Voters cast their ballots on Election Day
Voters make their selections at the Independence Fieldhouse on Election Day, Tuesday, November 3, 2015.
SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio -- Voters re-elected Georgine Welo mayor Tuesday, ending a sometimes nasty mayoral race that divided City Council members and city officials.
About 65 percent of voters cast their ballots for Welo, while Councilwoman Ruth Gray earned 35 percent of the votes, according to unofficial results from the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections.
Welo
The two candidates painted contradicting pictures of South Euclid under Welo's tenure.
Welo, who has been mayor since 2004, says the city is in a "renaissance," and highlights new development coming to Mayfield Road and Cedar Center North.
Welo has founded a multitude of housing programs intended to help restore the city's housing stock after the recession, including a community development corporation, One South Euclid. Welo also touts growth at several manufacturing companies in the city.
"It's just like everything is popping," she said in a recent interview. "Everything we've put into place now that the banks are lending we're having redevelopment,"
Welo's administration has dealt with a multitude of controversies in the past two years;her law director owed the federal government $63,000 in back taxes and sued a resident for defamation.
Welo's son was hired by a law firm that works for the city, and council was set to award a technology contract to a city consultant's daughter, prompting the contract's cancellation.
Gray, who bills herself as a reformer who pledges increased transparency, says residents are unhappy with what she describes as a decline in the city. Among her qualms, are a 3.1-percent drop in home values, according to Cuyahoga County's recent evaluation, and some transparency issues.
The councilwoman of nine years has often used the council chambers to criticize Welo, and her colleagues have taken sides.
In December, council censured Gray and her ally Councilman Ed Icove, blaming them for revealing Welo's son's new job, information that was disclosed in executive session.
Gray works as the community life director for the city of Bedford Heights. In 2010, Gray's employee sued Bedford Heights for racial and disability discrimination, Family Medical Leave Act violations and wrongful termination. The employee claimed much of the racial discrimination was carried out by Gray. The city lost the suit and had to pay the employee $1.8 million.
Gray argues she did not discriminate against the employee, and that the case was primarily about the other three counts, not racial discrimination.
Gray was also suspended from her Bedford Heights job in 2013 after she "illegally" hired two employees, according to a letter from Mayor Fletcher Berger.
Gray also owed $3,200 in back taxes in 2013.
This story has been updated to provide more context about the Bedford Heights case.