Warrensville Heights Mayor Marcia Fudge, a friend and sorority sister of the late U.S. Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, is putting her name forward as a potential replacement on the November ballot.



Fudge, a Democrat, will not run for the special election to finish out the last two months of Tubbs Jones' 11th Congressional District term, which ends in December, she said. Tubbs Jones died of a burst brain aneurysm on Aug. 20.



Fudge, who declined to be interviewed during the past week because she said she needed the time to put her friend to rest, said she did not make the decision lightly.



"It's very difficult to lose someone who is as close to me as Stephanie was," she said. "Ultimately I decided that it was probably the best thing to do because I want to ensure that her legacy continues."



Fudge, who met Tubbs Jones in 1982 through the Cleveland chapter of the Delta Sigma Theta sorority, said she feels that she is capable of carrying out that legacy because her values and ideals are closely aligned with her friend's.



"I can finish some of the things she didn't have the opportunity to finish," she said, pointing in particular to Tubbs Jones' work on predatory lending and disparities in health care among minorities.



Fudge, 55, had worked for Tubbs Jones in several capacities over the years, in the county prosecutor's office, and as her chief of staff in Congress in 1999.



She has been mayor of Warrensville Heights since 2000. She said her concern for Warrensville Heights caused her some hesitation in deciding to run for the seat.



"I live here, and I'm going to live here, so the direction of the city is going to be important to me, whether I'm the mayor or not," Fudge said.



She feels her legislative and finance background, as well as her familiarity with the city has uniquely qualified her to follow in Tubbs Jones' footsteps.



"Being a mayor, I know the issues that are specific to inner-ring cities -- I know the issues because I deal with them every day," Fudge said. "I don't know that there's anyone else with that kind of experience.



The next step, Fudge said, is to gain the support of the Democratic Party's executive committee in the 11th district, which will choose a name to put on the ballot in November.



Ohio law allows Cuyahoga County's Democratic Party to replace Tubbs Jones on the ballot. The party must make a choice by Sept. 26, when the county Elections Board starts printing ballots.

The replacement for Tubbs Jones will face Republican Thomas Pekarek.