CUYAHOGA COUNTY, Ohio — With 94 percent of precincts reporting late Tuesday, Chris Ronayne held about a 100,000-vote lead over Lee Weingart in the race to replace Armond Budish as the new Cuyahoga County Executive.
Budish, who served in the role since 2015, chose not to run for reelection—opening the door to other candidates after his office became mired in ongoing problems, mainly centered around the county jail.
Ronayne, the former president of University Circle, is a familiar face in Cleveland. He’s served on the board of Destination Cleveland and is a chair on the Canalway Partners' board of directors.
He officially stepped down from his post as president of University Circle Inc. on Oct. 1 to begin campaigning full-time for the county executive’s position. At the helm for the community service organization for more than a decade, Ronayne has been credited with injecting new life into University Circle, which is one of Cleveland’s most important business, cultural and educational hubs.
Prior to his tenure at University Circle Inc., Ronayne was the chief of staff under former Cleveland Mayor Jane Campbell.
Lee Weingart announced his candidacy in February 2021. He said the primary focus of his campaign was to help families build, generate and maintain wealth which meant lifting them out of poverty and hunger.
He also focused on county taxes as part of his platform and vowed to bring new jobs to the area.
Although Weingart was on the Republican ticket, Weingart said he was running on his platform and not necessarily party affiliation.
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