Election 2023: Virginia 'Jenna' Bing to face Chris Hallum in Willoughby Hills mayoral race
Oct. 26—Virginia "Jenna" Bing has been selected to replace Willoughby Hills mayoral candidate the late Laura Pizmoht on the Nov. 7 General Election ballot.
The Lake County Elections Board recently reported that a Certificate of Choice by a Committee to Fill a Vacancy in Nomination was filed to nominate a replacement candidate to fill the vacancy caused by Pizmoht's death.
Going forward, all ballots for the upcoming election in Willoughby Hills will contain Bing's name.
Pizmoht, who had stage four cancer, was vying with Chris Hallum for mayor. On Oct. 13, the board was informed of her death.
"Laura was a dear friend of mine and was an extremely great person," Bing said. "She really wanted to be mayor and I was all behind her. We all knew she had cancer, but she approached this from day one she had it."
According to Bing, when she passed away, Pizmoht's husband approached her.
"There's a campaign team listed on the signature forms," Bing said. "They all agreed, so I was nominated. ... I have been very active in paying attention to what goes on in the city, so I made my decision."
Bing's primary focus should she be elected mayor will be ensuring the city is protected by the police and fire departments, the roads and infrastructure are well-maintained and the budget is balanced.
Bing noted that she and Pizmoht had similar thoughts on many things, including how to keep the city going, have strong police and fire, infrastructure and looking to ways to manage the budget to lower taxes for residents.
"A key part of a mayor's job is maintaining smooth operations in city services," Bing said.
Over the last four years, Hallum has observed that council and the administration have worked well together to make the city a better place to live and work.
"Our hard work has already paid off as is evidenced by the new businesses soon to be on our west end: Ross Dress for Less, Five Below, Burlington and Sheetz," Hallum said.
Additionally, according to Hallum, the city has provided more police officers and firefighters, as well as new and updated equipment to help them do the job.
"As mayor, I will continue our successes by working to add more new businesses, improving our infrastructure and improving our senior programming, and the senior center," he said.
"I will continue to be the leader you've come to know," he said. "Compared to four years ago, the city is in better shape from public perception to finance, to safety forces, to roads and community engagement."
According to the Elections Board, the committee to select a replacement nominee was listed on Pizmoht's nominating petition at the the time of filing.
Pizmoht was a lifelong resident of Lake County who resided in Willoughby Hills since 2006.
