With all ballots tallied, Tanmay Shah bested Danny Kelly by just 9 votes in the race for Cleveland City Council’s Ward 12 seat.
A democratic socialist who ran on a platform of affordability and reliable city services, Shah unseated a retired union laborer backed by Council President Blaine Griffin and Mayor Justin Bibb.
The race is close enough that the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections will recount the results Dec. 1, though the recount is not expected to change the winner. A recount in a Cuyahoga County Council race last year found no discrepancies in the vote tally, for instance.
“Just a real testament to the ground work that we did,” Shah told reporters at the board’s headquarters Tuesday. “I think it really just came down to how many people we were able to talk to, and I’m really fortunate we had so many people contribute to that.”
Kelly called Shah to congratulate him and released a statement conceding the race.
“This race was unbelievably close because my team – and his – worked their tails off,” Kelly’s statement read. “I want to thank everyone who volunteered for me. I’m so grateful to have you in my corner. Now, let’s do everything we can to help Councilmember-elect Shah succeed, for the sake of the new Ward 12 and the City of Cleveland. This election is truly proof that EVERY VOTE COUNTS!”
Kelly, who previously worked for the Cleveland Metropolitan School District, was first appointed to council in 2023 to replace Brian Mooney after the latter was elected as a county judge. Kelly won a special election that fall to serve out the remainder of the term.
The two candidates were running in a newly reconfigured West Side ward that runs from the Edgewater neighborhood south to West Park.
After the results were tallied on Election Night, Shah led Kelly by 7 votes. But there were other votes left to count: provisional ballots and absentee ballots that were postmarked on time but hadn’t arrived at the board of elections.
The official results released Tuesday include valid ballots that were not counted on Election Night. First are the provisional ballots cast when there is some question about a voter’s eligibility. There are also mail-in ballots that were postmarked on time but arrived at the board in the days after Election Day.
Shah credited his strong performance among valid provisional ballots, which he won 18-5 against Kelly. He said he tried to reach those more transitory voters by sending a campaign mailer geared specifically toward renters and tenant rights.
“We feel that that was a good way to actually talk to people about things that affect their every day-to-day life, and that’s why we believe we won,” he said.