The view from the Idea Center

So we've plowed through yet another election day with about a quarter of the potential electorate turning out to decide how the other three-quarters should live.
 
It was nothing if not a day of close calls, upsets and visible strength from a growing number of female candidates across Northeast Ohio.
 
Let’s begin with  mayoral races. In Lakewood, Meghan George beat Sam O’Leary to become the next mayor by one of the thinnest margins of victory in any of yesterday's races, only 1.5 percent. Both had been members of that city's council.
 
It was another story in South Euclid, with longtime mayor Georgine Welo easily defending her seat against former State Sen. Shirley Smith, winning handily with a 20-point margin.
 
Euclid Mayor Kirsten Holzheimer Gail will likewise continue in her post, and Maple Heights Mayor Annette Blackwell garnered more than 85 percent of the vote in her city.
 
Pamela Bobst will be the mayor in Rocky River; Katherine Gallagher won in Brooklyn along with Karen Schneider in Gates Mills, Clarissa Allega in the Village of Clinton, Ashlee McLaughlin in Linndale and Brenda Tedeschi Bodnar in Mayfield Village. Incumbent Kathy Mulcahy ran unopposed for mayor in Orange.
 
Add to that the plethora of council seats, judgeships, school board members and other various posts, the new face of leadership is a far cry from what used to head most regional governments.
 
But perhaps the most notable underdog story goes not to a Northeast Ohio female candidate but to Virginia's Juli Briskman. She's the woman who was unceremoniously fired two years ago over a viral photo  of her 'flipping off' the presidential motorcade as it passed her cycling on a rural road near  Trump National Golf Club went viral.
 
With no job and no experience in politics, she decided to make a different kind of employment pitch, and Tuesday,  Briskman won election to the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors, where she'll be paid $41,200 per year. It’s likely not enough to secure a membership at TNGC, which sits in the county she now represents.
 
If you want more results, check out our stories below, and more tallies are available at the  Cuyahoga and  Summit county boards of elections.
 
And if you want to check out the results of  school levies locally, regionally and across the state, the Ohio School Boards Association has them all. Of the 154 levies, income taxes and bond issues, 113 passed. Locally, it was  more of a mixed bag. In the winning column, a levy for Barberton City and three levies for Springfield Local in Summit County and a levy for Brooklyn City in Cuyahoga County all passed. Voters rejected an income tax for Coventry Local Schools in Summit County and a levy issue for Euclid City in Cuyahoga County.  
 Didn't vote? Don't like the results? The answer is obvious...

Talk to you bright and early tomorrow!
Rick Jackson

Need to KnOH

Headlines from Northeast Ohio and Beyond

• Election 2019: Cleveland Heights Decides To Elect A Mayor In 2021

   

• Election 2019: Cuyahoga County Sheriff Will Get More Authority, Autonomy

   

• Election 2019: Akron Mayor Dan Horrigan Wins A Second Term

   

• In Kentucky And Virginia, A Strong Night For Democrats In Off-Year Elections

   

• Lumen Damage Nearly Repaired, Project On Schedule For Next Summer

   

• 3 Shaker Heights Schools Appear On Ohio's Underperforming Schools List

   

• New Book Details How Cleveland Gangster Shondor Birns Lived And Died

Your ideas

Rick's big idea from last night was the strength of women who ran for office across Northeast Ohio. Nationally, NPR's Domenico Montanaro said that statewide races elsewhere last night show that  impeachment might not be as big of a boost for Republicans as they had hoped for. Here's a chance to play the pundit. What was your big takeaway from last night? Call us at  (216) 916-6476 or  comment on our Facebook page. We'll feature some of your thoughts and comments here in Noon(ish) and on Morning Edition.

Yesterday, we asked you how you would convince people to get out and vote.  ideastream's Public Square Facebook group has a lot of enthusiastic voters. Susie Gavazzi wasn't sure why voter turnout should be so low. "America...Your vote is important! Local politics are the politics of your daily lives. Those are votes that matter!!!" she said. 

Lynne Inks Kopechek of Lakewood said: "Please educate yourself and Vote before you give away all of our freedoms that our ancestors fought hard to obtain and keep!"

And Bob Kirsch of Willowick said: "...so many Americans are so angry and dissatisfied with our elected officials that they cannot be convinced to vote no matter what. What they don't remember is that so many people, here and in so many other countries have died just to get the right to vote."