Heights elections begin to take shape

In the Nov. 4 general election, Heights voters will choose from among the candidates vying for the following seats: Cleveland Heights mayor, University Heights mayor, Cleveland Heights City Council (four seats), University Heights City Council (three seats), and Cleveland Heights – University Heights Board of Education (three seats).

This article includes the names of candidates who are known to be running for office according to the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections, as of April 29. There may well be additional candidates currently or to come—according to board of elections rules, candidates who pull petitions can do so anonymously; however, they cannot file petitions anonymously.

The Cleveland Heights City Charter calls for a mayoral primary when there are three or more candidates running for that office. The city’s mayoral primary election date this year is Sept. 9.

The charter stipulates: “In the event there are three or more certified candidates for the office of Mayor, a non-partisan primary election shall be held for that office in accordance to the laws of the State of Ohio on the second Tuesday after the first Monday in September, in the year that an election is held for the office of Mayor. The names of the two candidates for Mayor receiving the highest number of votes in the non-partisan primary election shall appear at the subsequent November election.”

Three CH mayoral candidates have pulled petitions publicly as of April 29. Those candidates are Deanna Bremer Fisher, Marty Gelfand, and Jim Petras.

For Cleveland Heights City Council, as of April 29 there are five candidates for four open council seats. Those candidates are Craig S. Cobb, Tony Cuda, Joseph Dewitt-Foy, Sylvia James, and Anthony Mattox Jr.

The four current CH council members with terms expiring on Dec. 31, 2025, are Craig Cobb, Tony Cuda, Anthony Mattox Jr., and Davida Russell.

The filing deadline for Cleveland Heights mayoral and city council candidates is June 11. There is no primary for city council candidates.

Cleveland Heights residents should be aware that the city’s charter limits the number of candidate petitions a resident is allowed to sign: “No elector shall sign more nominating petitions for different candidates for a particular office than there are positions to be filled for that office at the election for which the petition is signed. If he does so, his signatures on all petitions which postdate his signing the permissible number of petitions shall be invalid.” So, a CH resident is allowed to sign only one CH mayoral candidate’s petition, and up to four CH City Council candidates’ petitions.

Should Cleveland Heights City Council members vote to put any Charter Amendment proposals on the Nov. 4 ballot, their deadline for filing those falls during the first week of September. 

University Heights has no primary elections. Per its charter: “No primary election shall be held for the selection of candidates for any elective office of the City.”

University Heights’ current mayor, Michael Dylan Brennan, announced in January that he would not seek a third term in office.

As of April 29, two UH mayoral candidates have pulled petitions publicly: Vincent E. Stokes II and Michele Weiss.

For University Height City Council, as of April 29 there were three candidates for three council seats: Christopher K. Cooney, Brian J. King, and Sheri R. Sax. All three are current members of UH council whose terms expire on Dec. 31, 2025.

The filing deadline for University Heights mayoral and city council candidates is Aug. 6.

The CH-UH Board of Education will have three vacancies to fill this November. As of April 29, one candidate, Dan Heintz, had pulled petitions to run for re-election to the school board. His current term expires on Dec. 31, as do the terms of current board members Malia Lewis and Jodi Sourini.

The filing deadline for CH-UH Board of Education candidates is Aug. 6.