iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Matthew Ahn @matthewahn.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

Of course, as I say this, a new dump is in. I am officially calling the County Council 11th District for Christine McIntosh.

010

Matthew Ahn @matthewahn.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

It looks like Marty Sweeney will likely stay just above 50 percent, but *just* barely. Thomas and Mayo at 30 and 20 percent respectively are solid showings.

210

Matthew Ahn @matthewahn.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

Same for William Vodrey, who will likely finish right around 62 percent of the vote (the same as the last endorsed candidate to go up against a Ballot Name(TM)).

130

Matthew Ahn @matthewahn.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

Same for Eugene Miller, who will likely finish shy of 50 percent but well clear of anyone else.

130

Matthew Ahn @matthewahn.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

Nicole Sigurdson's margin looked precarious for a second, but she has maintained about an 1100-vote lead on Dionna Gore. I should have stuck with my guns and not regretted calling this race early.

130

Matthew Ahn @matthewahn.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

McIntosh has widened her lead slightly in County Council District 11. I'm still not ready to call the race.

110

Matthew Ahn @matthewahn.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

I am watching whether Marty Sweeney is able to stay above 50 percent in his race. He had 63% of the early and mail vote, but he's dropped to 54% with the first large dump in his district.

120

Matthew Ahn @matthewahn.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

Gallagher is doing much better compared to Vodrey in the election day vote, but Vodrey continues to build his numerical vote advantage. I do not regret calling this one early.

150

Matthew Ahn @matthewahn.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

First major vote drop in the District 20 state house race. Eugene Miller seems to be considerably less strong in the election day vote, but because Charlotte Perkins and Lauren Welch are splitting the rest evenly, he is likely to win. Trends point to Welch moving comfortably into second.

130

Matthew Ahn @matthewahn.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

Another huge vote drop for Poindexter. He's now up 15 points across the district. Notably, Laura Rodriguez-Carbone has moved into third.

120

Matthew Ahn @matthewahn.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

BIG NEWS: Rocky River 4-A's central committee race looks like it's going to result in elected prosecutor Michael O'Malley losing in his own precinct. Notably, O'Malley won his own precinct 64-27 two years ago in the prosecutor's race.

170

Matthew Ahn @matthewahn.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

The first election day returns in County Council 11 have all three candidates splitting the vote nearly evenly, leaving the same numerical margins in place. Christine McIntosh is still likely to win, but I am curious where those evenly split votes are from. I'll look shortly.

120

Matthew Ahn @matthewahn.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

Brian Poindexter pulls into the lead in the Cuyahoga portion of OH-07. A stunning 3155 votes to Ed FitzGerald's 1136. I might be going a tad early here, but I am CALLING that Brian Poindexter has won the Democratic nomination in the 7th District.

130

Matthew Ahn @matthewahn.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

Elliot Forhan has conceded to John Kulewicz, by the way.

131

Matthew Ahn @matthewahn.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

Sweeney also increases his lead, and I'll call this one too. Marty Sweeney has won re-election to his county council seat.

110

Matthew Ahn @matthewahn.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

Russell and Sigurdson increase their leads too. Davida Russell and Nicole Sigurdson have won their primaries and will advance to the general election for their state legislative races.

130

Matthew Ahn @matthewahn.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

First dump in. Vodrey increases his numerical lead, even if not his percentage lead. I am calling it: William Vodrey has won his primary to return to the Court of Common Pleas.

1100

Matthew Ahn @matthewahn.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

It looks like with non-Cuyahoga votes included, Brian Poindexter is leading the early/mail vote. Eisner is further behind, confirming my priors of this as a two-way race.

120

Matthew Ahn @matthewahn.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

Meanwhile, Christine McIntosh holds a narrower lead over Shirley Smith in District 11, with Ebony Spano far behind.

120

Matthew Ahn @matthewahn.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

I neglected to mention the two contested county council primaries above. Marty Sweeney has two challengers in District 3 and there is a 3-way race in District 11 as well. Sweeney is up comfortably over Stephanie Thomas for the time being.

130

Matthew Ahn @matthewahn.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

William Vodrey is up by 49(!) points over James Sean Gallagher. Again, I want to see some Election Day returns, but this one might be over.

