Blaine Griffin flanked by Cleveland City Council colleagues
With Cleveland City Council members behind him, Council President Blaine Griffin reviews the past several years of council's work. Credit: Nick Castele / Signal Cleveland

Your Cleveland City Council ward may have changed since the last election. 

This year is the first round of municipal races since council redrew its political boundaries, cutting the number of wards from 17 to 15. There are 43 candidates running for the new 15 seats on Cleveland City Council. 

If you’re not sure which new ward you’ll be voting in this year, there are two websites you should check out. 

In races with three or more named City Council candidates, voters will go to the polls in the Sept. 9 primary. The top two vote-getters will advance to the Nov. 4 general election. Races with two named candidates will be decided in the general election.

The map above shows boundaries for the 15 Cleveland wards that will replace the current 17 wards. Zoom in for a closer look at the new boundaries.

Here is the list of candidates from the board of elections:

Ward 1 (primary)

  • Juanita O. Brent
  • Aylwin S. Bridges
  • Marc G. Crosby
  • Joe Jones (incumbent)
  • Lesa Jones Dollar

Ward 2 (general)

  • Kevin L. Bishop (incumbent)

Ward 3 (primary)

  • Deborah A. Gray (incumbent)
  • Sharon M. Spruill
  • Erich V. Stubbs
  • LaShorn K. Caldwell (write-in, general)
  • Ras Olugbenga (write-in, general)
  • Dontez L. Taylor (write-in, general)

Ward 4 (general)

  • Kris Harsh (incumbent)
  • Rehan Waheed

Ward 5 (primary)

  • Rebecca Maurer (incumbent)
  • Beverly Owens-Jackson
  • Richard A. Starr (incumbent)
  • Myras Holmes (write-in, general)

Ward 6 (general)

  • Blaine A. Griffin (incumbent)

Ward 7 (primary)

  • Austin N. Davis
  • Mohammad Faraj
  • Mike Rogalski

Ward 8 (primary)

  • Stephanie Howse-Jones (incumbent)
  • Leon Meredith
  • Charlotte Perkins
  • Tony Perry (write-in)
  • Teri Ying-Liang Wang

Ward 9 (primary)

  • Alana Belle
  • Kevin Conwell (incumbent)
  • Tony Evans Jr. 
  • Randy Willis (write-in, general)

Ward 10 (general)

  • Anthony T. Hairston (incumbent)
  • Keith Hemphill (write-in)
  • Michael D. Polensek (incumbent)

Ward 11 (general)

  • Andrew Fontanarosa
  • Nikki Hudson

Ward 12 (primary)

  • Andrew DeFratis
  • Danny Kelly (incumbent)
  • Tanmay Shah

Ward 13 (general)

  • Brian Kazy (incumbent)
  • Gilder Malone (write-in)

Ward 14 (general)

  • Jasmin Santana (incumbent)

Ward 15 (general)

  • Charles J. Slife (incumbent)

Government Reporter
I follow how decisions made at Cleveland City Hall and Cuyahoga County headquarters ripple into the neighborhoods. I keep an eye on the power brokers and political organizers who shape our government. I am a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University and have covered politics and government in Northeast Ohio since 2012.