(This story was updated with new information.)
LOUISVILLE ‒ The city is getting a new mayor.
Councilman Corey Street defeated incumbent Pat Fallot by a wide margin, according to unofficial results from the Stark County Board of Elections.
Street garnered more than 60% of the vote to Fallot’s at 33.5%. The vote tally was 1,631 for Street, 903 for Fallot, and 158 for third-place finisher Jeff Shipman.
The theme of change also pervaded the race for two at-large council seats.
Challengers Tricia McAlister-Adkins, a Louisville Middle School teacher and daughter of former councilman Thomas McAlister, and Guy Guidone, a former councilman, defeated incumbent Council member Jim Taylor.
The vote tally was 1,674 for McAlister-Adkins, 1,557 for Guidone and 1,036 for Taylor. Guidone is a customer operations specialist at American Electric Power. He served on Louisville Council for two four-year terms from 2008 to 2015. Guidone ran unsuccessfully against Fallot for mayor in 2013.
Fallot, a part-time bus driver and former longtime Stark County Auditor’s Office employee, had been mayor since 2010.
Street, principal of Tusky Valley Elementary School, had been an at-large council member for nearly two four-year terms. Shipman has been zoning inspector for Nimishillen Township for seven years.
Street said much of the reason why he won is due to many of his supporters knocking on nearly 2,300 doors the past six weeks to promote his candidacy.
“After a while, people are ready for change and people are ready for new ideas and fresh leadership,” he said. “I wanted to offer myself up as an alternative and I’m thankful that the majority of voters put their trust in me.”
Street said based on what the state does with property taxes over the next year, he will seek a financially responsible way to increase the tax credit that Louisville residents who work in other cities get to offset income taxes paid to Louisville. Currently, the tax credit is 60%. But every five percentage points council raises the credit would cost the city $110,000 to $120,000 a year in revenue.
Street said he also wants to initiate a discussion on asking voters to amend the city’s charter to limit the city’s mayor to two terms.
He said he has complete confidence in Louisville City Manager Andrew Turowski and his department heads. And he would not be seeking any change in personnel.
Fallot could not be reached Nov. 4 for comment.
According to the city’s charter, the mayor is one of five members of council, who unless appointed to fill a vacancy all serve four-year terms. While the mayor presides over council proceedings and the mayor is seen as the head of the government for ceremonial purposes, the mayor’s vote on legislation has the same weight as the other council members. Unlike other cities, the mayor does not have any executive powers on her own to appoint city officials. The official who runs city government, the city manager, serves at the pleasure of council but not at the pleasure of the mayor. The mayor can appoint the magistrate for the city’s mayor’s court.
More than 63% of city voters supported passage of a gas aggregation program to seek lower prices on natural gas. And a more than 58% voted to approve changes to their city’s charter.
Voters approved charter changes where the city manager would no longer be required to live in Louisville, a requirement struck down by the Ohio Supreme Court; the city would no longer have to post legal notices in the local newspaper; city officials could approve contracts for amounts up to $50,000 without council approval, an increase from $25,000; and council would be allowed to move unencumbered money between funds prior to October each year.
Reach Robert at robert.wang@cantonrep.com.
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Corey Street wins big, set to become new Louisville mayor and bring ‘fresh leadership’
Reporting by Robert Wang, Canton Repository / The Repository
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