190

Matthew Ahn @matthewahn.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

Russell, Sigurdson, and Miller, all of whom received the Democratic party endorsement, comfortably ahead in their races. I want to see some Election Day returns, but each of these races might be over.

120

Matthew Ahn @matthewahn.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

Ed FitzGerald with a lead in early and mail voting, with Poindexter second and Eisner third. Notably, Scott Schulz, who has been very actively campaigning, way far back in 6th.

130

Matthew Ahn @matthewahn.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

Kulewicz and Russo far ahead in Cuyahoga County's early and mail vote, mirroring results from other counties.

120

Matthew Ahn @matthewahn.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

Nothing in yet in Cuyahoga County, but we do have some statewide results. Please keep in mind that these are NOT broken down by county: Kulewicz up big in the AG race. Russo up big in the SOS race. Jukic with a narrow lead over O'Neill in OH-14.

130

Matthew Ahn @matthewahn.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

There are also dozens of employees of the county prosecutor's office running for central committee. The list of employees is below, but I believe there might be closer to 60 total candidates affiliated with Michael O'Malley, ~25 of whom are uncontested. dakotahsays.beehiiv.com/p/cuyahoga-c...

A post that reads "CURRENT AND FORMER CUYAHOGA COUNTY PROSECUTORS RUNNING FOR CENTRAL COMMITTEE" with a list of 30 prosecutors who are candidates.

130

Matthew Ahn @matthewahn.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

And it is interesting that while cleveland.com's editorial board did eventually call this power grab out for what it is and come out solidly against it, the original article gave O’Malley an opportunity to spin a tale that could be easily called into question with even just a little bit of digging.

A screenshot of a cleveland.com article with the headline: "Should the county prosecutor's staff be running for partisan positions? Editorial Board Roundtable"

110

Matthew Ahn @matthewahn.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

Indeed, in term number three, we've seen serious cases thrown out over the use of AI in investigations. We've seen more lost trials, including some high-profile ones that have resulted in further civil lawsuits against our local government officials.

A screenshot of a cleveland.com article with the headline: "Cleveland police used AI to justify a search warrant. It has derailed a murder case."

110

Matthew Ahn @matthewahn.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

Similarly, O'Malley is on the record again in recent coverage of his attempts to block the Garfield Heights jail construction from moving forward. O'Malley and I do agree on the idea that the jail needs to remain downtown, but it is very odd to me that he's just now escalating with Ronayne...

A screenshot of a cleveland.com article where O'Malley and his civil chief, Dave Lambert, are discussing the blocking of jail planning in Garfield Heights.

120

Matthew Ahn @matthewahn.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

(It's also worth noting that O'Malley took over $100,000 from Republicans in 2024, and yet campaign finance reports do not indicate that O'Malley ever paid the county Democratic party, the same one he seems to be trying to take over, for appearing on the Democratic sample ballot in 2024.)

An infographic regarding Michael O'Malley's Republican donors in 2024, including Jimmy Haslam, Tony George, Donzell Taylor (married to a Republican former lieutenant governor), Justin Herdman, and Ed Crawford (Trump's ambassador to Ireland), all of whom gave between $1000 and $10,000 in 2024.

120

Matthew Ahn @matthewahn.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

In a November 2025 article discussing this fact, O'Malley speaks with cleveland.com personally yet again, trying to push the narrative that the arrangement he himself agreed to is not in the best interest of the county.

A screenshot of a cleveland.com article where O'Malley is directly quoted responding supportively to Yost's non-binding opinion that Ronayne is overstepping his duties.

120

Matthew Ahn @matthewahn.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

...even though O'Malley himself was in the courtroom for parts of the trial. In contrast, in late 2024, O'Malley spoke directly to cleveland.com and personally called out Dave Yost for trying to indict a Cuyahoga County resident who had previously passed away.

A screenshot of a cleveland.com article discussing Dave Yost's indictment of Ramesh Patel, who had previously died. In relevant part, it reads:

Cuyahoga Prosecutor Michael O’Malley said Wednesday that Patel died in December 2022. He said he’s “philosophically opposed” to indicting a dead man and that Yost should be too.

“This is one of the greatest examples of prosecutorial overreach I have ever witnessed,” O’Malley said. “The practice of indicting the deceased is draconian. This is not how we would have handled this case in my office. I am calling on Ohio Attorney General David Yost to immediately dismiss this indictment.”

