A closer look at the shake-ups and surprises from last week’s election

Portage County voters cast 57,294 ballots on Nov. 7, according to the unofficial final tally from the Board of Elections. That represents a 53% turnout.

Among those votes were several surprises, ranging from the removal of several longtime elected officials, failed school levies, and the election of a township trustee who had been found guilty of embezzlement.

We spoke with the people on both sides of those contests to find out what’s next.

You can find our past coverage here:

• Statewide issues 1 and 2
• Countywide levies for parks, Portage DD and mental health
• Mantua and Hiram village mayor races
• School and township levies
• City races
• Township, village and school board races

Village of Hiram

Political newcomer Anne Haynam bested longtime incumbent mayor Lou Bertrand by a vote of 137-63, according to the county’s unofficial totals posted after the election.

Bertrand was first elected to office in November 2007, having previously served the village as a council member for 28 years, 12 of them as council president.

“I’m at peace,” he said. “Put me out to pasture, and I’ll be fine. It was really an honor to be the mayor and to have served Hiram for 44 years.”

Bertrand predicted Haynam will face a steep learning curve, especially with regard to what has and hasn’t worked in the past. Pledging to assist in a smooth transition, he said Haynam will have and need the support of village staff and council members, all of whom have diverse expertise.

“The community is in good hands. They will work as a team to guide the village in the future,” he said.

Bertrand said he looks forward to devoting more time to his Ravenna law practice and rearing two grandchildren, of whom he has custody.

Hiram College alumna Haynam said her victory reflects a community spirit that was waiting to be unleashed. She repeated her campaign pledge to improve the village’s relationship with her alma mater.

“This is a statement to the college that the village turning out and voting for that message should tell them how much we value them. That’s certainly a big priority,” she said.

Haynam also said she will work to make Hiram a sustainable community that will proactively take climate change into account.

“What are the pieces we need to start thinking about?” Haynam asked. “There’s no reason we can’t start to become an example of preserving our culture, our historical little town, and setting ourselves up as things change in our larger culture, to really be the model of a small town.”

Kent

In Kent, political newcomer Chris Hook bested longtime incumbent Ward 4 council member John Kuhar by a vote of 237-48.

Kuhar has been a council member since 2006 and the representative for Ward 4 since 2008.

“I think my opponent got some students to vote. That’s the area I was lacking in,” Kuhar said, thanking the people who did support him. “It’s hard to believe you can put so much work into something and be discarded so easily.”

Trying to tap into the student vote himself, Kuhar said he had reached out to Kent State University’s student Republican organization, but had failed to connect with it. Hook, he said, had campaign literature at College Towers and was actively hitting the streets.

It worked, and now Kuhar says Hook will face a steep learning curve.

“Council should be having a pretty good time with all liberals down there. I just hope he will fit in with the present council and maybe contribute something valuable to the community,” Kuhar said.

Hook, a senior development officer for a social justice think tank, said he believed it was his campaign efforts that resulted in a significant voter turnout increase over recent elections.

Ward 4 voters cast a total of 58 ballots in the November 2019 general election, which saw Kuhar running unopposed. Ward 4 voters cast 182 ballots in the August 2023 special election, and 285 ballots in the most recent round of polling, according to the Portage County Board of Elections.

“This is a victory for the Kent community, by the Kent community,” he said, noting that “the above average turnout in the ward suggests one thing: Students are not turning off, they’re tuning in.”

Hook pledged “to be a voice for longtime residents and students alike, to work collaboratively, to be unabashedly inclusive, to work hard and, above all, be ambitious in our pursuit of a brighter future.”

Calling upon Kuhar to aid in his transition to council, Hook said he is especially excited to enter office with Melissa Celko and Jeff Clapper, both of whom are also newcomers to city council.

Village of Mantua

Council President Tammy Meyer bested incumbent Mayor Linda Clark by a vote of 180-166.

Meyer has served on village council for three years. She was elected council president in June 2021 and was then re-elected as president in 2022 and 2023.

Meyer said she will speak with village employees and department heads, as well as council members.

“It’s not a me, it’s a we,” she said. “It’s a team effort. Let’s see where we go from here. Let’s listen to them and let’s move forward that way.”

Meyer also plans on bringing the Downtown Mantua Revitalization Committee and the Mantua-Shalersville Area Chamber of Commerce in on conversations.

“What do they all see that needs to be put in place? I think it’s important that you listen to all sides,” she said.

Mayor since 2012, Clark has said her experience sets her apart, particularly in understanding Mantua’s history and finances. Post-election, Clark could not be reached for comment.

Deerfield

Deerfield’s new trustee will be longtime community volunteer Laura Lindberg, who was found guilty last year of embezzling from her mother and from her mother’s estate. Lindberg beat opponent Stephanie Barringer by a vote of 386-290. Incumbent trustee Mark Bann tallied in third with 230 votes.

