Frank Jackson
Mayor, Cleveland
Jackson had a pretty tough 2010. His plan to leverage a giant LED lighting contract to attract 350 jobs is on life support. The water department, the carrot he dangled to entice suburbs into “no poaching” agreements, is plagued with customer-service snafus. His endorsement of Terri Hamilton Brown in the county executive race didn’t help her much at all. For now, he’s still got more clout than Ed FitzGerald, an unknown quantity. But a year from now? Maybe not.

Don Plusquellic
Mayor, Akron
As Plusquellic decides whether to run for a seventh term as Akron’s mayor, he approaches the same battlefield he faced in his 2007 race and the failed 2009 recall. On one side, Akron’s business community and other allies celebrate him for his track record of results. On the other stands everyone rubbed raw by his grudges and temper. Plusquellic’s near-loss four years ago still bugs him. So do Akron’s budget troubles. But is he up for one more campaign and four more years as the center of attention?

Sherrod Brown
U.S. Senator
With George Voinovich’s retirement, Brown becomes Ohio’s senior senator and the only senator from Northeast Ohio. That alone makes him a go-to guy. But his reluctant vote for the Obama-Republican tax-cut compromise foreshadows a tough two years ahead. The populist partisan will have to adjust to the half-victories of divided government — even as the national GOP makes him a target in the 2012 election.

Steve LaTourette
U.S. Representative
LaTourette, an effective partner with Northeast Ohio’s business community even during four years in the minority, should become a major player in the new Republican Congress. He’s said to be one of new speaker John Boehner’s closest friends in the House. And his move to the Appropriations Committee two years ago may pay off big for Ohio now.

Tim Ryan
U.S. Representative
He’s still an influential leader in the Mahoning Valley. But the Democrats’ loss in the November election will sap Ryan’s clout in Washington. He’s likely to lose his seat on the Appropriations Committee and its defense subcommittee.

Joe Cimperman
Cleveland city councilman
Supporting Issue 6 gave him a boost in 2009, but Cimperman lost key council committee assignments as 2010 began, a sign he may have fallen out of favor with council president Martin Sweeney. But Cimperman’s maintaining his reputation as a creative forward thinker on council with his support for initiatives such as a sustainable food economy.

Bill Mason
Cuyahoga County prosecutor
A year ago, Mason looked like a survivor, the only county official to support Issue 6 and keep his job under the new charter. But 2010 chopped at the Cuyahoga County prosecutor’s stature like a dull axe hacking at old wood. From January’s revelation that Mason was in the car when his campaign treasurer was stopped for DUI to his ruined September golf outing, which reporters crashed to ask why he didn’t bust Frank Russo and Jimmy Dimora, Mason had the worst year of any local public official not under indictment. No wonder he announced he won’t run again in 2012.

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