Recordpub.com - Streetsboro Council

By Bob Gaetjens
Record-Courier staff writer
STREETSBORO " At the ballot Nov. 6, voters will elect four City Council representatives, one from each ward.
Ward 1
A race for the open Ward 1 Council seat is set between former planning commission member Ed Lupton and former commission member Bridget Pavlick to bring a new perspective to City Council.
Lupton, 61, had lived in the city for about 40 years and works as a store maintenance repair worker.
Pavlick, 50, has lived in the city for 38 years and works as a systems administrator at EATON Corp. She said she would be a good candidate for council because she listens thoughtfully to what is being said and does not build opinions until she hears all the facts and sides of an issue.
Pavlick said council and the oard of education should work closely together "all the time" to help the children recieve a good education.
"We need to get ourselves working on a common cause," she said.
Lupton said he wants the city to enact a 1-percent income tax credit to help promote growth rather than asking residents for an income tax increase. He said the city needs to form its own tax department and move away from depending on the Regional Income Tax agency, which takes a percentage of funds it collects from the city.
Ward 2
Ward 2 residents will choose between two residents who've each spent time serving on the Streetsboro Planning and Zoning Commission "Davene Sarrocco-Smith and Emerylde Bradley.
Current Ward 2 Councilman Tom Wagner is on the Nov. 6 ballot as a mayoral candidate, which means he can't run for his council seat, according to the city charter.
Sarrocco-Smith, 42, has lived in the city for about 11 years and works as a sanitarian, or public health expert, for cities around the region. She said her experience working with about 24 cities and townships has helped her get a grasp on the role council members have in a community.
"I've also learned a lot about the city from being on the planning commission," Sarrocco-Smith said. "I've seen the greater potential the city has and I can help us reach toward that potential."
Bradley, 52, has lived in the city for about 11 years. The owner of Perfect PC computer store after a career in the engineering field, she said her background in managing crews of workers at construction sites would help her deal with city employees.
"I'm also the kind of person who will hunt down a missing penny in my checkbook," she said. "I won't let it go."
Ward 3
Residents in Ward 3 will decide between their incumbent City Councilman or a planning commission member who is challenging him for the seat.
Incumbent Bob Hager, 73, has lived in Streetsboro for 45 years and worked for the Ford Motor Co. He said the experience he's gained during his first term on council would serve him well for another four years on the panel.
He also said he's taken bookkeeping classes in the past and has been the treasurer for different organizations to help him with council's role in the city budget.
"We have a lot to do, since so many roads are in bad shape," he said.
Challenger Regis Faivre, 53, is an eight-year Streetsboro resident and works as the sales manager at Trimor Corp. working on the company's $40 million budget and working with a staff of 230 people in the sales department has helped prepare him to serve on council, he said.
Faivre said his main priorities for the city are to get a zoning master plan approved by council, get a better overlay zoning rule in place, and to establish a stronger relationship with the school district.
"I'm tired of the private politics," he said. "Our city should be looking out for its residents, but the city does not listen to them."
Ward 4
Tom Horsfall, the incumbent, faces a challenge from Nick Funari in Ward 4.
Horsfall, 54, has lived in the city for 18 years and works in vehicle maintenance for the U.S. Postal Service. He said his year experience on council and time on the planning commission, along with previous management experience and running his home finances, would help him contribute on council.
"When you have five kids, you get lots of managing experience and know how to properly budget home finances," Horsfall said. "It may not involve the same huge number as the city budget, by the principles involved are the same."
Funari, 65, said he has lived in Streetsboro for about 15 years and retired last year from General Motors. As a local union president with the United Steel Workers, he said he has experience working with a diverse group of people and running a meeting to make sure everyone's ideas are presented in a respectful manner.
"It bothers me that the union meetings I led were more professional than council meetings," Funari said.