Cuyahoga County attracted more than 500 candidates for its November 4 general election, creating competitive races across dozens of municipalities and school districts throughout the region.
The Cuyahoga County Board of Elections received all candidate filings by the August 6 deadline and is currently verifying petition signatures. Officials will meet August 18 to certify the ballot, with the final candidate list expected by the end of that day.
Cleveland Mayoral Race Headlines Municipal Elections
Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb faces challenges from Laverne Gore and write-in candidate Ricky L. Pittman in the city’s top race. Multiple Cleveland ward contests feature competitive fields, with Ward 10 presenting a three-way race between Anthony T. Hairston, Keith Hemphill and Michael D. Polensek.
Suburban Mayoral Contests Heat Up
Bay Village offers a mayoral choice between Kathryn E. Kerber and Paul A. Koomar, while Bedford features Stan Koci versus Felicia Washington Ross for at-large mayor.
Cleveland Heights presents five candidates for mayor: Deanna Bremer Fisher, Marty Gelfand, Laura Kingsley Hong, Jim Petras and Davida Russell.
East Cleveland has four candidates competing: Juanita Gowdy, Sandra Morgan, Vidah Aminah Saeed, Lateek R. Shabazz and Sean L. Ward.
Garfield Heights features three mayoral candidates: Matt Burke, James S. Feeney and Cathy Mack.
Olmsted Falls presents Chad M. Gluss against Holly Kress Neumann, while Rocky River has Pamela E. Bobst running unopposed after Michael J. O’Boyle’s withdrawal.
University Heights offers three candidates: Philip Atkin, J Chauncey Hutton and Michele Weiss.
Woodmere features a three-way race between Gary Harris, Nakeshia Nickerson and Seth L. Young.
Highly Competitive Council Races
Several communities feature large candidate fields for council positions. Lakewood has six candidates competing for three at-large seats: Tom Bullock, Brian Higgins, Sarah Kepple, Angelina Hamilton Steiner, Allison L. Urbanek and Brian F. Ventura.
Independence offers nine candidates for seven at-large positions: Matthew Benkner, Cheryl Chase, Kevin Day, Stephanie Rodriguez, Rebecca G. Somnitz, Sarah Szweda, Anthony L. Togliatti, Dale A. Veverka and Chris Walchanowicz.
Pepper Pike has seven candidates for four council seats: Cathy Hwang, Sandip Mody, Robert Rice, John Eric Schmidt, Alyssa Swords, Melanie Weltman and Emmy Zatroch.
Richfield presents the largest field with 10 candidates for four positions: Carol Campbell, Monica Ann Day, Rick Hudak, Michael K. Lyons, Jeffrey Newman, Pat Norris, Joyce Parton, Jim Smith, Jeff Stoppenhagen and Dave Woytek.
Parma Municipal Elections
Parma features several contested ward races. Ward 3 has John Soeder facing Dale K. Dotson, Ward 7 presents Kammy Coyle Shuman versus Danielle Downs, Ward 8 offers a three-way race between Amanda Boyd, Robert Porvasnik and Debbie Tabasso, and Ward 9 features Andy Schofield against Robert Euerle.
Westside Communities
Brook Park presents multiple competitive races, including four candidates for three at-large council seats and contested ward races in Wards 1 and 4.
North Olmsted has contested races in Wards 3 and 4, while Westlake features competitive ward contests in Wards 1, 3 and 4.
Eastern Suburbs
Beachwood has four candidates for three at-large council positions: Matt Hildebrand, Alec Isaacson, Alexandra Jacobs and Peter L. Smith.
Solon offers a contested race in Ward 4 with Gregory Greenspan facing Mike Kan, while Robert P. Shimits runs unopposed in Ward 6.
Shaker Heights has three candidates for three council seats: Orlando Alvarez, Peter Chengelis and Tenille N. Kaus.
Municipal Court Races
Several judicial contests highlight the ballot. Cleveland Municipal Court features multiple races, including contested positions for full-term judgeships and an unexpired term with five candidates.
Rocky River Municipal Court has Brian F. Hagan versus Thomas J. Kelly for judge, plus Holly Forsythe against Mary Ellen Hemann for clerk.
Township Leadership
Chagrin Falls Township has two candidates for two trustee positions: Tom Florkiewicz and Brian G. Paul.
Olmsted Township features three candidates for two trustee seats: Riley A. Alton, Chris Anagnostopoulos and Bob Perez.
School Board Elections Draw Strong Interest
School districts throughout the county attracted significant candidate fields. Shaker Heights has six candidates for three board positions, while Lakewood presents five candidates for two seats.
Cleveland Heights-University Heights features four candidates for three positions, and Orange has four candidates competing for three seats.
Independence offers five candidates for three school board positions, while Rocky River has four candidates for three seats.
Several districts face uncontested races or limited competition, including Bay Village, Mayfield and Solon.
Educational Service Center
The Cuyahoga County Educational Service Center has three candidates for three board positions: George Klepacz, Christine A. Krol and Anthony Miceli.
Elections officials continue reviewing petition signatures before the August 18 ballot certification meeting.
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