Who is on the Portage County ballot in November? See Election Day race highlights here

Voters in cities, villages, townships and school districts across the county will have a chance to elect new leaders Nov. 7.

In some places, the races are hotly contested. In others, candidates are running unopposed.

Write-in candidates are prevalent throughout the county this year. And while their odds of winning are typically low, at least one will have assured victory this year, because in the Streetsboro City Council race, all contenders are write-ins.

Here are the highlights of the Portage County races. A complete list of candidates can be found on the Portage County Board of Elections website.

Write-ins abound

Several candidates have registered as write-ins across the county.

One is John Sferra, who is challenging Councilman Tim Calfee for a spot on Ravenna City Council in Ward 4.

In the Streetsboro mayoral race, write-in candidate Mohammed Shaikh is running against Mayor Glenn Broska and opposing candidate Jeff Fejes.

Other write-ins include Anne Haynam, who is challenging longtime Hiram Mayor Lou Bertrand; Steve Thorn, who is challenging Kevin Maloney for a seat on Mantua Village Council; and James McKey, who is challenging Brimfield Trustee Sue Fields and Bob Losey for a spot on the township's board of trustees.

In Streetsboro's Ward 1 City Council race, all the candidates are write-ins. After Mike Lampa resigned his seat on City Council in June, Marianne Glenn was appointed to fill his seat. Glenn is running as a write-in, and two others who sought the appointment, Chris Masowick and Joe Yonish, also are running as write-ins.

Faith Lyon, director of the Portage County Board of Elections, said although writers can write in any name, only votes for those who register will be counted. As long as the voter's intent is clear, spelling isn't important, though voters can ask for a list to make sure they get the name right.

Which cities have contested races?

Streetsboro also has a contested race for the Ward 2 City Council seat, where incumbent Anthony Lombardo is facing a challenge from Chris Yonish.

Aurora has a contested race for Ward 6 Council between David Ludick and John Seitz. The other council races in Aurora are unopposed.

Kent, the only city in Portage County where races are partisan, has only one contested City Council race. In Ward 4, longtime Councilman John Kuhar, a Republican, is facing a challenge from Democrat Chris Hook.

Ravenna's races for mayor, law director and most city council contests are unopposed. The only exception is in Ward 4, where Calfee is facing a challenge from Sferra.

Breakdown of village contests

In Mantua, the mayor's race is a three-way contest, with Mayor Linda Clark facing opposition from Niko Koutavas and Tammy Meyer, a member of Village Council.

In Sugar Bush Knolls, Nicholas Jordan and Nate Murcha are facing off for a seat on Village Council, with another council and mayor's race uncontested.

Ed Frato-Sweeney and Keith Holmes are facing off in a council race in Hiram.

In Windham, Lawrence Cunningham Jr., who now serves as president of Village Council, is running for mayor, facing a challenge from Sheila Moore. The current mayor, Scott Garrett, is running unopposed for Village Council, along with Sherri Pennington.

Races in Garrettsville and Mogadore are unopposed.

Townships hold races for trustees, fiscal officers

Each of Portage County's townships has contests for trustees and a fiscal officer, though some are unopposed.

In Atwater, Trustee John Kovacich is facing opposition from Dale Wiley. Meanwhile, Emily Lashley and Teri Weber Zachariah are running for fiscal officer.

Brimfield Fiscal Officer John Dalziel is running unopposed, but longtime Trustee Fields is facing opposition from Losey and McKey.

In Charlestown, Trustee Bruce Lange and Fiscal Officer Susan Forgacs are seeking re-election unopposed.

In Deerfield, Trustee Mark Bann is facing opposition from Stephanie Barringer and Laura Lindberg. Tracey Dean is running unopposed for fiscal officer, and Nick Lam withdrew from the race in early October.

Mantua Trustee John Festa is facing opposition from Paul Moore, and Fiscal Officer Julie Pemberton is unopposed.

Palmyra Township Trustee Ricky Bennett is facing opposition from Robin Tittel, and Fiscal Officer Kelly Harvey is running unopposed.

Rootstown Trustee Joe Paulus is running unopposed, but three people are seeking the open fiscal officer seat — Stephanie Boyle, Linda Hankins and Tina Jenior.

Newcomers are seeking open seats on the board of trustees and for fiscal officer in Shalersville. Jack Bias and Rich McIntyre are running for trustee, and Maude Bias and Kristine Hunkus are running for fiscal officer.

In Windham Township, Brian Miller is being challenged by Craig Alderman, and Fiscal Officer Casey Timmons is unopposed.

In Edinburg, Franklin, Freedom, Hiram, Nelson, Paris, Randolph, Ravenna and Suffield townships, the trustee and fiscal officer races are all unopposed.

School board races across Portage County school districts

Voters will elect or return members to seats in all of Portage County's boards of education.

In the Aurora school district, there are three open seats. Incumbent Miriam Conner is facing a challenge from Jennifer Klich in one race. In another contest, voters will choose two from a field of candidates that includes incumbents Michael Acomb and Tony Zayas and challengers Allan Biggins, Ryan Kray and Molly Schneider.

In the Crestwood school district, voters will choose three among a field that includes incumbents Tim Herron, Bonnie Lovejoy and Karen Schulz and challengers Eric Hummel and Monica Stouffer.

The Field Board of Education has two vacancies, but only Larry Stewart is running.

In James A. Garfield Local Schools, three people — David Vincent, Deral White and Colleen Khairallah — are running unopposed for three seats on the board.

In Kent, voters will select two board members from a field that includes incumbents Alicia Crowe and Rebekah Wright Kulis and challengers Kevin Elrod and Joy Pattison Vallen.

In the Mogadore school district, there are two open seats on the board and four people running — incumbent Michelle Yoho and challengers Bob Gaetjens, C.C. Penrod and Tristan Snead.

Ravenna Board of Education members Pamela Nation Calhoun and Michael Wisneiwski are running unopposed to keep their seats. Rootstown Board of Education members Craig Mullaly and Amanda Waesch also are running unopposed.

In the Southeast school district, voters will select three members from a field of candidates that includes incumbents Mary Kaley, Kevin Werschey, John Witkosky and challengers Erin Ahrens and David Fesemeyer.

In Streetsboro, Sara Scott is running unopposed for the unexpired term on the board. In another contest, voters will select three board members from a field that includes incumbents Tracey Campbell and Tonia Epple, and challengers Jaime Jordan, Eric McDaniel and Kelly Rich.

In the Waterloo school district, Timothy Moon is running for an unexpired term on the board. Patti Wittensoldner, an incumbent, is the only candidate seeking to fill three vacancies on the board.

In the Windham school district, incumbent Ted St. John and Megan Fisher are seeking two seats on the board.

Reporter Diane Smith can be reached at 330-298-1139 or dsmith@recordpub.com.

This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Write-ins, mayor candidates and more: A rundown of Portage County races