Lake County Elections Board: Willoughby Hills mayoral candidate Laura Pizmoht has died

Oct. 13—Willoughby Hills mayoral candidate Laura Pizmoht has died, according to Lake County Board of Elections Director Dante J. Lewis.

According to Lewis, the Board of Elections was recently informed of the candidate's passing.

"As far as our approach toward that, we are currently consulting a legal representation with the prosecutor's office (Lake County Prosecutor's Office)," he said. "We've reached out to the secretary of state (Ohio Secretary of State's Office) as well for any type of guidance."

Pizmoht, who had stage four cancer, was vying for Willoughby Hills mayor in this year's November general election alongside Chris Hallum. She had planned to do a study of city finances to see if there is room in the budget to cut the Regional Income Tax Agency (RITA) tax.

Pizmoht also had goals of eliminating the speed cameras from school zones and to prevent wasteful spending.

"My vision for the future of Willoughby Hills is lower taxes and smart economic development, particularly in the west side," Pizmoht stated in a News-Herald candidate questionnaire that was sent to her earlier this year.

Once the Board of Elections has a plan of action, they plan to provide all of the notification necessary, Lewis said.

"It's pretty fresh and in the early stages," he said. "We're turning to legal counsel and any advice on how to administer this type of scenario on the administrative side. One thing I can assure is that we're going to take every step necessary to make sure that mayor's races are fairly run."

The elected mayor of the city will receive $30,370.54 per year. There are currently 7,108 registered voters in Willoughby Hills eligible to cast ballots.