CLEVELAND -
The final election results bring a change of leadership in East Cleveland as a controversial mayoral campaign comes to an end.
Cuyahoga County Board of Elections poll results show Gary Norton Jr. was elected East Cleveland's new mayor Tuesday. Norton, the current city council president, received 64 percent of the vote.
"The voters of the city of East Cleveland have given a chance to start new, to build a better city today and a better future for tomorrow and I owe it to them to manage well, to make decisions that are in the best interest of the city of East Cleveland," Norton told supporters at a victory celebration at Chesters Fine Cuisine, a restaurant on Noble Road.
The election comes days after a scandal emerged involving the incumbent.
Cold, windy and wet weather may have kept some people away from the polls, but racy photos released to the media last week, may have created more interest in the contest.
Current mayor Eric Brewer, lost to Norton, getting only 36 percent of the vote. He spent the evening thanking volunteers at his campaign headquarters next to city hall on Euclid Avenue.
Last week, someone released dozens of racy pictures, allegedly of Brewer wearing women's lingerie and makeup.
Brewer has not confirmed or denied whether the photos are actually of him.
"It's kind of a bittersweet situation for me, we worked hard, not only over the last four years, but for this campaign, we've held 175 town hall meetings to the one meeting that my opponent held to share information with his residents, we brought open government back to East Cleveland, we got the water rates lowered, we reduced crime by 40 to 75 percent, we brought respect back to the city," Brewer told Fox 8 after his defeat.
He says the release of the photographs cost him the election.
"The reality is the only thing that got him over was the media broadcasting the information, pictures that had not been authenticated," Brewer added.
Norton has repeatedly said that he has nothing to do with releasing the photos.
"I want to thank the voters of the city of East Cleveland because they have done something special, they have said in the American way that they have traded one style of leadership for a new style of leadership to take us into the future," Norton said to supporters.
A tally of absentee ballots, sent in before the photo scandal emerged last week, shows that Brewer was already trailing Norton among absentee voters nearly 2 to 1.
Cuyahoga County Board of Elections poll results show Gary Norton Jr. was elected East Cleveland's new mayor Tuesday. Norton, the current city council president, received 64 percent of the vote.
"The voters of the city of East Cleveland have given a chance to start new, to build a better city today and a better future for tomorrow and I owe it to them to manage well, to make decisions that are in the best interest of the city of East Cleveland," Norton told supporters at a victory celebration at Chesters Fine Cuisine, a restaurant on Noble Road.
The election comes days after a scandal emerged involving the incumbent.
Cold, windy and wet weather may have kept some people away from the polls, but racy photos released to the media last week, may have created more interest in the contest.
Current mayor Eric Brewer, lost to Norton, getting only 36 percent of the vote. He spent the evening thanking volunteers at his campaign headquarters next to city hall on Euclid Avenue.
Last week, someone released dozens of racy pictures, allegedly of Brewer wearing women's lingerie and makeup.
Brewer has not confirmed or denied whether the photos are actually of him.
"It's kind of a bittersweet situation for me, we worked hard, not only over the last four years, but for this campaign, we've held 175 town hall meetings to the one meeting that my opponent held to share information with his residents, we brought open government back to East Cleveland, we got the water rates lowered, we reduced crime by 40 to 75 percent, we brought respect back to the city," Brewer told Fox 8 after his defeat.
He says the release of the photographs cost him the election.
"The reality is the only thing that got him over was the media broadcasting the information, pictures that had not been authenticated," Brewer added.
Norton has repeatedly said that he has nothing to do with releasing the photos.
"I want to thank the voters of the city of East Cleveland because they have done something special, they have said in the American way that they have traded one style of leadership for a new style of leadership to take us into the future," Norton said to supporters.
A tally of absentee ballots, sent in before the photo scandal emerged last week, shows that Brewer was already trailing Norton among absentee voters nearly 2 to 1.
