RICHMOND HEIGHTS, Ohio -- The just concluded election season was a wild ride for Bobby Jordan.
Jordan, a longtime Richmond Heights Board of Education member, decided this year to run for the City Council president’s seat.
As it turned out, Jordan was successful in topping 18-year Councilwoman and current Council President Eloise Henry for the job. But there was a big bump in the road to overcome.
The final, unofficial Cuyahoga County Board of Elections totals from Tuesday’s (Nov. 2) election show that Jordan finished with 1,163 votes (51.8 percent) to Henry’s 1,082 votes (48.2 percent).
Just after the Aug. 4 deadline for candidate filing, the Board of Elections declared that Jordan would not be on the fall ballot because he had tallied and written the incorrect number of signatures on each of two petitions.
A dejected Jordan appealed to the board and won, earning him a spot back on the ballot.
Then, as votes were counted on Tuesday, he came from behind to defeat Henry.
“It’s been a battle of emotions from being down, disappointed, to a point where you can’t even believe it,” Jordan said the day after the election. “I was dead, then I was alive. Now it’s time to settle in, because we’ve got work to do.”
Looking ahead, Jordan said, “I think our city’s in pretty good shape. I love our city, but I want to support the mayor (Ward 1 Councilwoman Kim Thomas is the newly elected mayor) and also make sure that the council’s in a position that we can do things in a quick manner so the mayor can move and do the things she needs to do for the city.
“Right now, things tend to get bogged down,” he said.
The 56-year-old Jordan is a 16-year Richmond Heights resident. He has been a school board member for 11 years. Jordan was school board president from 2011 to 2018.
When asked how his experience as school board president might help him when serving as council president, Jordan said, “Any time you’re in city government, it’s a vast wealth of experience that you gain. When I first joined the school board, I didn’t have any experience. I went to training every year and was able to get governance to be a proper school board member.
“I listened and I learned and I became an important member of the school board.”
Jordan will become council president in January and take the helm of a council that continues to help guide the $260 million redevelopment project, Belle Oaks Marketplace, at the former Richmond Town Square mall site. The mixed-use project is being undertaken by California developers DealPoint Merrill.
Jordan said of the development: “My only wish is that there was more communication. I can’t even speak on it because I don’t know a lot about it. And I’m speaking as a community member.
“We should be able to say some good things about that project, but things haven’t been shared. I want to make sure that all the information is shared with the people in the city, so they’ll know what is going where and what is coming in the future.
“It doesn’t take much to share information. We’re a small city. It doesn’t take a lot to get the word out. That’s one of the things I’m looking forward to, just sharing with our community what we are doing.”
Past discussions about the Belle Oaks project have, at times, had the school board and council at odds. Now, a longtime school board member will be taking the reigns of City Council. Jordan said he doesn’t think the transition will be difficult in leading a largely established group of council members.
“I know everybody on council, and for 11 years when I was on school board we have interacted (with council) and, I think, of course, I don’t know what to expect from that (council president) position because I haven’t done it before.
“But interacting with council -- I look forward to it and I believe we can work together and they can help me in various areas so I can be a good council president.”
Henry says ‘the time is right’ to move on
Henry, known for her sometimes animated means of running council meetings, said that perhaps losing was a good thing for her.
“I’m going to go do other things,” Henry said. “I committed 18 years working for the city. So, the people have spoken and I’m done.
“They (voters) said they didn’t want me to do it anymore and, you know, sometimes you don’t know when to quit. But you learn how to quit when the message is clear, and the message was clear. So I no longer have to figure out when the time is right.”
Henry said she doesn’t see herself seeking office again.
“There are so many other things I’m working on, so I’m going to pursue the other things in my life that I’ve left laying aside.”
As for the City Council at-large race, voters were asked to select two candidates from the three running. Voters chose to re-elect incumbents Daniel Ursu and Juanita Lewis. First-time candidate Sheena Levy finished third with 1,010 votes, behind Lewis’ 1,096 and Ursu’s 1,103.
Read more from the Sun Messenger.
If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
