Heights voters elect Seren as CH mayor; re-elect Brennan in UH

In Cleveland Heights and University Heights, packed local election ballots—in which voters in each city elected a mayor, a number of city council representatives, and three school board members—failed to bring to the polls even half of eligible Heights voters.

According to the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections (BOE) unofficial election results, with vote-by-mail ballots not yet fully reported, results in the various Heights races, as of Nov. 3, at noon, are as follows: 

In Cleveland Heights' two-candidate mayoral contest, voters elected Kahlil Seren with 6,790 votes (60.47%); Barbara Danforth received 4,438 votes (39.53%). A BOE report shows that there were 33,906 registered voters in Cleveland Heights, as of Nov. 1.

In University Heights, a city with 8,865 registered voters as of Nov. 1, incumbent Mayor Michael Dylan Brennan won re-election with 1,571 votes (48.50%). Candidate Barbara Blankfeld was a close second, with 1,313 votes (40.54%), followed by Philip M. Atkin with 256 votes (7.90%), and Ken Simmons with 99 votes (3.06%).

In the CH-UH City School District Board of Education race, in which Heights voters elected three school board members from a field of seven candidates, the three incumbent candidates, Malia Lewis (7,041 votes/19.18%), Jodi Sourini (6,951 votes/18.94%), and Dan Heintz (6,703 votes/18.26%, retained their seats on the school board.

There were two separate contests and slates of candidates for Cleveland Heights City Council. In the full, four-year-term contest, in which four candidates were selected from a field of six, Davida Russell retained her council seat with 7,969 votes (23.83%). Craig Cobb, twice appointed to city council, was elected with 7,023 votes (21%). Tony Cuda (7,612 votes/22.76%) and Anthony Mattox Jr. (4,967 votes/14.85%) also were elected to serve on council.

In the race for an unexpired, two-year term on Cleveland Heights City Council, ending Dec. 31, 2023, voters elected Josie Moore (4,396 votes/43.50%) from a field of seven candidates. She will fill the vacancy created when Mary Dunbar resigned from council.

In the University Heights City Council race, voters elected three candidates from a field of seven. The new UH council members (in a close race, with results not yet official) are: Brian J. King (1,402 votes/18.30%), Christopher Cooney (1,203 votes/15.70%), and Sheri R. Sax (1,184 votes/15.45%).

Cleveland Heights voters passed Issue 31, an amendment to the city charter which stipulated a 45-day deadline by which city council members must fill a council vacancy. Votes were 8,727 (82.26%) in favor, 1,882 (17.74%) opposed.