Bill Mason "William D." (born 1959) is the former prosecutor of
Cuyahoga County, Ohio
Cuyahoga County ( or ) is a large urban county located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. It is situated on the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the Canada–United States border, U.S.-Canada maritime border. As of the 2020 U ...
Juris Doctor
The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law
and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...
degree and became an assistant prosecuting attorney for Cuyahoga County, Ohio. While an assistant county prosecutor, he became involved in Ohio Democratic politics in 1993. Mason became a councilman in the city of Parma and was eventually elected the Law Director and Chief Prosecutor, serving for six years before taking his current position.
Mason is currently the chair of the Ohio Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force. The Ohio ICAC now has 281 law enforcement partner agencies across the state and at least one ICAC law enforcement agency in each of Ohio’s 88 counties, making it one of the largest and most successful ICAC task forces in the nation. The United States Department of Justice awarded Mason with the 2006 National Leadership Award, which was the first time presenting this award.
Mason chairs the Agency Council for Cuyahoga County Justice System Reform, overseeing committees implementing Justice Management Institute recommendations, a county-wide reform initiative aimed at making the justice system more efficient and effective. He also chairs the Great Lakes Energy Development Task Force which aims to create jobs by bringing renewable energy industries to Northeast Ohio. The first project he is spearheading is the Great Lakes Wind Energy Center, a pilot project of several offshore wind turbines on Lake Erie.
Mason was a delegate to the
2000 Democratic National Convention
The 2000 Democratic National Convention was a quadrennial presidential nominating convention for the Democratic Party. The convention nominated Vice President Al Gore for president and Senator Joe Lieberman from Connecticut for vice president. The ...
2004 Democratic National Convention
The 2004 Democratic National Convention convened from July 26 to 29, 2004 at the FleetCenter (now the TD Garden) in Boston, Massachusetts, and nominated Senator John Kerry from Massachusetts for president and Senator John Edwards from North Car ...
and supported Barack Obama for the 2008 Ohio primary. He has been mentioned as a possible candidate for statewide office, or for county executive in the new Cuyahoga County charter form of government, which was approved by voters in November 2008.
Bill and his wife have four children. Bill has 15 brothers and sisters.
Controversies
A 2008 ''
Cleveland Scene
The ''Cleveland Scene'' is an alternative weekly newspaper based in Cleveland, Ohio. The newspaper includes highlights of Cleveland-area arts, music, dining, and films, as well as classified advertising. The first edition of the newspaper was pub ...
'' article revealed a number of criminals who donate large sums of money to Mason's political campaigns.James Renner, Feeding the Machine , ''Cleveland Scene'', Oct. 22, 2008. Retrieved 12 June 2019. In August, 2009, the Ohio Ethics Commission subpoenaed records from his office related to contracts his office awarded to Qwestcom Graphics, a company co-owned by Mason's business partner. Retrieved 14 June 2019. In December, 2009, a Cuyahoga County Common Peas judge accused Mason of trying to intimidate her decision in the case of a childhood friend of Mason's. Retrieved 14 June 2019. On December 30, Mason was the passenger in a car driven by his campaign manager Tom Regas when Regas was pulled over by Seven Hills police and arrested for drunken driving. Seven Hills police inexplicably did not put Mason's name in the report of the incident, though an officer did drive Mason home. In 2010, the Cleveland Scene stated that "federal charges against him are expected within the next two month" Retrieved 14 June 2019. as part of the federal investigation of corruption in Cuyahoga County politics that convicted County Auditor Frank Russo and Commissioner
Jimmy Dimora
James C. Dimora (born June 21, 1955) is an American politician who served as Cuyahoga County Commissioner from 1998 until 2010, and as chairman of the county Democratic Party from 1994 until 2009. Before being elected county commissioner, Dimora s ...
, but no charges were actually filed.
2012 Election
On October 24, 2010 Bill Mason announced via live interview on WKYC-3 that he will not seek re-election in 2012. He stated that "It's a done deal" and "I have already made that decision."