North Royalton to vote on three contested races
Voting is underway via absentees; general election is Nov. 5
NORTH ROYALTON – The general election is quickly approaching that will bring with it a new mayor, a new council president and five new council representatives.
Voting is already in progress as vote by mail began Oct. 8.
The formal Nov. 5 ballot includes the high-profile mayor’s race, all six council wards and council president races and two school board races, though many seats face no opposition.
There are just three contested races this year: mayor and wards 1 and 5.
Mayor Bob Stefanik is termed out after nearly 12 years in office and will retire Dec. 31 per the city charter, which only allows North Royalton’s elected city officials to serve 12 consecutive years in any one seat.
Voters have five mayoral candidates to choose from: Ward 1 Councilman John Nickell, 56; Council President Larry Antoskiewicz, 65; Ward 2 Councilman Gary Petrusky, 55; radio personality Maria Cross, 54, AKA Desiray Cross from WDOK 102.1; and former school board member Barbara Ann Zindroski, 67.
Nickell and Petrusky are both termed out of their current council seats.
Should the winner of the mayor’s race fail to secure 40 percent of the vote, it will spark a runoff in December between the two highest vote getters.
City council will see a number of new faces due to the term limits. Just two current councilmen will remain on the dais.
Effective Jan. 1, Ward 4 Councilman Paul Marnecheck, 37, will move up to council president as he faces no opposition for the seat and incumbent Dan Langshaw, 33, will secure a fourth two-year term in ward 3.
Planning Commission member Jessica Fenos, 40, and Anton Krieger, 20, are pursuing the open ward 1 council seat, and Dawn Carbone-McDonald, 51, and Vincent Wiemer, 40, who chaired the North Royalton School District’s Community Engagement Task Force, are pursuing the ward 5 seat. Ward 5 Councilwoman Cheryl Hannan was not term limited but chose not to seek re-election.
Linda Barath, 62, will be the new ward 2 council representative; Jeremy Dietrich, 39, will serve in ward 4; and Mike Wos, 39, will be the new ward 6 representative. All three are unopposed.
The two school board races are also uncontested.
Three of the five school board members are up for re-election this year: School Board President Dr. John Kelly, 67; Vice President Anne Reinkober, 63; and member Heidi Dolezal, 65. All will serve another four-year term on the North Royalton Board of Education.
School board member Jackie Arendt is two years into her term and will not be up for re-election until 2021. Former member Dr. Susan Clark was also not up for re-election but announced her resignation back in June to seek a teaching opportunity in Norway.
After an interview process, the North Royalton Board of Education selected Terry DeLap, 63, to serve in Clark’s vacated seat through the end of the year. A special election will be held Nov. 5 for the remaining two years of Clark’s original term, which DeLap will secure as no other candidates filed for the seat.
The general election is Nov. 5. Polls are open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Voting is already in progress as vote by mail began Oct. 8.
The formal Nov. 5 ballot includes the high-profile mayor’s race, all six council wards and council president races and two school board races, though many seats face no opposition.
There are just three contested races this year: mayor and wards 1 and 5.
Mayor Bob Stefanik is termed out after nearly 12 years in office and will retire Dec. 31 per the city charter, which only allows North Royalton’s elected city officials to serve 12 consecutive years in any one seat.
Voters have five mayoral candidates to choose from: Ward 1 Councilman John Nickell, 56; Council President Larry Antoskiewicz, 65; Ward 2 Councilman Gary Petrusky, 55; radio personality Maria Cross, 54, AKA Desiray Cross from WDOK 102.1; and former school board member Barbara Ann Zindroski, 67.
Nickell and Petrusky are both termed out of their current council seats.
Should the winner of the mayor’s race fail to secure 40 percent of the vote, it will spark a runoff in December between the two highest vote getters.
City council will see a number of new faces due to the term limits. Just two current councilmen will remain on the dais.
Effective Jan. 1, Ward 4 Councilman Paul Marnecheck, 37, will move up to council president as he faces no opposition for the seat and incumbent Dan Langshaw, 33, will secure a fourth two-year term in ward 3.
Planning Commission member Jessica Fenos, 40, and Anton Krieger, 20, are pursuing the open ward 1 council seat, and Dawn Carbone-McDonald, 51, and Vincent Wiemer, 40, who chaired the North Royalton School District’s Community Engagement Task Force, are pursuing the ward 5 seat. Ward 5 Councilwoman Cheryl Hannan was not term limited but chose not to seek re-election.
Linda Barath, 62, will be the new ward 2 council representative; Jeremy Dietrich, 39, will serve in ward 4; and Mike Wos, 39, will be the new ward 6 representative. All three are unopposed.
The two school board races are also uncontested.
Three of the five school board members are up for re-election this year: School Board President Dr. John Kelly, 67; Vice President Anne Reinkober, 63; and member Heidi Dolezal, 65. All will serve another four-year term on the North Royalton Board of Education.
School board member Jackie Arendt is two years into her term and will not be up for re-election until 2021. Former member Dr. Susan Clark was also not up for re-election but announced her resignation back in June to seek a teaching opportunity in Norway.
After an interview process, the North Royalton Board of Education selected Terry DeLap, 63, to serve in Clark’s vacated seat through the end of the year. A special election will be held Nov. 5 for the remaining two years of Clark’s original term, which DeLap will secure as no other candidates filed for the seat.
The general election is Nov. 5. Polls are open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.