Candidates' Night in Strongsville: See What They had to Say

All 12 candidates in opposed races for City Council and Strongsville School Board took part in the Strongville Women's League's Candidates' Night Tuesday.

Mayor Tom Perciak and Ward 1 Councilman Mike Daymut, both unopposed in their re-election bids, also spoke.

In addition, Superintendent Jeff Lampert talked about , the school district's 6-mill renewal levy.

The candidates got three minutes to talk about their qualifications and goals, then fielded questions from the audience.

The two-hour forum, held at the , is being shown on cable TV channel 21 at 8 a.m, 1 p.m., 7 p.m. and 11 p.m.

Some highlights:

Ward 2 City Council

Incumbent Ray Haseley said several major road improvements -- including Pearl Road, Howe, Boston, Drake and Benbow -- have been completed during his most recent term in office. He stressed his experience in local government at a time when Strongsville stands to lose more than $1 million in state funding and said he has worked closely with other officials on bringing new businesses into town.

Matt Schonhut said he believes residents are looking for "new energy, new passion and new ideas." His priorities are economic development and updating the infrastructure, incuding replacing faulty sewer systems, mantaining roads and updating equipment. 

Asked to give one good reason why voters should not re-elect Haseley, he said, "I think it comes down to new ideas," as well as energy and passion.

Ward 3 City Council

Jim Carbone spoke about his childhood in Strongville, recalling riding his bike on dirt hills where mall now stands. "I am committed to preserving the quality of life in Strongsville as I remember it," he said. 

He said his years as a police officer for North Olmsted will help him bring loyalty, tact and honesty to council.

Larry Frawley listed five things he wants to work on: 1. Jobs; 2. Schools; 3. Jobs; 4. Communication; and 5. Jobs. He wants fewer regulations for businesses to expand here and has already set up a citizens' hotline for residents to call with questions and concerns.

He also said as a Realtor, he knows how important good schools are to maintaining property values and bringing new businesses into town.

Incumbent Ward 3 Councilman Mark Roth is not seeking re-election.

Ward 4 City Council

Incumbent Scott Maloney, a former school board member appointed to council earlier this year, said he was chosen for the spot because city officials believed he was "the best person for the job." He pledged to keep working on economic development and said he would continue to return constituents' calls within 48 hours.

Patricia Pell, a former Parma city council representative, said running the Parma Chamber of Commerce and owning a small business gave her experience managing employees and staying within a budget. Now retired, she said she would be available for council duties full-time.

School Board

Incumbent Ruth Brickley called school board members "the big picture people" who set policies for the district while administrators run the day-to-day operations. She has chosen not to accept campaign donations. 

Asked whether it still makes sense for the school district to pick up teachers' share of their pension contributions, she said the district instead made "major strides" in health care contributions during contract talks this year. "It's a matter of which battles you're going to pick."

Richard Micko pointed out that as a father of four, he has more children than all the other candidates combined, which he said is significant "because for me, it really is all about the kids." As a business owner, he said he is frugal and if elected, is not afraid to "upset some apple carts."

On the issue of picking up teachers' retirement contributions, he said the practice should change, calling it "kind of like a hidden increase in salary" and saying the voters' rejection of levies is partly because they are displeased with teachers' benefits.

Incumbent Carl Naso said he has championed transparency, challenging the administration to share more information and residents to ask more questions. He said he has helped the district cut $7.4 million in spending and has "the passion, the tenacity ... the skill and experience to get this job done."

On the teacher pension issue, he said that while the district should eventually start asking teachers to contribute, the district nonetheless saved $2.6 million on recent contracts through concessions in other areas. Teachers in the mid-1990s accepted the pension contributions in lieu of pay raises, he said.

John Pietrasz said the role of schools has become crucial for kids to succeed. "These students need to be more prepared than ever when they leave high school," he said. He said the school district needs to be run like a business and proposes saving money by going "green."

Asked what the district should do with the vacant Allen School building, he said the the land is going to almost complete waste and officials should find a way to do something better with the property.

Ronald Schroth, a teacher at Lincoln West High School in Cleveland, said he minored in economics and would bring that knowledge to the financially struggling district. He said he has the leadership qualities and educational background to help the board. "I think giving back the the community is something you should do."

On the Allen School issue, he suggested offering the building to colleges for a local campus and looking into how Berea is successfully finding new ues for its empty school buildings.

Greg Scott, a 2011 Strongsville High School graduate, said he is tired of school officials dealing with budget woes by waiting for voters to pass a levy and hoping the state changes its funding practices. "I want to fix the school system," he said. He would save money by privatizing cafeteria services, combining some administrative duties with other districts and changing policies.

As for Allen School, he said he would like to house an after-school program there, although he acknowedged that would be contingent on finding money to both make repairs to the building and run the program.