this intervention,” Morgan wrote in a statement on her campaign website. “I see it as an opportunity - not just to uncover the truth, but to build the foundation for a stronger, cleaner, more responsible city government.”
Shabazz opposed the idea and asked East Cleveland City Council to vote in favor of filing a lawsuit challenging the state law, which was passed this year and is being used for the first time in East Cleveland. That vote never occurred.
Under a receivership, a state-appointed official will have final authority over East Cleveland’s budget.
“For too long, people simply just kicked the can down the road," said Ohio Auditor of State Keith Faber during the September announcement of his plan to launch the process by making a referral to the attorney general’s office. "It's time for that to end. It's time for a long-term solution."
Morgan previously served as interim mayor by appointment in February, following the indictment of former Mayor Brandon King for theft in office.
Shabazz became mayor in July after King’s conviction disqualified him from holding office, and a judge’s ruling on the city charter put Shabazz in office.
Morgan promised during her campaign to bring stability and transparency to East Cleveland’s city hall.
In September, Faber laid out the city’s longstanding financial troubles; 30 years under fiscal emergency since 1988; the auditor’s office’s inability to perform audits from 2021 and 2022 because of a lack of paperwork; tens of millions of dollars in outstanding debt from lawsuits; and a budget with $1 million more in spending than projected revenues.
Another opponent of receivership, councilmember Patricia Blochowiak, also lost her bid to keep her seat in Tuesday’s election.
Some residents have questioned whether the receivership is the first step towards widespread gentrification, the displacement of current residents and, eventually, annexation by the city of Cleveland.
Morgan, during her campaign, denied that receivership would lead to annexation.
