Thanks to radical leftist DAs who are soft on criminals, local prosecutor races have become quite important. We've seen what George Gascón has done in Los Angeles, Larry Krasner has done in Philadelphia, and Alvin Bragg has done in New York City. Similar trouble could be coming for Cuyahoga County, Ohio's second-largest county that's located in the northern part of the state.
On Tuesday night, the Greater Cleveland Congregations (GCC) is set to have a forum, although without Michael O'Malley, the moderate Democratic incumbent. Tellingly, the top issues on the GCC homepage are about "Battle for Democracy," followed by "Gun Safety" and "Youth Bindover," the latter issue playing a notable role in this race.
As part of the requirements for participating, candidates had to commit to not prosecuting juveniles as adults, even if they committed a violent crime. Candidates were also asked to devote $500,000 from the prosecutor's budget for "programming." While O'Malley has declined, calling such requests "unusual demands," Matthew Ahn, his progressive challenger, has committed.
On Monday, O'Malley issued a press release detailing his response which claimed that the group was asking him to violate his oath.
I declined to participate in the GCC Forum. Here's why:https://t.co/YyeEM98YAM
— Mike O'Malley (@prosecutormike) February 19, 2024
O'Malley cited the GCC's "demand that he violate his Oath of Office by ignoring his requirements under the Marsy’s Law Constitutional Amendment and its statutory sections in the Ohio Revised Code." As the press release explained, "Marsy’s law seeks to give crime victims meaningful and enforceable constitutional rights equal to the rights of the accused."
The press release also included more details on the budgetary demands. "Further, the GCC demanded that Prosecutor O’Malley take $500,000.00 from the budget of the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office and provide it to them for programming of their choosing. The money they are demanding is specifically appropriated by County Council for the operation of the Prosecutor’s Office. Prosecutor O’Malley is not authorized by law to use his budget for such a purpose."
"I appreciate GCC’s involvement in the political process, however it has to be done in a way that is ethical and does not intimidate or coerce candidates to violate their oath of office or the law. For that reason, I cannot participate in their forum. Despite this, they continue to promote my appearance, thereby misleading the citzens [sic] of Cuyahoga County," the press release quotes O'Malley as saying.
Attached in the press release was the letter that O'Malley wrote to the GCC, dated February 11. The letter from O'Malley shared he was "surprised" by the requests. "I agreed to consider speaking at your assembly on February 20th provided I would not be asked to violate my oath of office. Unfortunately, according to your proposed meeting agenda, that condition has not been met," his letter noted.
Ahead of the forum, the GCC X account reposted O'Malley with a response. Although they expressed hopes for O'Malley or a representative to attend, the response doesn't address most of the "unusual demands," and it also doesn't acknowledge how residents were misled.
In preparation for a candidate forum being held by GCC this evening to which Prosecutor O'Malley was invited, we had a call with him on February 8 as a courtesy to review draft questions that we planned to ask each candidate
— Greater Cleveland Congregations (@GreaterCleCong) February 20, 2024
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...a non-profit organization on Cleveland's East Side, which is currently receiving funding from the county to support its work.
— Greater Cleveland Congregations (@GreaterCleCong) February 20, 2024
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That said, it is important to note that the questions we shared were drafts, and GCC has continued to refine all of the questions to both prosecutor and judicial candidates.
— Greater Cleveland Congregations (@GreaterCleCong) February 20, 2024
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We hope that Prosecutor O'Malley will change his mind and attend or send a representative to attend the candidate forum this evening.
— Greater Cleveland Congregations (@GreaterCleCong) February 20, 2024
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Such radical demands from the GCC come into sharper focus when one digs deeper to see that not only does this group of churches and religious organizations push for far-left causes. The group has received "tactical guidance" from the far-left Industrial Areas Foundation, an interfaith group that includes "Rules for Radicals'" Saul Alinsky as one of its founders. The group, founded in 1940, hasn't merely been involved in Ohio, but in places around the country.
When it comes to Ahn, the "Issues" page of his website includes progressive buzzwords. Under "Build an Office in the People’s Interest," the web page includes a bullet point on "Fight racial inequity in the criminal justice system by implementing fair, equitable, transparent processes for all."
Under the FAQ section, Ahn also comes out against cash bail:
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Simply put: cash bail makes us all less safe. The alternative is to decide who is kept in jail before trial by determining if they are a threat to public safety or a flight risk, rather than how much money they have access to. This helps ensure we target crimes that harm our community while not punishing the poor for being poor.
Throughout his website, and also in his interview, Ahn looks to emphasize being poor as an excuse for committing crimes.
As a piece from last December by Ideastream Public Media mentioned:
“What's happened in our county jail is that we have some folks in the jail who cannot afford a cash bail amount of less than $1,000,” Ahn said. “Meanwhile, folks who are committing very serious crimes, violent crimes potentially all the way up to murder, they're still getting a cash bail amount. And if they're wealthy, they're still able to pay their way out.”
One solution, said Ahn, is to request those cash bail amounts at arraignment less often and use electronic monitoring instead.
Low bail amounts are usually attached to nonviolent crimes, what Ahn referred to as “crimes of desperation.” Things like theft or drug use.
That piece also notably references the GCC when it comes to taking issue with charging juveniles.
The Cleveland Scene included a response from O'Malley in August about Ahn's entry into the race.
"He just got his law license in Ohio in June 2022 and formed his exploratory committee only six months later," O'Malley is quoted saying in response. "He's never practiced in a courtroom in common pleas in Ohio. He's the least experienced candidate to ever run for county prosecutor, maybe not just in Cuyahoga, but the entire state. Have you ever handled a case in common pleas? Have you ever handled a case in muni court? Does he think his platform of defund the police — which he's supported on social media over the years — is appropriate given the level of violence we're seeing in our community?"
O'Malley is nevertheless favored to win. He just missed earning the endorsement from the Cuyahoga Democratic Party, as he received 58.5 percent support, coming just short of the required 60 percent. Ahn received 37.7 percent. O'Malley, however, has received endorsements from more progressive members of the Democratic Party, including Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb as well as Rep. Shontel Brown, who represents Ohio's 11th Congressional District, which includes portions of Cuyahoga County as well as Cleveland.
The editorial board of Cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer also endorsed O'Malley last week.
Nevertheless, radical groups continue to look to upend races such as this, and risk plunging Cuyahoga County into a chaotic far-left city governed more so by criminals enabled by weak DAs.
The Democratic Primary is next month, on March 19.
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