Well, That Was Close: Michael O’Malley Comes within 9 Votes of Winning the CCDP Endorsement Against Matthew Ahn
What Happened Saturday
Cleveland.com’s headline perfectly captured the main story of Saturday’s endorsement meeting: Cuyahoga Democratic Party snubs incumbent Prosecutor Mike O’Malley, no endorsement.
At the January 6 Cuyahoga County Democratic Party Executive Committee (CCDP EC) meeting, 571 members came together to vote on endorsements in the many County Council and Judicial races that will be on the March 19 Democratic ballot. They also voted on what was (for most) the main event: Matthew Ahn versus incumbent Michael O’Malley for County Prosecutor. The two candidates represent two fundamentally different philosophies of justice: Matthew Ahn represents the safety- and evidence-based ideology of restorative justice, while Michael O’Malley represents the revenge- and feelings-based ideology of retributive justice.
Incumbent Democrats typically cruise easily past the 60% threshold needed to secure their party’s endorsement, so the question of the day was whether O’Malley would secure the endorsement or if Ahn could keep him under that threshold. Notably, such an upset happened eight years ago in a 2016 race O’Malley himself called “David versus Goliath”: with the support of activists, Michael O’Malley in 2016 managed to deny an endorsement from previous County Prosecutor Timothy McGinty. Back then, O’Malley had the active support of Black Lives Matter activists who were demanding accountability for McGinty’s mishandling of the case against Tamir Rice’s killers. In a stark role reversal, these same activists were on the front lines Saturday, denouncing O’Malley and handing out manila folders to the arriving CCDP EC voters. The folders contained documents describing professional misconduct in O’Malley’s dealings with Tamir’s mother Samaria Rice. Now, like McGinty before him, O’Malley found himself on the right side of incumbency but on the wrong side of these activists, fighting desperately for what is normally an easily-obtained endorsement for an incumbent.
The activists won again. Despite lopsided pro-O’Malley votes reported in North Royalton, Parma, and Parma Heights (my home city, Shaker Heights, went for O’Malley 14–8), Ahn did well in other suburbs and most parts of Cleveland. O’Malley received only 58.5% of the vote, 9 votes short of the 60% needed for CCDP endorsement. Having been denied the benefit of having his name on the endorsement cards that are typically mailed to all Democratic voters before the primary and handed to them again on voting day, O’Malley is genuinely in danger of losing this race.
This Couldn’t Have Happened Without the Work of Activists
With a result this close, everyone on the winning side gets to feel the satisfaction of knowing their efforts made all the difference. Without each individual’s efforts, nine more votes could easily have gone to O’Malley and given him a crushing endorsement.
Black Lives Matter Cleveland and the Tamir Rice Foundation (led by Tamir’s mother Samaria) have been the most relentless and tireless fighters for a better County Prosecutor’s office since at least 2015. Showing up at the endorsement vote handing out receipts of O’Malley’s betrayal surely swayed votes. Shouting matches with O’Malley supporters outside the venue probably resulted in a few crucial abstentions, as voters couldn’t ignore the depths of the discontentment with O’Malley.
Ahn also wouldn’t have won without Build Back Cuyahoga, the culmination of a years-long effort I have been involved in to encourage progressives to struggle for their share of power within CCDP. O’Malley himself wants people to think this was the reason he lost. Asked about the vote in the cleveland.com article, he points out the fact that party leadership is “a little more left than they used to be.” It was also gratifying to see the headline from my post last week pasted to the top of the flier passed out by the campaign on Saturday.
The Candidate Speeches
Another factor that I think must have cost Michael O’Malley a few votes was how ridiculous his speech was. In response to Matthew Ahn’s speech, which accused O’Malley of being an official who “pursues policies that worsen racial disparities and make us all less safe,” and “who blames anybody but himself for the rise in crime we have seen under his watch,” O’Malley led with a quip: “I am apparently responsible for everything but global warming.”
Apparently, O’Malley thinks it ridiculous to suggest that the County Prosecutor might have some responsibility for the rise in crime that Cuyahoga County has experienced under his watch. This stands in stark contrast to O’Malley’s “tough on crime” campaign rhetoric. O’Malley, as I pointed out last week, wants it both ways. He wants everyone to think that his leadership is essential for making the county safer, but he also wants people to think that his failure to have made the county any safer over the past seven years is not his responsibility. To joke about it is, frankly, an insult to the voters’ intelligence.
Perhaps O’Malley’s quip was referring to Ahn’s other accusation: that O’Malley’s pursuit of mass incarceration helps explain dwindling Democratic voter turnout in Cleveland. I would agree that Ahn’s case against O’Malley here isn’t as open-and-shut as his public safety case against O’Malley. But again, O’Malley wants it both ways. Most of O’Malley’s speech focused on the harm that this divisive campaign might do to Democratic candidates in November. So which is it? Are you responsible for Democratic voter turnout? Or is it as ridiculous to suggest that you might be responsible for Democratic voter turnout as it is to blame you for global warming?
O’Malley is trying to maintain an air of accountability while accepting no actual accountability. I think at least some of the 571 voters must have recognized the incoherence of O’Malley’s logic. It’s not hard to imagine O’Malley losing 9 votes for it.
It’s Not Too Late to Contribute to this Campaign
Ahn has a real chance to win now. Winning over 41% of Democratic Party insiders against a quintessential insider like O’Malley is no small feat. As I said on social media, “it’s not easy to convince Dem Party insiders to cross an incumbent County Prosecutor,” and “the typical Democratic primary voter should be easier to win over.” Donate to Matthew Ahn, share his impressive platform with your friends, and volunteer. If we come together, we can make this county better.
A Note on Democratic Party Unity
From my perspective, it’s hard to fathom any morally defensible reason to vote to endorse O’Malley over Ahn (I suppose ignorance, fear of reprisal, or “I trusted the wrong people” are plausible exceptions). Embracing morally indefensible politics does make it hard for people to unite later, but we Democrats really do need each other to beat Republicans, who are at least slightly worse. For me, the dividing line on unity is whether I’m offered a fair fight. Under CCDP Chair David Brock, I feel that progressives have been offered a fair fight politically within the party, so I think it makes sense to unite. By not endorsing O’Malley, CCDP has made it easier for me as a progressive to make this argument to other progressives. Moreover, by making Ahn-O’Malley an intriguing race, we will be creating new Democratic voters in March, many of whom will return to the polls again in November and beyond.
