OH-10: Dean DePiero Is In

Submitted by Jerid on Fri, 09/07/2007 - 1:07am.

The Big News

Dean DePiero, Mayor of Parma - Ohio's seventh largest city with 80,000 residents - is tossing his hat into the Primary carnival to take out Democratic Congressman and presidential wannabe Dennis Kucinich. While BSB followed up on rumors of Dean's interest back in May, nothing ever came of it. Until now.

Over the weekend I spoke with two reliable sources. One source confirmed that he had spoken with Dean directly, and Dean claimed to be committed to the race. Another source confirmed that throughout the summer (notably August) DePiero had been busy cultivating donors. Also, I've heard multiple whispers that a poll may've been commissioned already, but I don't have further info there.

I have no details on kick off, entrance, official word from Dean or any of that. Calls placed to DePiero's campaign office on Wednesday have gone unreturned. However, I repeat, one of my sources spoke with DePiero directly, and Dean claimed he was in the race.

DePiero is about as "true blue" northeast Ohio as you get. His father is a retired Parma firefighter, the same city in which Dean grew up in. Following graduation from Cleveland State University School of law, DePiero was elected to the Parma City Council. In 1997 DePiero served his first of five years in the Ohio Statehouse. In 2003, Parma residents rewarded Dean for his dedication to the region by electing the then 35 year old to be the youngest Mayor of Parma ever.

So...What's DePiero's Candidacy Mean?

Well, it could fizzle and mean absolutely nothing. But since word has gotten to me all the way from DC, I have a feeling that DePiero is putting in the legit legwork to make something of his bid. Still, he's jumping into a race against a sitting Congressman that has been garnering attention nationwide for the last four years, which love him or hate him, is extremely well known in Cleveland. To top it off, DePiero is dipping his toes into water that's already got two other ladies swimming around - Barbara Ferris and Rosemary Palmer.

In a normal Democratic primary against a sitting Dem incumbent, there's only so much of an alternative vote to go round. Conventional wisdom says that all three these folks are screwed if they all stay in together to try and take Dennis down in the March primary. The alternative vote will split three ways, and Dennis will secure the nomination yet again. However, there could be more than meets the eye.

Get Ready For A Headache

Some Clevelanders have suggested that a DePiero candidacy may rest at tapping into political riffs within the ever important Cuyahoga County.

County Prosecutor Bill Mason, along with friend County Recorder Pat O'Malley, have a strong power lock over the Parma and west side regions to draw from. In the past their interests appear to have run counter County Commissioner, Democratic Party Chair, and general Cleveland Boss Jimmy DiMora.

In 2003 Pat O'Malley, with the support of Bill Mason, made a bid for County Commissioner against DiMora's choice, Peter Lawson Jones. The Cleveland Freetimes notes in an article way back in 2003 how that power struggle worked out:

With many of their high-profile supporters deserting them along the way, Mason and O’Malley were crushed in a landslide vote by county precinct members.

“Pat made a fool of himself, and he and Mason lost the power struggle to Dimora,” says a former county Democratic Party officeholder. “That ended any hopes they had of taking over the county party.”

But that power struggle for control of the Cuyahoga County party has arguably continued in one form or another since then.

DePiero comes into the O'Malley-Mason picture way back in 1993 when then Parma Law Director Bill Mason first hired Dean for a clerkship in the city offices during his second year of law school. Since then they've been close friends, and Mason actively supported Dean's first campaign for Mayor.

If larger political forces are churning - and who really ever knows with Cuyahoga County - DePiero's candidacy could have much more to it than meets the eye. Also, it could ultimately be a test of political strength between the O'Malley-Mason and DiMora forces if Jimmy pushes the party support the incumbent (Dennis, as the party normally would).

Long story short...DePiero's impending candidacy could be a blip on the radar, or it could spell out a coming Civil War in Cuyahoga County as we enter into 2008.

It'll be interesting to see how Rosemary, DePiero, Ferris, and ultimately Kucinich play in these waters. But one things for sure, if Dennis wants to navigate these sea's, he'll be coming home sooner than he expected.

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Love that photoshop

Submitted by Anonymous on Fri, 09/07/2007 - 7:35am.

Hilarious!

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DePiero may be better off running as an independent

Submitted by Anonymous on Fri, 09/07/2007 - 8:50am.

