Scaffide to fill out mayoral term; school renewal levy OK’d

TWINSBURG – The city will continue to be led by Sam Scaffide as mayor – for at least another year – after he polled nearly 44 percent of the votes cast in Tuesday’s general election.

Scaffide is a 20-year City Council rep who has served as acting mayor since Ted Yates resigned earlier this year to become village manager of Islamorada, Fla. Scaffide will fill out the unexpired term through Nov. 30, 2023.

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Scaffide polled 3,604 votes in the five-man race, according to final but unofficial results from the Summit County Board of Elections.

"Election night was very exciting," Scaffide said. "I felt really good about the final votes coming out. I was overwhelmed by the amount of support I received by the people in the city of Twinsburg. I am honored by the faith they have put in me, and I will work to make sure I earn each and every vote I received. Their vote of confidence was overwhelming."

Councilman Bill Furey finished second with 1,769 votes (21.58 percent), Brian Steele notched 1,576 votes (19.23 percent), Ronald Fruscella had 870 (10.61 percent) and John M. Porter managed 377 (4.6 percent).

"I would like to congratulate Mr. Scaffide as well as thank the residents and my supporters for voting," Furey said. "Twinsburg is in good hands, and I commit to supporting Sam as we continue to improve upon our great city together."

Steele said he called Scaffide to congratulate him.

"If he brings our city together by listening to those with differing opinions, not dismissing them, he will do well," Steele said. "If he doesn't, we will remain a divided city. It is up to him."

None of the other candidates could be reached for comment.

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Scaffide said that in the next year as mayor, he hoped to address needed repairs to some of the city's facilities while continuing to provide the services the residents have enjoyed.

"Currently, the city is in a good financial position," Scaffide said. "We paid off a lot of debt at the end of last year. A couple of our buildings are in need of repair."

Those are the city's wastewater treatment plant and the indoor pool at the recreation center, Scaffide said. The price tag for the repairs is estimated to be more than $16 million.

One thing Scaffide said he does not plan to do is raise taxes.

"We are coming out with a balanced budget, and I plan to do that again," he said. "We want to keep city in current financial position. We want to make sure we don't put the cart before the horse financially."

If the city finds itself in a position where it needs more income, Scaffide said officials will go to the voters.

Scaffide has resided in Twinsburg for 25 years. A graduate of Cuyahoga Community College, he was re-elected to the Ward 1 City Council seat in 2019. Prior to becoming acting mayor, he was council president.

He has served as service director in Glenwillow, Reminderville and Brunswick, and also was employed by the Summit County engineer's office and city of Bedford Heights.

On the city’s website he said, “The community support I have received [after taking over as acting mayor] is overwhelming and I want to thank everyone for their kind words and well wishes.

“I will strive to keep your continued support and participation to help make the best decisions possible on matters impacting our city. Thank you from the bottom of my heart! I am truly blessed to be in Twinsburg.”

On his Keep Scaffide as Mayor website, he noted one of his top priorities is improving transparency and opening more lines of communication between City Hall and residents.

“I am committed to strengthening engagement and encouraging two-way communication with residents in decision making about the projects and issues that impact our city the most,” he said.

“I’ve been working with our city departments to find better ways to bring residents’ voices into the decision-making process.”

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Twinsburg school renewal levy greenlighted by voters

Meanwhile, local election results also saw the passage of Issue 7, a 6.9-mill renewal levy for operating expenses of the Twinsburg school district. The final but unofficial margin was 7,558 (65.36 percent) in favor to 4,005 (34.64 percent) against.

The five-year renewal previously was renewed in May 2018. The annual cost of $144 per $100,000 of assessed property value will remain.

“After a comprehensive review of the district's finances, it is clear that this renewal is necessary for operating expenses so that we can continue to offer our students the quality education our families expect,” said Superintendent Kathy Powers prior to the election.

“This [victory] is fantastic news,” the district posted on its website after the election. “We thank [everyone] for your continued support of our students and for your confidence in our school district. We pledge to continue to be good stewards of our residents’ tax dollars.”

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Reporter April Helms contributed to this report.

Contact the newspaper at twinsburgbulletin@recordpub.com.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Twinsburg's acting mayor will continue to serve after election win