Most Cleveland City Council incumbents prevailed in Tuesday's municipal election in a race narrowed by new maps and fewer wards.
Three incumbents were ousted, meaning three members will represent wards in January, despite a loss of only two wards.
One newcomer upset a sitting council member by a seven-vote margin, likely triggering a recount.
Here's what to know:
Incumbents Maurer and Hairston ousted by colleagues
Council lost two of its seats due to population loss in its once-a-decade redistricting process, forcing some council members to compete against each another for reelection.
Richard Starr defeated Rebecca Maurer in Ward 5, which includes the East Side neighborhoods of Central, Kinsman and parts of Slavic Village, downtown and midtown.
As the incumbent whose current area of representation includes about three-quarters of residents in the new ward, Starr, of Central, had a home field advantage over Maurer, whose current Ward 12 includes about 4% of residents in the new Ward 5 boundary. Her ward was diced into six pieces, and she ultimately decided to run where her personal residence fell.
Maurer was the top spender in this year's council races, raising nearly $80,000 and spending $94,412 on her re-election bid. Meanwhile, Starr raised about $2,000 more and spent $81,612.
Starr had key endorsements, including from the Democrats of Cuyahoga County, and was financially backed by the Council Leadership Fund, a political action committee controlled by President Blaine Griffin to bolster his allies on council.
Also on the East Side, the longest-serving member of council in Cleveland’s history, Mike Polensek, beat out Ward 10 incumbent Anthony Hairston to represent Collinwood, St. Clair, Superior and Glenville.
Polensek, the self-proclaimed "underdog" in the race, had the advantage of decades on council, but Hairston, the current Ward 10 representative, was backed by council leadership financing.
Polensek filed to run ahead of the June filing deadline, but had not confirmed if he intended to run until early August, when he said he would seek reelection. Council President Blaine Griffin said he would back Hairston over Polensek because of prior commitments before Polensek confirmed his candidacy.
Three new faces expected to join council
Austin Davis, an attorney and former advisor to Mayor Justin Bibb, came out on top in one of the most hotly contested races.
Davis beat out attorney and progressive Mohammad Faraj to represent Ward 7, which includes the near West Side neighborhoods of Ohio City, Tremont, Detroit-Shoreway and the Flats.
Davis will take the seat of former council member Kerry McCormack, who stepped down in September after nearly a decade on council. His announcement to vacate the seat paved the way for a highly competitive race with some of the top spending in the city.
Community activist Nikki Hudson will also join council in January representing Ward 11, which includes the West Side neighborhoods of Cudell, Detroit-Shoreway, Edgewater and parts of Old Brooklyn. The boundaries most closely resemble Jenny Spencer's Ward 15. Spencer announced last year she would not seek re-election.
Hudson's path to victory was cleared in September after her opponent, Andrew Fontanarosa, dropped out.
And Tanmay Shah, a progressive union organizer, lawyer and truck driver beat incumbent Danny Kelly by seven votes.
The less than 0.5% margin will likely trigger a recount, but unofficial results show Shah as the victor in Ward 12, which includes Edgewater, Cudell and West Boulevard into Jefferson. Shah is a democratic socialist who has won the endorsement of the "Better Cleveland for All" progressive political action committee.
Incumbents secured their seats in re-election campaigns
Elsewhere, council members handily secured their reelection bids.
In Ward 1, incumbent Joe Jones, who has been in office since 2018, defeated fourth-term State Rep. Juanita O. Brent. Despite recent controversy at City Hall, including a censure from his colleagues for accusations of inappropriate behavior, voters supported Jones strongly on Tuesday.
Aside from Kelly, all other candidates in contested races, including Ward Deborah Gray (Ward 3), Kris Harsh (Ward 4), Stephanie Howse-Jones (Ward 8), Kevin Conwell (Ward 9) and won against their challengers.
Charles Slife (Ward 15) and Brian Kazy (Ward 13) beat write-in candidates.
Blaine Griffin (Ward 6), Jasmin Santana (Ward 14) and Kevin Bishop (Ward 2) ran unopposed.
All 15 council members will assume office in January.
Voter turnout was low
Cleveland's voter turnout again lagged the county average, with only about 18% percent of registered voters casting ballots. 22% of Cuyahoga County turned out.
Voter turnout was highest in Ward 15 at more than 26%. That far West Side district includes West Park, Kamm's Corners and part of Puritas.
The lowest voter turnout was 9.3% in Ward 14, which includes the West Side neighborhoods of Clark-Fulton, Brooklyn Center and the Stockyards.
