27 Apply for City Council Seat

A total of 27 people are seeking to replace on Strongsville City Council.

Eleven of the candidates filed for the post on Friday, which was the last day to apply.

They are:

Emanuel (Manny) Estrela, 15239 Old Oak Drive;
Steve Sinisgalli, 20637 Westminster Drive;
Anthony P. Zubek, 16689 Timberline Drive;
Ruth A. Brickley, 20762 Pineview Circle; 
Brian Jungeberg, 12664 South Churchill Way;
Mel Miller, 12615 Janette Ave.; 
Barry Zimmerman, 17651 Hampton Place; 
Danny F. Easa, 18084 N. Inlet Drive;  
John A. Palmer, 12221 The Bluffs;
David M. Gusman, 20578 Pembrooke Oval; 
Ron Stebbins, 13475 Webster Rd.; 
Peter A. Rossi, Jr., 14904 Cortland Way; 
Tobey C. Cook, 20667 Chestnut Drive;
Lora A. Petric, 19728 Stoughton Drive; 
John Pietrasz, 16252 Delmont Ave.; 
Bruce W. Lockhart, 20323 Abigail Lane; 
David M. Cepis, 20599 Kylemore Drive;
Gregory M. Gleine, 21525 Brookfield Place;
Thomas J. Snow, 18511 Heritage Trail; 
Bryan W. O’Malley, 21277 Breckenridge Lane;
Timothy D. Sabath, 19073 Bears Paw Lane; 
Richard D. Baldin, 15129 Wilmington Drive; 
Kenneth Evans, 18399 Yorktown Oval; 
John D. Southworth, Jr., 19702 Stoughton Drive; 
Margaret Dier, 15814 Whitney Rd.; 
Bruce M. Courey, 19556 Castletown Drive; 
Matt Patten, 15311 Sassafras Drive.

Brickley and Gusman are members of the Strongsville School Board. Patten is a former member of the Ohio House of Representatives.

The remaining City Council members are expected to start interviews this week and choose a replacement to serve the remainder of Coyne's term, which ends in December 2013.

Coyne abruptly May 6, three days before he was arrested by the FBI on a. He was implicated last September in a bribery case involving Hinckley developer David Terry as part of the ongoing corruption probe in Cuyahoga County.

Coyne appeared in U.S. District Court May 9 and was placed on house arrest. He was released on $50,000 bond.

His attorney, Craig Weintraub, said Coyne will plead not guilty to the charge.

An affidavit from at FBI agent filed in federal court alleges Coyne approached Terry in early 2008 and asked for money. Terry, who has already pleaded guilty to bribing Coyne, told the FBI he gave Coyne four separate checks for $5,000 each, made out to four different accounts with Coyne's home address.

Three were the Strongsville Democratic Club, Citizens for Pat Coyne and Strongsville Wildcat Baseball.

The affidavit says National City Bank later drew on those funds to issue a check for $15,000 to Smuggler's Bay Point, a development in Marblehead. That check was used toward the purchase of a condo for Coyne, the document says.