IT'S FOLEY AFTER ALL

Mike Foley will be the new State Representative from Ohio District 14. The certified Democratic primary results, released Saturday, show him finally edging Bill Ritter 4290-4112. Since this is an open seat (vacated by Dale Miller), he will presumably take office in the near future.

Mike, an attorney, took a leave from his longtime job as director of the Cleveland Tenants Organization to campaign. As noted here earlier, he's the second CTO leader to win public office in the last seven months; CTO board president and former staffer Phyllis Cleveland is Frank Jackson's successor as City Council representative for Ward 5. It will be interesting to see the effect of having a couple of genuine consumer housing experts in City Hall and the Statehouse.

Mike's narrow victory is a West Side boost for Jackson, with whom he's close. It's also a vindication for District 13 Rep. Michael Skindell, a principal Foley campaign adviser, and a sharp critic of Ohio Democratic Party Chair Chris Redfern's performance when he was Minority Leader. It's my understanding that Redfern worked to prevent Foley's selection to fill Miller's vacant seat back in March, despite the support of Miller and the new Minority Leader, Joyce Beatty. As a result, the caucus deadlocked between Foley and Erin Sullivan Lally (who then placed a distant third in the primary vote) and the seat remained vacant... until now. Chalk one up for the New Guard.