Since getting re-elected in 2024, Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O’Malley appears to have reversed course on an office policy that prohibited employees from running for partisan positions. In the case of the county’s Democratic Party, nearly 30 people currently or previously affiliated with the prosecutor's office have filed to run for an obscure but powerful Central Committee.
In Ohio, it can be hard to remember that most of the county’s elected officials are Democrats. This has been the trend even in historically conservative strongholds, such as Rocky River, Strongsville, North Royalton, and Gates Mills. Most elected officials in this county have gone through the process of seeking endorsement from the Cuyahoga County Democratic Party, which prints, mails, and hands out hundreds of thousands of sample ballots for their endorsed candidates for every single election.
Specifically, the Central Committee is made up of almost 900 people across the county, with one person elected from each voting precinct. Central Committee members do not directly vote on endorsements but control the rules of the process and govern the county party’s operations. These elections are held every four years, with the next one set for May 4. As part of the process, voters elect nominees to state legislature, county council, as well as statewide and federal offices. Candidates had until Feb. 4 to file their paperwork.
Historically, it’s been difficult to recruit people to run for the committee as people need to live in specific – but different – places, a current committee member said. This year, a large portion of the candidates have one thing in common: they either work or have recently worked for the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office.
At least 28 non-incumbent candidates who have filed Central Committee candidate petitions share names with attorneys who have appeared on behalf of the prosecutor’s office, according to records reviewed by Upbeat Nonsense. While this may not seem like a large number in the grand scheme of a 900-person committee, current committee members have said that it would represent “one of the largest single shifts in the composition of the committee in recent history.”
On the campaign trail in 2024, O’Malley did not provide a direct answer on the office’s policy against employees running for partisan positions, such as these types of committees or even judicial seats. When asked if he had overturned the policy, O’Malley said the ban on running for central committee was still in effect, and that he hasn’t “pushed politics” in the office, “perhaps to my own detriment.”
With O’Malley himself one of the 28 candidates who has filed to run, and multiple supervisors in the office on the list, it appears that the ban has been lifted.
Which leads to questions such as: Why would Prosecutor O’Malley, now well into his third term, lift a ban on political activity that he touted just two years ago? What is an office that is tasked with representing the community doing by diving into partisan politics? And what is the effect going to be on the endorsement process over the next four years?
Upbeat Nonsense has reached out to Cuyahoga County Democratic Party chair David Brock and the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office for comment. This story will be updated with any comment.