Cincinnati City Council member Meeka Owens became the Democratic pick for Hamilton County commissioner, defeating incumbent Commission President Stephanie Summerow Dumas.
Owens received 52% of the vote, according to unofficial results from the Hamilton County Board of Elections. She will face Republican candidate Jonathan Pearson in November in a county dominated by Democrats.
Dumas received 41% of the vote and local educator Herman Najoli received 7%.
Owens, who first joined city council in January of 2022, celebrated the win at a watch party at Silverton’s HighGrain Brewery on election night. Both Owens and her supporters wore her signature bright pink.
“Right now my heart is so full because this room is full of amazing people who believe in change,” she told a crowd of people chanting her name.
The Hamilton County Democratic Party voted not to endorse in the primary after a request from Owens that the party not take sides. Neither Owens’ fellow councilmembers nor Dumas’ fellow commissioners took a stance in the race.
Stephanie Summerow Dumas reacts to defeat
Dumas said she was “surprised, but not surprised” by the election results.
“There was a lot of dirty politics that took place, and so you can’t reach everybody and tell them the truth,” she said.
Dumas said she was referring to mailers sent out before the primary endorsing Owens in her precinct executive race and four debates for the primary where she said she was unable to contradict misinformation.
Earlier on Election Day, Dumas released a statement criticizing the mailers for Owens, calling them a “coordinated campaign of confusion.”
Owens said in a statement to The Enquirer that her campaign did not pay for or condone the mailers, which said Owens was endorsed for precinct executive by Commissioner Denise Driehaus, Mayor Aftab Pureval and Ohio House Rep. Cecil Thomas, all Democrats,
“Mailers funded by a shadowy political action committee are designed to give the false impression of official party endorsement in a race where the Democratic Party explicitly voted to remain neutral. That is unacceptable,” Dumas said.
What’s next?
The three Hamilton County commissioners, all Democrats, earned $115,431 each last year. The board of commissioners oversees the county’s budget, Jobs and Family Services and negotiations over leasing county buildings, such as Paycor Stadium and Great American Ball Park.
Dumas said as the president of the board she will be focusing on the budget and other projects before the end of her term. She said her next steps may not be political and could be something in the private sector.
“It’s not the end. It’s the beginning,” she said. “So nobody has to be sad.”
Regional politics reporter Erin Glynn can be reached at eglynn@enquirer.com, @ee_glynn on X and @eringlynn on Bluesky.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: ‘My heart is so full.’ Meeka Owens wins county commission primary
Reporting by Erin Glynn and Jolene Almendarez, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
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