Emmanuel Onunwor
Mayor of East Cleveland, Ohio
In office
January 1, 1998 – September 1, 2004
Preceded byWallace D. Davis
Succeeded bySaratha Goggins
Personal details
Born (1952-05-24) May 24, 1952
Port Harcourt, British Nigeria
NationalityAmerican
SpouseDiane Onunwor
EducationB.A. and M.A. Cleveland State University

Emmanuel Onunwor (born May 24, 1952, as Emmanuel Onunwa) is a Nigeria-born American who served as the mayor of East Cleveland, Ohio.

Biography

Onunwor was born in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria where he attended primary and secondary schools.[1] In 1980, he immigrated to the United States where he earned a B.A. and M.A. in urban studies at Cleveland State University.[1]

In the November 1997 general election, running as a non-partisan, he defeated incumbent mayor Wallace D. Davis with 62.56% of the vote.[1] He was sworn in on January 1, 1998[1] becoming the first African-born Black mayor in the United States.[2] In the November 2001 general election, running as a Republican, he was re-elected with 71.19% of the vote defeating Democrat Eric J. Brewer (who would later win election as mayor in 2005).[1] After being convicted for racketeering, extortion, mail fraud, and tax evasion,[3] he resigned on September 1, 2004.[1] He was succeeded by the East Cleveland City Council President, Democrat Saratha Goggins, the first female mayor of East Cleveland.[1][4]

In September 2005, he was sentenced by U.S. District Court judge James S. Gwin to nine years in prison.[5][6] At sentencing, Onunwor stated: "I apologize to my family, my friends and the citizens...I did wrong. I deserve to be punished.[6]

Personal life

In 2009, his son, Clifton Onunwor, was sentenced to life in prison for killing his mother, Diane Onunwor.[7]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Emmanuel Onunwor". ourcampaigns.com. November 9, 2019.
  2. ↑ "FBI Executes Search Warrant at East Cleveland City Hall". The Times-Reporter. December 4, 2003. He became the first black, African-born mayor in the United States when he was elected in 1997, according to the Atlanta-based National Conference of Black Mayors
  3. ↑ Salvato, Albert (September 1, 2004). "Midwest: Ohio: Mayor Convicted Of Seeking Bribes". The New York Times.
  4. ↑ Caniglia, John; Ott, Thomas (September 1, 2004). "Onunwor, Still Jailed, To Quit As Mayor". The Plain Dealer.
  5. ↑ "News Release 2 September 2005 2". Archived from the original on 7 August 2007. Retrieved 14 January 2008.
  6. 1 2 Tobin, Mike (September 3, 2005). "Ex-mayor, co-felons sentenced in bribe case". The Plain Dealer.
  7. ↑ Tobin, Mike (August 21, 2009). "Clifton Onunwor sentenced to life for killing his mother". The Plain Dealer.
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