Kevin J. Kelley is an American lawyer and politician in Cleveland, Ohio who served as the president of Cleveland City Council from 2014 to 2022.[1][2] In Council, he represented Ward 13 (Cleveland's Old Brooklyn neighborhood) from 2005 to 2022.[3]

Kevin Kelley
President of the Cleveland City Council
In office
2014–2022
Preceded byMartin J. Sweeney
Succeeded byBlaine Griffin
Member of the Cleveland City Council
In office
2005–2022
Preceded byMichael O'Malley
Succeeded byKris Harsh
Constituency13th Ward
Personal details
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseBeth Kelley
EducationCase Western Reserve University (MA)
Cleveland State University (JD)

Biography

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Born in Cleveland to Catholic Irish American parents, Kelley earned his BA from Marquette University, a master's degree in social work from Case Western Reserve University, and a JD degree Magna Cum Laude from Cleveland State University Cleveland–Marshall College of Law.

On April 8, 2021, Kelley announced his candidacy for Mayor of Cleveland in the 2021 Cleveland mayoral election.[4] On September 14, 2021 Kelley came second in the mayoral primary, advancing him to the general election alongside nonprofit executive Justin Bibb.[5] Kelley lost to Bibb with 37% of the vote in the November 2 general election.[6]

Electoral history

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1997 Cleveland City Council Ward 14 primary election[7]
Party Candidate Votes %
Nonpartisan Nelson Cintron Jr. 746 26.66%
Nonpartisan Angel A. Guzman 698 24.95%
Nonpartisan Kevin Kelley 594 21.23%
Nonpartisan Rick Nagin 393 14.05%
Nonpartisan William H. Corrigan 315 11.26%
Nonpartisan Susan Parrish-Jimenez 52 1.86%
Total votes 2,798 100.00
2000 Ohio House of Representatives District 13 Democratic primary election[8]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Mary Rose Oakar 4,353 49.83%
Democratic Kevin Kelley 3,662 41.92%
Democratic Brian Hodous 396 4.53%
Democratic P. Kazarovich 324 3.71%
Total votes 8,735 100.00
2005 Cleveland City Council Ward 16 election[9]
Party Candidate Votes %
Nonpartisan Kevin Kelley 4,193 76.07%
Nonpartisan Robert Mastrodonato 1,319 23.93%
Total votes 5,512 100.00
2009 Cleveland City Council Ward 13 election[10]
Party Candidate Votes %
Nonpartisan Kevin Kelley 3,887 100.00%
Total votes 3,887 100.00
2013 Cleveland City Council Ward 13 election
Candidate Primary election[11] General election[12]
Votes % Votes %
Kevin Kelley 819 65.05 2,425 63.35
Joe Gigante 389 30.90 1,403 36.65
Franklin J. Meslovich 51 4.05  
2017 Cleveland City Council Ward 13 election
Candidate Primary election[13] General election[14]
Votes % Votes %
Kevin Kelley 1,497 70.95 2,905 76.51
Michele Burk 310 14.69 892 23.49
Rocco J. Crisafi 303 14.36  
2021 Cleveland mayoral election
Candidate Primary election[15] General election[16]
Votes % Votes %
Justin Bibb 10,901 27.22 36,138 62.86
Kevin Kelley 7,702 19.23 21,352 37.14
Dennis Kucinich 6,595 16.47  
Zack Reed 4,840 12.08  
Basheer Jones 4,801 11.99  
Sandra Williams 4,472 11.42  
Ross DiBello 639 1.60  

References

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  1. ^ Castele, Nick (November 7, 2013). "Cleveland Councilman Kevin J. Kelley Replaces Martin Sweeney as Council President". WVIZ. Retrieved June 23, 2021.
  2. ^ Castele, Nick (December 7, 2021). "Kevin Kelley and other departing Cleveland City Council members bid farewell as term ends". WKSU. Retrieved January 5, 2022.
  3. ^ "Kevin J. Kelley, Ward 13". Cleveland City Council. Retrieved June 23, 2021.
  4. ^ Naymik, Mark (April 8, 2021). "Kevin Kelley announces bid to be Mayor of Cleveland". WKYC. Retrieved June 23, 2021.
  5. ^ Richardson, Seth (September 15, 2021). "Justin Bibb, Kevin Kelley emerge victorious from Cleveland mayoral primary, setting up showdown for November general election". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved September 15, 2021.
  6. ^ Castele, Nick (November 2, 2021). "Justin Bibb will be Cleveland's next mayor". Ideastream. Retrieved November 2, 2021.
  7. ^ "Cleveland City Council Ward 14 - Primary". Our Campaigns. July 10, 2011. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  8. ^ "OH State House 13 D Primary". Our Campaigns. May 21, 2005. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  9. ^ "Cleveland City Council- Ward 16". Our Campaigns. January 26, 2007. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  10. ^ "Cleveland City Council Ward 13". Our Campaigns. November 4, 2009. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  11. ^ "Cleveland City Council Ward 13 - Primary". Our Campaigns. September 11, 2013. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  12. ^ "Cleveland City Council Ward 13". Our Campaigns. January 7, 2015. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  13. ^ "Cleveland City Council Ward 13 - Primary". Our Campaigns. November 13, 2017. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  14. ^ "Cleveland City Council Ward 13". Our Campaigns. December 3, 2017. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  15. ^ "September 14, 2021 Primary Election Official Results". Cuyahoga County Board of Elections. September 29, 2021. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  16. ^ "November 2, 2021 General Election UNOFFICIAL ELECTION RESULTS". Cuyahoga County Board of Elections. November 2, 2021. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
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Political offices
Preceded by President of the Cleveland City Council
2014–2022
Succeeded by