by a pattern of racial profiling and the shooting deaths of several unarmed black men. In 2001, Luken won a second term against his former co-anchor Fuller (a Democrat running as a Charterite). Fuller, a popular black anchorman for a local network station, was running at the same time Cincinnati was still dealing with the fallout of the riots, the racial discord highlighted by the continuing Cincinnati boycott by black celebrities and national organizations. The Hamilton County, Ohio, Board of Elections initially questioned the validity of Fuller's campaign because he had moved into the city only just before declaring his candidacy. Luken, however, discouraged the board from its inquiry, stating that it would be bad for the city if he had no opponent for re-election, as the Republican party had failed to field a candidate for the office of mayor. Fuller beat Luken by 54-38 percent in the nonpartisan primary held September 11, 2001. However, the infamous terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C., that happened the day of the primary overshadowed Fuller's victory. In the general election, Luken managed to beat Fuller. Luken's margin was slightly over 10 percent, meaning an 18 point primary defeat was reversed into a 10 percent victory for Luken in just eight weeks. The voting followed race lines, with Fuller receiving 78 percent of the vote in predominantly black voting wards, while Luken received approximately 80 percent of the votes in predominantly white wards. With more whites than blacks in Cincinnati, this racial split gave Luken the win. Withdrawal from politics In August 2004, Luken announced he would not seek re-election to a third term. In September 2004, he briefly flirted with running for Hamilton County Prosecuting Attorney as a write-in candidate because scandal plagued incumbent Michael K. Allen had no opponent. Luken reactivated his dormant law license but ultimately decided not to run. The election race for his successor was narrowed down to two candidates after the primary run: first-term councilman David Pepper (son of John Pepper, former CEO of Procter & Gamble) and Mark Mallory, a member of the state Senate. With the previous election following the city's racial divides so closely, the race of the candidates — Pepper is white, Mallory is black — was considered significant. Both candidates were members of the Ohio Democratic Party. Mallory was elected Luken's successor on November 8, 2005. A few days after