THANK YOU, NORTH CANTON!

I am humbled by your support and looking forward to getting to work to do the people’s business!

I intend to leave this webpage up to provide citizens with another communication outlet. I’ll share my thoughts and feelings directly but more importantly to keep listening to you. There is a lot of positive momentum in North Canton right now and I’m proud to be playing a role in that. But I need you to stay involved and be involved.

ABOUT ME

I’m a lifelong Stark County resident and proud to call North Canton home for the last 17 years. My wife Char and I invested our money and our family’s future in North Canton because of the great schools, safe neighborhoods, and strong sense of community. Our son, Owen, graduated from Hoover in 2020, and our daughter, Erin, is in the Class of ‘26. I’ll help ensure North Canton remains a great place to live and raise a family.

Some of you know me from the baseball fields where I spent over a decade with North Canton Little League, coaching and managing teams and serving seven years on the Board of Directors – most of that time overseeing the Rookie Division and serving hundreds of families. I also coached YMCA basketball for six seasons. Working with kids and their families reminded me that leadership is about helping others succeed and building a stronger community together.

WHY I’M RUNNING TO REPRESENT YOU ON COUNCIL

My civic involvement began when City Council considered imposing a large income tax increase on a small portion of North Canton residents rather than a small increase spread equally across ALL income taxpayers – AND WITHOUT A PUBLIC VOTE. I believe any tax change should be fair and decided by voters. That led me to serve on three committees and a focus group that helped shape a smaller, voter-approved tax plan — one that responsibly funds our future and encourages economic growth, funds our new Fire and EMS station, and allows for much needed property tax relief – something that is especially important to our retired homeowners living on fixed incomes. It showed what we can achieve when residents, council, and city leadership work together.

Today, I serve on the Zoning Board of Appeals and the Civic Leadership Academy, and I’ve attended nearly 90% of City Council meetings in-person over the past two years because good leadership starts with listening and learning.

ALREADY WORKING FOR VOTERS

During the campaign I have personally met hundreds of North Canton voters at The Main Street Festival, The Chocolate Walk, 720 Market events, and outside the gates at every home Hoover football game. But nothing compares to walking the neighborhoods in all four city wards and talking to people at their homes.

I’ve listened closely to your comments and concerns. And I’ve helped by connecting with my contacts made through The Civic Leadership Academy in order to move things forward for residents. In recent weeks I’ve been able to help facilitate responses to citizens from city leaders regarding water and traffic issues.

MY DAY JOB:

I’ve spent 24 years with the Cleveland Guardians, where I lead a diverse sales team within the organization’s largest revenue-producing department, build immediate and long-term business plans and budgets, and I make daily decisions that impact the organization’s bottom line and therefore our success on the field. That experience — teamwork, accountability, and fiscal discipline — directly translates to city government.

WHERE I STAND ON THE ISSUES THAT MATTER MOST TO NORTH CANTON RESIDENTS:

Dogwood Pool

My parents grew up in Canton at a time when the city had multiple city-owned pools.

I grew up in Canton as well and by the time I was old enough to enjoy those city-owned pools they were long gone. My childhood summers were spent going to a number of different pools – all at least a 15-30 minute drive from our home. And listening to Mom and Dad on those drives talk about the good old days and how things just weren’t the same.

I do not want current or future generations of North Cantonians growing up in a city that used to have a pool. Having a city-owned pool here in town is a difference maker and I will NOT support a discussion regarding closing Dogwood Pool unless and until a legitimate proposal to replace it is also in place.

 North Canton is the ONLY community in the immediate area that has a community pool – it’s an asset worth fighting for. And it’s a potential revenue source worth investing in. But there are considerable short and long-term concerns with the current pool. I fully support the work led by Councilmember Weyrick as the city looks to develop a parks master plan. And I also believe that ANY conversations regarding a city-owned pool need to start from the premise of “what do we need to do to keep this important asset?”

In order to continue responsibly funding the pool, I believe the city needs to aggressively explore public/private partnerships with local individuals and companies whose personal and/or professional histories are rooted in North Canton. This solution needs to make fiscal sense for our citizens and taxpayers. In the event that the pool needs to be relocated, I would also encourage the city to take a strong look at a land swap with North Canton City Schools for a location that makes the best use of existing facilities and infrastructure, is conveniently accessed by all residents, and most importantly makes sound economic sense for our residents and stakeholders.

The Hoover West Factory

We’re all incredibly frustrated with this situation; we’re even starting to hear people talking above a whisper how it might be time to give up and give in – to tear the west factory down. NOT ME – I’m not ready to throw in the towel on the centerpiece of our city – the building that basically built North Canton.

I’m not naive – I know at this point the deck is stacked against this project. But as the saying goes – “nothing in life that’s worthwhile is ever easy.” The west factory is just part of the great Hoover family legacy but it is the most visible aspect of that legacy. The Hoover Foundation is STILL fighting and cheerleading for our city after having committed $750,000 to help build our new Fire and EMS station. Now is NOT the time time to turn our backs on the Hoover family and our city’s history.

As a member of Council I’ll help the city administration exhaust every possible option to make good on 17 years of broken promises made by Maple Street Commerce. I believe the city needs to be a liaison to local business entities, historical property restoration experts, AND potentially new stakeholders in order to jump start a new era of development in the west factory building. In a late October conversation I had with Mayor Stroia, I was encouraged to learn that he will re-engage some key stakeholders in this important discussion.

As a member of Council I’ll partner with the administration to help move the conversation forward.

Communicating to North Canton – Walk The Wards

While I believe the city’s communication efforts to citizens continue to improve (the text update option is great), the most recent community survey saw just over a 3% response rate. This despite offering the survey through The Sun newspaper, at community functions, and online. That doesn’t necessarily mean our citizens are apathetic but we can and should do better.

We still hear residents talk about not always being fully informed on what’s happening in town. I’d like to meet North Canton residents where they are – literally – to provide another avenue for communication. As an At-Large Council member I’ll partner with our Ward councilmembers and the City Administration to host periodic morning walks in each of the city’s four wards where public servants and public citizens can get some exercise, tour their neighborhood, and then enjoy coffee and donuts (or bagels!) and conversation with city leaders at one of our city’s fine park shelters. It’s not complicated; it’s community!