Bill O’Neill, We Don’t Owe Anyone an Endorsement
A student-led process collides with old expectations
A guest submission for The Angry Ohioan from Buck I. State.
The Democrats of Cleveland State University endorsed Carl Setzer for OH-14 following the conclusion of their endorsement process, which publicly began in January. This process was open and conducted transparently. The announcement that the endorsement application had opened was shared on the organization’s social media and website. It was followed by subsequent posts online and in the organization’s newsletter, The Liberal Agenda.
At 11:49 PM on a Sunday night (a school night for the law student), their phone buzzed. It was a message on Facebook Messenger from Bill O’Neill.
A retired Justice from the Ohio Supreme Court, now a candidate for Congress in OH-14, felt the need to message and publicly comment on the organization president’s Facebook post to tell them “shame.” Here is what he said, word for word:
He signed it with his campaign website and his phone number. At midnight. To a student.
What Actually Happened
The Dems of CSU ran an open endorsement process. I, myself, went through the process and did not receive the endorsement for my race. They posted about it. They made it public. Any candidate who wanted the endorsement had to do one thing: reach out and apply.
Carl Setzer’s campaign did exactly that. They engaged with the organization, completed the application, and ultimately earned the endorsement through engagement and conversation. The Setzer campaign knew about the organization and the work that they do.
Bill O’Neill did nothing, to our knowledge. He didn’t apply, didn’t reach out, and didn’t ask a single question about the endorsement process until after the announcement was made. Then came the midnight message. Then came the public comment on Facebook on one of the student leader’s personal accounts. He said the following for an audience:
Same title drop. Same 1979 graduation year. This time claiming that the student organization brought “dishonor” to CSU. One commenter responded, “Dishonor? Simmer down. Your comment is embarrassing.” The student responded:
“Bill, your approach gives me pause. It is unbecoming of a candidate to engage with fellow Democrats and possible constituents this way (since many CSU students commute from Lake and Geauga counties).
Our process was publicly announced, and if you didn’t think about us for an endorsement and reach out, that is on you as the candidate. There are constructive ways to reach out and discuss without attacking and intimidating your own voters or mischaracterizing our intent.
This reaction from you reflects poorly on the candidate rather than the organization…”
This Isn’t New in Politics
This is a pattern of entitlement.
In January 2024, the Cuyahoga County Democratic Party held its endorsement vote for county prosecutor and incumbent Michael O’Malley. He walked in expecting a formality vote as the incumbent. His opponent, Matthew Ahn, had spent months doing the work to earn support for an endorsement vote. He worked to earn his votes. O’Malley received 58.5% of the vote. The threshold was 60%. No endorsement.
O’Malley’s response was to suggest that the party had moved too far to the left. He also implied that suburban members didn’t understand crime because they hadn’t been carjacked. He treated the outcome as something that happened to him, rather than something he hadn’t worked hard enough to prevent.
Fortunately for O’Malley, he put in the work to win at the ballot box and is the sitting prosecutor today. Nonetheless, this shows a pattern of incumbents, former elected officials, and other candidates who feel entitled to an endorsement or expect hand-holding throughout the process. That is what campaign staff is for, not what organizations are supposed to do for you.
Sound familiar? When you believe the endorsement is already yours, you don’t campaign for it. You show up expecting it to be handed to you or to have your hand held, like Bill was requesting. When it isn’t handed to you, you look for someone to blame.
A Title Doesn’t Buy You Anything, Especially with Young Organizers in NEO
Bill O’Neill has an impressive resume. No one is disputing that. That resume does not entitle him to the endorsement of a student organization he never engaged with. Signing a Facebook comment as “Justice Bill O’Neill, Retired, Supreme Court of Ohio” isn’t a credential in this context. It could be viewed as a threat dressed up as a signature.
It’s the political and social media version of “Do you know who I am?”
The College Dems at CSU did know who Bill O’Neill is. From my experience with the organization, they are a very knowledgeable group, especially for their age. However, because they know who he is, this interaction matters even more.
When someone with institutional power uses that power to pressure a Democratic organization, especially a student-led organization, at midnight, in their DMs, and then publicly on Facebook, that is not a grievance. It can be seen as intimidation. The Democratic Party should not tolerate behavior that could even be interpreted as intimidation from its own candidates.
A Note to Every Young Organizer and Angry Ohioan
You don’t owe anyone an endorsement. You don’t owe anyone a personal notification. You don’t owe anyone deference because of what year they graduated from your university or what title they once held. Run your own process. Keep it open and fair, but make candidates earn it.
The County and State Party should avoid weighing in on contested primaries and instead leave it to affinity groups and organizations. When endorsements come from the County or State, it signals institutional backing. That is not what people want. People want to know if a candidate aligns with them on specific issues:
Let the students show who they support through the College Dem endorsement process.
Let the LGBTQ+ community show who they support through the Stonewall Dems endorsement process.
Let the Bay Village area Democrats show who their community supports through the Bay Village endorsement process.
By taking a step back and allowing more freedom of choice, the Democratic Party could have more representative candidates capable of flipping red districts blue. Stand with me in supporting the College Democrats of Cleveland State University and anyone who is harassed, intimidated, or pressured by a candidate for not giving them the support they believe they are entitled to.
This article was submitted anonymously to The Angry Democrat; the author is listed in the byline as Buck I. State, whose identity has been verified, and they were invited to contribute based on their experience in the democratic process.