The debate over electing the Cuyahoga County sheriff may be on pause, but it isn’t over.
County Council Member Martin J. Sweeney withdrew his proposed charter amendment to make the sheriff an elected position again. He said he didn’t have the votes to put it on the ballot.
Sweeney said he plans to bring the proposal back if the county’s Charter Review Commission doesn’t recommend it. The commission is set to begin meeting next year to suggest amendments to the county’s 16-year-old legal structure.
Sweeney told Weekly Chatter he found it “mind boggling” that more council colleagues didn’t embrace the idea of letting voters decide whether the sheriff should be elected or appointed.
“The logic is there and I’m going to keep pushing, and hopefully they’ll see the light,” he said.
He acknowledged he had a hand in a lobbying effort by the Buckeye Sheriffs Association. Sheriffs from around Ohio — plus the South Dakota county sheriff who leads the National Sheriffs Association — flocked to council chambers to endorse the idea of electing the sheriff.
One sheriff referenced Enlightenment philosophers Thomas Hobbes and John Locke, arguing that an elected sheriff was part of the American social contract. The League of Women Voters of Greater Cleveland, which advocated for an appointed sheriff, pointed to a more recent history.
Cuyahoga County voters made the job an appointed one when they overhauled county government in 2009 amid corruption scandals. The last elected sheriff, the late Gerald McFaul, later pleaded guilty to theft in office.
Some longtime council members “don’t want to give up” on that reform, according to the league’s Marcia Goldberg.
“I think they really want to continue to try to make it work,” she said.
Council also nixed County Executive Chris Ronayne’s proposed amendment to give the executive firing and disciplinary powers over the sheriff. Ronayne had told council he was willing to concede that idea for now in order to focus on the health and human services levy and a proposal to distinguish the law department’s work from the prosecutor’s.
Cleveland police seek ‘intelligence-led’ surveillance system
City Hall is searching for a vendor who can supply the safety forces with gunshot detection, license plate readers and drones. The Bibb administration issued the request for proposals last week for what it is calling “comprehensive Intelligence Led Policing Technology.”
Earlier this summer, a wary City Council approved a six-month contract extension with the license plate reader company Flock Safety.
According to this latest request, all three technologies — gunshot detection, license plate readers and drones — must integrate into the city’s Fusus system, a software platform provided by Axon (formerly Taser).
One company could apply to provide all three services. The city is also open to awarding separate contracts for each technology.
Flock is just one of the companies that could potentially compete. Axon also provides drones and license plate readers. Cleveland uses SoundThinking’s ShotSpotter devices for gunshot detection.
The deadline to submit a proposal is Sept. 8.
Familiar face advises the Bibb campaign
Mayor Justin Bibb’s former chief of staff is still working for his old boss, just not at Cleveland City Hall.
Bradford Davy now serves as a senior advisor to Bibb’s campaign. Neighbors for Justin Bibb, the mayor’s campaign committee, disclosed in its latest financial report that it was paying Davy’s new public affairs firm, Black Letter Strategies, for consulting work.
Davy left City Hall at the start of the mayor’s second term. Ryan Puente — who, like Davy, is a campaign confidante and top Bibb advisor — took over as chief of staff.
In an email to Weekly Chatter about his new gig, Davy nodded to the fact that Bibb is looking beyond just local politics.
“The committee is building on the Mayor’s record of success by supporting his reelection, strengthening the political infrastructure and broad community coalition that helped elect him twice, and advancing his work as a leading voice in Democratic politics across Ohio and nationally,” he wrote.
Bibb, who faced little opposition for reelection last year, started a national organization for moderate Democratic mayors called Blue Cities / Red States.
And he is still fundraising locally. His campaign reported a modest $27,846 in contributions in the first half of 2026. It spent more than $154,000 over that period. Neighbors for Justin Bibb employed several consultants and paid Black Letter Strategies $19,500 through June.
The campaign also disclosed a $13,000 donation to It’s the Right Thing to Do, a nonprofit that paid for an advertisement supporting Bibb’s and the Cleveland Metropolitan School District’s school closure and consolidation plan. Last year, the Bibb campaign gave the group $100,000.