Sorry, I've tried posting this twice, but I seem to be having some difficulties with it. Let me preface this by saying I’m a lifelong, conservative resident of the area comprising the Tenth District. With the exception of Martin Hoke’s two terms, I’ve been represented by Mary Rose Oakar and Kucinich. I’d gladly vote for DePiero in a general election race between him and Kucinich. It'd be an interesting primary race. DePiero won the Dem State Cental Seat for the 23rd District, and a large part of that district covers the 10th Congressional District. He got nearly 25% of the votes, beating 9 other candidates including Martin Sweeney (Cleveland Council President), Michael Skindell (Lakewood area state rep), Ed Fitzgerald (Lakewood City Coucil at-large, largest vote getter for Lakewood city council), and Matt Zone (Cleveland City Council). Still, if you look at his vote totals in that race, you'd have to think Kucinich would still clean up in Cleveland and Lakewood. What the unions do, however, would go a long way to determining how things in Parma, Brooklyn, Brook Park, etc. turn out. We know they love Dennis, but they also like Dean. If they were to stay neutral, that's a victory for DePiero. You also have to factor in that DePiero is a huge part of the Mason Democrat machine, so he'd have all sorts of county prosecutors and other local officials out there campaigning for him (at the same time, it could backfire…one of Tom Patton's stump remarks last year was asking constituents if they wanted North Royalton and Strongsville to become Parma South- his opponent was being backed by Mason et al.). Also, it'd be interesting to see who would receive the Dem primary endorsement as Mason and DePiero have done a good job of stacking the Dem Central Committee. Could he actually get a primary endorsement over Kucinich? Who knows, but he'd have a decent shot at it. You'd also have to figure that if the PD endorsed Ferris in '06, they'd endorse DePiero in '08 (whatever that may be worth). If DePiero was to run, then he would absolutely need crossover votes from Republicans and right-leaning independents. His best bet would be if the GOP Presidential nominee is already decided by the time of the primary because then he might be able to get a significant number of R's to vote in his primary. While there obviously aren't that many R's in the district, those are additional votes he could garner that would never go for Kucinich. If the GOP primary is still up in the air, I don't know how many people would forego the chance of choosing the nominee to take a chance on taking out Kucinich. Finally, it would be interesting to see how the local Republican party responds. DePiero is well received by several higher-ups (some of whom have served on his fundraising host committee). Would they silently help DePiero, even if there is a somewhat credible (and by credible I don't mean someone who would win, but someone like Mike Dovilla as opposed to some of the other nut jobs who perpetually run, ala Jason Werner) Republican candidate. All things considered, I'd still put money on Kucinich in a primary. He's well-known, the seniors love him, and I would have to say that he doesn't appear to be corrupt. This could be a race where everything can go right for DePiero and he would still have trouble cracking 40-45%. Throw in the fact that as of now you also have Palmer and Ferris running to further split the anti-Dennis vote, and I don’t see how Kucinich loses a primary. With all that being said, DePiero might be better off going the Joe Lieberman rout and running as an independent. Ed Herman and Dovilla have both gotten around 33% the last two election cycles despite having not having name recognition or money. DePiero trumps both of them in this regard; he’d also do a better job of tapping into the ethnic vote; and given his relationship with some of the brass in the Cuyahoga County Republican Party, he may even be able to swing a deal to keep even a nominal Republican off the ballot, which would allow even die-hard Republicans to vote for him without having a guilty conscience. -Greg Helms

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Pat O'Malley

Submitted by Anonymous on Fri, 09/07/2007 - 9:04am.

Pat O'Malley is a disgraceful embarrassment to all of Cuyahoga County and Mason's connection to him is a blackmark that can only serve to hurt DePiero.

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DePiero Candidacy

Submitted by Anonymous on Fri, 09/07/2007 - 9:14am.

DePiero is an attractive candidate at first glance, but once you delve into it, he really has some major flaws. His anti-choice abortion stance seems troubling, and everyone who pays attention to the local political rumor mill knows he has skeletons in the proverbial closet. Not to mention those pictures from his misadventures in the Lake Erie Islands. Even so, a drunk misogynist beats having the vacancy left by the egocentric dwarf that currently occupies the seat.

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