Copyright cleveland.com
UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, Ohio -- University Heights City Council got a bit of a shakeup Election Day as two current council members were re-elected, one newcomer got the nod from voters, and one incumbent did not et returned to office. Coming back for second terms are Councilwoman Sheri Sax and Councilman Brian King. Voters were asked to select three of the four candidates before them on the Nov. 4 ballot, and the third spot went to second-time candidate Vincent E. Stokes, II. Councilman Christopher Cooney finished fourth, making his attempt for a second term unsuccessful. With Vice Mayor Michele Weiss winning election as mayor, council will have to select a new member come January to fill her spot. Sax, according to unofficial Cuyahoga County Board of Elections results, finished as the top vote-getter of the four candidates, with 2,103, for 29.8 percent. Mayor Michael Dylan Brennan has been a frequent critic of Sax over the past four years, and endorsed only King and Cooney to return to council. “I am so excited and grateful, and I truly believe it is a pivotal moment and exciting time for University Heights,” said Sax of her election win. “We are looking forward to upgrading our municipal facilities. We are looking to repair our roads and partner with residents on sidewalk repairs. “We’re looking forward to improving our street lighting. The high pressure sodium bulbs are becoming obsolete and we’ll research LED street lighting, solar street lighting, whatever the alternatives are. We’ll be doing our best to keep up the city with whatever needs to be done going forward. “As chair of the (council) Service and Utilities Committee, I sit in the middle of all of this stuff.” Sax said she is proud of the city’s recent changes made regarding recycling and composting. “So I can get things done, and I’m glad to continue to do that,” she said. Of the tensions involving Brennan, Sax said, “I will say I haven’t felt tension because I never took the way that the administration, the mayor particularly, (spoke to me), I never took it personally. “I was there to do the job and I can’t control what another person wants to say or feel. But I don’t think I ever did anything to cause any tension and I didn’t feel it.” The Board of Elections results showed that Stokes tallied the second most votes at 1,812 (25.7 percent), followed by King, with 1,773 (25.2 percent). Cooney received 1,359 votes (19.3 percent). Stokes said he found out he had been elected via a text message sent by supporters from a watch party to which he had not yet arrived. “I was a bit surprised,” he said of the election win. “I had expectations that I might win, but I didn’t think I was going to outdo so many incumbents.” “I think people resonated with my realness and my determination to fight bullies. I refuse to be intimidated by the mayor or his tactics and I rebutted what he said, and he’s not used to being rebutted. I approached it head on. “And another reason I think I did well is that people are tired of the same hegemonic view of City Council,” said Stokes, who is pastor of New Sardis Primitive Baptist Church in Cleveland. “Now there are two people of color on the council (Stokes and Councilwoman Threse Marshall), and one of the current members of City Council said we haven’t had two people of color on the council since the early 2000s -- (that’s) them (council) not wanting to continue the current train of hegemony that they’ve been on.” Upon taking office, Stokes said he wants to focus on “this pool situation” at Purvis Park. He said that he would like to see a new pool installed at the park to replace the current one that is in need of repairs. Speaking of his work as pastor, Stokes said, “I think there’s an intersectionality between faith and politics, and the public square. So I am very much cut from the same cloth as other Black Liberation theologians who not only were educators in education and in the pulpit, but also in the public square doing some real advocacy work, and legislative work. “I’m thinking about people like Adam Clayton Powell, thinking about people like Raphael Gamaliel Warnock, who’s a U.S. Senator from the state of Georgia. I’m thinking about former Congressperson Floyd Flake, who was a Congressman from New York, as well as a college president, as well as a pastor of a church. “I’ve been molded by that type of image and molded by those types of Black intellectuals that were preachers, as well as in the public sphere. I’m definitely embracing those (people).” Of his re-election, King, in an email said, “I am honored to be given the opportunity by the voters of University Heights to serve on City Council for another four years. “Congratulations to Sheri Sax on her re-election and Vincent Stokes, II for earning a seat on council. Congratulations to Vice Mayor Michele Weiss on winning her bid to become our next mayor. “I would also like to thank Chauncey Hutton and Philip Atkin for their efforts in running for mayor. Their participation in this election led to robust discussion in the community and provided options for voters to consider. I hope that they will both continue their civic involvement. “Finally, I want to thank Councilman Christopher Cooney for his work on council these past four years. He has been a great colleague and I will miss serving with him.” Cooney, also in an email, said of the election results, “I have been privileged to serve as a council member for a city that I have called my home for nearly 25 years. “I would like to thank my wife, Alicia, and sons, for encouraging and supporting me during my term. Thank you to all my family, friends and residents who supported me and provided excellent feedback about how we can always make University Heights a better place to live. “It has been a great experience and I’m looking forward to the renovation of Bell Tower (Center, formerly University Square) and completion of JCU’s Gateway North (construction project)."