120

Matthew Ahn @matthewahn.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

During the New Era Cleveland trial last summer, for example, when the prosecutor's office threw a slow-motion temper tantrum over a 6-week trial that they had no business wasting public dollars on, quotes (including some truly outrageous ones) came largely from the communications department...

A screenshot of an Ideastream article that reads:

The Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's office declined to comment on the community perception that authorities are trying to "take down" Tolbert.

"Your email speaks volumes about your journalistic integrity and the direction of your current story," Lexi Bauer, a spokesperson for County Prosecutor Mike O'Malley, wrote in an email. "We decline to comment for your obviously biased story, and we will let the facts speak for themselves in court. Perhaps you should, too."

120

Matthew Ahn @matthewahn.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

...an attempt that was first covered on March 12, the quotes included in cleveland.com's coverage were not from a staff member in the prosecutor's communications department—they were from O'Malley himself, who granted that reporter a direct interview.

A screenshot of a cleveland.com article about O'Malley's subordinates running for central committee, with multiple direct quotes from O'Malley included.

130

Matthew Ahn @matthewahn.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

Each raises eyebrows, especially given O'Malley's public unhappiness with Democrats for not simply handing him an endorsement on a silver platter. (In 2024, he called out Lyndhurst and Bay Village as suburbs that did not vote to endorse him because they're too "safe" to understand criminal justice.)

A screenshot of a Cleveland Scene article noting that some members of the Cuyahoga County Democratic Party have taken issue with Michael O'Malley's suggestion that "safe" suburbs supported Matthew Ahn "simply because those areas aren't intimately familiar with public safety issues."

130

Matthew Ahn @matthewahn.bsky.social · 05/11/2025

Christa Heckman unfortunately does NOT make it onto the Strongsville school board.

110

Matthew Ahn @matthewahn.bsky.social · 05/11/2025

Betsy Bergen Shaughnessy just *barely* holds off Katie Slife Rustad to keep her Lakewood school board seat, along with Nora Katzenberger.

110

Matthew Ahn @matthewahn.bsky.social · 05/11/2025

Todd LeVeck wins a seat on Westlake City Council (Ward 4).

110

Matthew Ahn @matthewahn.bsky.social · 05/11/2025

Kelly Kosek is not top vote-getter, but she will remain on Strongsville City Council.

120

Matthew Ahn @matthewahn.bsky.social · 05/11/2025

Chanell Elston beats Mark McMillian comfortably for the South Euclid Ward 1 seat.

110

Matthew Ahn @matthewahn.bsky.social · 05/11/2025

Bobby Jordan defeats Cassandra Nelson for the Richmond Heights Council President seat.

110

Matthew Ahn @matthewahn.bsky.social · 05/11/2025

Andy Schofield ends up narrowly behind Rob Euerle for Parma Ward 9 city council.

110

Matthew Ahn @matthewahn.bsky.social · 05/11/2025

Democrats flip most of North Royalton City Council, although the race between Edward Cyngier and Michael Wos is currently *tied*.

120

Matthew Ahn @matthewahn.bsky.social · 05/11/2025

Keegan Radeff flips the North Olmsted Director of Finance seat.

110

Matthew Ahn @matthewahn.bsky.social · 05/11/2025

Rebecca Maurer falls short in her bid to remain on Council in Ward 5.

110

Matthew Ahn @matthewahn.bsky.social · 05/11/2025

Mary K. Brown is defeated in her reelection bid for Berea Ward 2 council.

110

Matthew Ahn @matthewahn.bsky.social · 05/11/2025

Paul Koomar barely, barely ekes by Kathryn Kerber to hold his mayoral seat in Bay Village.

120

Matthew Ahn @matthewahn.bsky.social · 05/11/2025

Tom Kelly obliterated Brian Hagan in the Rocky River municipal court race. Mary Ellen Hemann will be clerk of court, winning by a similar margin.

110

Matthew Ahn @matthewahn.bsky.social · 05/11/2025

Brett Horton has held off three other candidates to win a seat on the Cleveland Municipal Court.

110

Matthew Ahn @matthewahn.bsky.social · 05/11/2025

Khalilah Lawson has defeated TJ Dow for a seat on the Cleveland Municipal Court, despite Dow being endorsed by the county party.

110