First time mayoral candidate Justin Bibb's campaign slogan is "Cleveland can't wait". And he isn't.

It’s hard to fathom that in a so-called off-year that a Cleveland mayoral election would take a backseat to another political campaign, but that is what Marcia Fudge’s successful pursuit of a Cabinet nomination has done.

Virtually all of Cleveland is hoping that Frank Jackson has decided, which seems likely, to cap his political career when his record-setting sixteenth year in office concludes at year end.

But where the announcement that then-President-elect had picked Fudge to head HUD vaulted more than a half dozen would be successors into swift declarations and frenzied relationship building (the time to build a network is before you need one), most of Cleveland’s current mayoral hopefuls seem to be circling the ring without actually climbing through the ropes.

At this point it can fairly be said that only businessman and Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority trustee Justin Bibb is actively campaigning for the mayor’s seat.

Cleveland city Council president Kevin Kelly, for instance, was poised to formally announce his candidacy at the end of January. We’re now clocking six weeks since that press conference was postponed. According to a source close to the campaign, who spoke on a condition of anonymity, no announcement is likely to be forthcoming before the conclusion of Kelly’s current “listening tour”. That seems to suggest there will be no announcement from his camp before April.

Kelly may have noted that Jackson is perhaps the only council president in maybe a century to navigate a path to the mayor’s seat. In this unforgiving political climate, Kelly may need to relinquish the council presidency to mount a dedicated campaign. Charting how to make that happen could be one reason for the delay.

Majority Whip Blaine Griffin has been discussed as Kelly’s presumptive designated successor if and when Kelly steps down to run for mayor. But Griffin has not closed the door on running himself, given that some people have urged him to reconsider his decision to stay in Council.

Meanwhile, state senator Sandra Williams told us she still intends to enter the race, but she has yet to finalize her announcement plans.

Zack Reed, who ran second to Jackson for years ago, is planning to announce his candidacy in “early spring”.

Dennis Kucinich, who long ago was the youngest mayor in the city’s history [1977-78], would be the city’s oldest were he to run this year and win. In a brief telephone interview today, he declined to comment on the race other than to say he was “considering” whether to run.

Hough area Councilman Basheer Jones is  the only elected official to have publicly pulled petitions for the mayor’s race. Jones gummed up his campaign finance report by failing to list many of his donors. Jones won his seat on council by 13 votes four years ago in his second try for the position. He did not respond to text messages seeking a comment for this article.

As we were writing this, we received an email from the Bibb campaign noting it has been 50 days since he officially launched his run.

The results to date have been impressive. Bibb filed his campaign financials a month ahead of everybody else, with an eye-opening total close to $200,000. He opened his campaign with a highly professional campaign video introducing himself to the electorate with a readily understandable theme: “Cleveland can’t wait.”

Bibb’s campaign has elevated him from “who he?” status to “he doesn’t have a chance” to “he should run for council first” and has him approaching first tier status. When we peeked in the window of one of his regular online volunteer meetings earlier this week, we found fifty mostly young and enthusiastic volunteers on the call. The campaign has close to 200 volunteers out all across town gathering petition signatures. There was an impressive level of organization and focus that, if carried into City Hall, could transform the way things get done in Cleveland.

While the general election is in November, early voting in Cleveland’s September 14 nonpartisan primary will begin in August. The top two will advance to the general. Bibb’s early start may make it hard to keep him out of a top two primary slot even against better known candidates.

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Updated March 4, 2021 at 7:40 a.m.