Incumbents largely prevail on Cleveland City Council
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
A map of Cleveland's 2026 council wards. Screenshot: Cleveland City Council
Incumbents overwhelmingly maintained their seats on Cleveland City Council Tuesday, per unofficial results from the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections.
The big picture: It's the first election since redistricting shrunk the body from 17 seats to 15 due to population loss.
Zoom in: In Ward 12, Tanmay Shah may have defeated incumbent Danny Kelly, which would be the only challenger to unseat a sitting council member.
- With all precincts reporting Tuesday night, Shah led by just seven votes — 1,463 to 1,456 — close enough to trigger a recount.
State of play: Two other new members, Austin Davis in Ward 7 and Nikki Hudson in Ward 11, punched their tickets to City Hall.
- They won the seats vacated by Kerry McCormack and Jenny Spencer.
Friction point: Current incumbents faced each other in two wards.
- Richard Starr defeated Rebecca Maurer in Ward 5 and Mike Polensek defeated Anthony Hairston in Ward 10.
Ward 1: Joe Jones defeated challenger Juanita Brent (63%-37%).
Ward 2: Kevin Bishop (unopposed) retained his seat.
Ward 3: Deborah Gray defeated challenger Erich Stubbs (80%-19%).
Ward 4: Kris Harsh defeated challenger Rehan Waheed (71%-29%).
Ward 5: Richard Starr defeated Rebecca Maurer (64%-35%).
Ward 6: Blaine Griffin (unopposed) retained his seat.
Ward 7: Austin Davis defeated Mohammad Faraj (59%-41%).
Ward 8: Stephanie Howse-Jones defeated challenger Charlotte Perkins (75%-25%).
Ward 9: Kevin Conwell defeated challenger Alana Belle (76%-23%).
Ward 10: Mike Polensek defeated incumbent Anthony Hairston (68%-32%).
Ward 11: Nikki Hudson (unopposed) won the seat vacated by Jenny Spencer.
Ward 12: Challenger Tanmay Shah is leading incumbent Danny Kelly by a fraction of a percent in the evening's only close race.
Ward 13: Brian Kazy (unopposed) retained his seat.
Ward 14: Jasmin Santana (unopposed) retained her seat.
Ward 15: Charles Slife (unopposed) retained his seat.