Each election season, Cleveland-area Democratic candidates vie for the support of their local party.

The endorsement process is laid out in the Cuyahoga County Democratic Party bylaws, but good luck reading them cold. Some definitions are in order for those not fluent in political partyspeak. 

Who makes local Democratic Party endorsements?

The Democratic insiders who decide on endorsements are members of the party’s executive committee. The committee is big. More than 700 people across Cuyahoga County serve on it. 

Endorsements are decided only by the executive committee members in the county, city or ward where the candidates are running. For instance, Cleveland executive committee members vote on city judicial endorsements. Executive committee members in individual city wards decide whether to endorse a local City Council candidate. 

A candidate needs 60% support from the relevant executive committee members to win the endorsement.

Who picks executive committee members? 

Around half of the 700-plus executive committee members were elected from within another giant group in the party known as the central committee. Central committee members, in turn, are elected in partisan primaries. 

The party chair appoints the other half of the executive committee but doesn’t do it alone. The chair receives recommendations from a third group of Democrats known as city and ward leaders. Head spinning yet? 

What are city and ward leaders? 

City and ward leaders are elected by central committee members in their particular ward or suburb. In many cases, the leader is also an elected official, such as a council member, mayor or state lawmaker. 

In this complicated arrangement, there’s a blueprint for getting and holding on to local political power. You can run a slate of supporters for the central committee, see yourself or an ally elected ward leader, recommend executive committee members and count on their endorsement when you run for office yourself. 

Why does the Democratic Party’s endorsement matter?

Because Cleveland is a highly Democratic-voting town, candidates can get a boost from being able to call themselves “endorsed Democrats” — at least in theory. 

There’s also a financial incentive. Endorsed candidates can save money on postage by participating in the state party’s mailing program. That gives a candidate a dollar-for-dollar advantage over opponents when sending out campaign mail. 

Endorsed candidates also appear on the party’s “sample ballot,” which is a piece of campaign literature listing the hopefuls backed by the party.