Bill Patmon

In former Cleveland City Councilman Jeff Johnson and term-limited state Rep. Bill Patmon, Sandra Williams has drawn two well-known Democratic primary challengers as she seeks re-election in Ohio Senate District 21. Both Johnson and Patmon were unsuccessful candidates for Cleveland mayor last year. Willie Lewis Britt, 69, an electrician and perennial candidate, also is on the ballot. All live in Cleveland.

District 21 covers Cleveland's East Side and a slice of the West Side, Bratenahl, Garfield Heights, and parts of East Cleveland, Shaker Heights, Cleveland Heights, University Heights, Euclid and Beachwood.

Republican Thomas Pekarek has filed as a write-in candidate to run in the fall against the winner of the Democratic primary.

Williams, 49, was first elected to the Ohio Senate in 2014 after being term-limited out of the House. She is a competent lawmaker and took an important leadership role in the House on the Cleveland school reform plan.

But our editorial board withdrew its 2014 endorsement after Williams downplayed to the board two troubling misdeeds for which she later received a six-month suspended jail sentence and a $1,000 fine, for illegally selling Ohio State football tickets she bought with campaign funds and failing to report the sale. We remain concerned about Williams' continuing failure to own up to the seriousness of those infractions.

Johnson, 60, also has baggage, however. He served nine months in jail after being convicted of three counts of violating the Hobbs Act while representing Ohio Senate 21 in the 1990s. The law prohibits public officials from using their office to extort money. Johnson says he's learned from his crimes, but his undistinguished legislative tenure and his tendency to bombast suggests District 21's Democratic voters can do better.

They can, in Bill Patmon, 72. He is by no means a legislative firebrand, but he would be a steady voice for his constituents and has shown he can work well with the Statehouse Republican majority.

Early voting in the May 8 Democratic primary has begun.

Incumbent District 25 State Sen. Sandra Williams and her May 8 Democratic primary challengers Willie Lewis Britt, Jeff Johnson and Bill Patmon were interviewed March 27 by the editorial board of cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer as part of its endorsement process. Listen to audio of this interview below:

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