“People do get the right to vote, and they do get to choose. At the end of the day, it is what it is,” Barringer said. “I hope that she does her absolute best for our community. I hope she is able to bring independent thinking to the board, and not the ‘buddy system.’ I wish her all the best.”

Given Lindberg’s guilty verdict, Bann said he still questions if she can be bonded, a requirement for any trustee. Public official bonds protect the public from the dishonest conduct of public employees by allowing government agencies to make a claim against the bond in the event of malfeasance.

The Portage County Prosecutor’s Office has determined that Lindberg may hold office because she was found guilty in a civil court, not in a criminal one, but has not yet weighed in on whether she can be bonded.

If she can, and can therefore effectively hold office, Bann said he hopes Lindberg will come up with good ideas and accomplish good things.

“I hope Laura has her own mind, that she makes her own decisions and will not be a puppet to somebody else,” he said.

Reflecting on his 16 years in office, Bann said he is proud of what he has done even though he had to deliver bad news to residents when it was necessary.

“The community made their choice. Maybe I wore out my welcome. I don’t know,” he said, adding that he and many community members will be keeping an eye on the three trustees.

Lindberg did not respond to The Portager’s request for comment.

She previously said she wants the township government to run smoothly, and that she envisions ways Deerfield’s leaders can save taxpayer dollars.

Atwater

In Atwater, trustee John Kovacich lost his seat to Dale Wiley by a vote of 548-365.

Admitting he did not campaign like he had in the past, Kovacich said the other two trustees talked him into running, but his heart wasn’t in it.

“I felt I’ve done a good job for the 12 years I was in there. I think the big thing was the Flamingo fiasco,” he said, noting that the three trustees solved that problem and cleared the former motel site as quickly and responsibly as they could.

Wishing Wiley “all the luck in the world,” Kovacich advised his successor to “keep his wits about him” and to be a good steward of the taxpayers’ money.

“You’re not going to make the right decision 100% of the time; just make a good decision,” Kovacich said. “Keep your own feelings out of it, and make decisions that will benefit the entire township.”

Newly elected trustee Wiley could not be reached for comment.

Ravenna schools

Voters in Ravenna rejected Issue 16, a five-year, 6.9-mill additional levy to fund current expenses, by a vote of 2,476 to 3,425.

The levy mirrored one district voters rejected in May. District Treasurer Candi Lukat has said the school board will have to re-assess the district’s five-year financial forecast to determine what will need to be modified.

Since union-negotiated salaries are in place until 2025, the district could be looking at reducing staffing levels, increasing operational efficiency where possible and finding energy cost saving opportunities while still delivering the same quality education, she said.

District Superintendent Laura Hebert said the Ravenna schools had already cut 16 staff members at the end of the 2022-23 academic year and expressed disappointment in the November 2023 levy campaign results.

“The need for funding continues to increase as we face unfunded mandates and community-requested enhancements to curriculum and other offerings,” she said. “It’s a tough time for everyone as inflation makes everything more expensive.”

Thanking levy supporters, Hebert said she is hopeful district voters will begin to understand how the economy has hurt the school district and its ability to hire and retain faculty and staff who positively impact Ravenna’s youth.

“I’m committed to helping our schools be the best they can be,” she said.

Mogadore schools

Village of Mogadore voters rejected Issue 24, a five-year, 5.9-mill additional operating levy to fund current expenses for the Mogadore Local School District, which straddles Portage and Summit counties.

Mogadore schools serve 220 students in the portion of Mogadore village that is in Portage County. Issue 24 failed by a vote of 239-337 in Portage County and by a vote of 570-524 in Summit County.

The school district is in fiscal caution, which directs district officials to drive a state-mandated plan intended to return the district to financial solvency.

Mogadore schools Treasurer Sandra Isabella explained that districts facing insolvency face a continuum of fiscal caution, fiscal watch and fiscal emergency. Districts fall into fiscal watch and emergency only after the state auditor’s office finds red ink in the district’s five-year plan.

“We’re doing exactly what the state wants us to do to remove ourselves from fiscal caution. We have to look at all of our options,” Isabella said, declining to specify any possible staff, course offering or service cuts.

Mogadore schools Superintendent John Knapp and the school board need to decide what they want done next, she said.

Springfield schools

Springfield, mostly a Summit County district that serves fewer than a dozen families with children in southwestern Suffield Township, also saw its school levy fail by a vote of 67 to 91 in Portage County and by a vote of 2,885-3,471 in Summit County.

The five-year, 3.77-mill levy would have raised almost $1.74 million annually and would have helped pull the district out of fiscal watch, one step away from fiscal emergency, when state officials may implement cuts the school board could not achieve.