Summit County Voter Guide: Akron City Council — Ward 1

Welcome to the 2022 Voter Guide produced by the League of Women Voters and Akron Beacon Journal with funding from the Knight Foundation.

This article focuses on the race for an unexpired term on Akron City Council representing Ward 1, which runs northwest from the University of Akron downtown through the Merriman Valley to the city's northern limit.

This year's general election on Nov. 8 will see Ohioans voting for an array of local and statewide offices and local issues. Early voting begins Oct. 12 at the Summit County Board of Elections Early Vote Center, 500 Grant St., Akron.

Responses are not edited, vetted or corrected by the League of Women Voters or Beacon Journal to allow candidates to speak in their own words.

Interactive Voter Guide

If you click on the first link below, you can provide your address and see a customized ballot with your local races and issues only. If you prefer to find your own races, scroll down lower on this page.

2022 Election: Summit County Voter Guide

Michael Andes

Party: Republican

Facebook: AndesforCityCouncilFacebook.com

Why are you the best candidate for this position? As a life-long Ward 1 resident, I am intimately familiar with the worries of the people who live and work here because I have the same concerns. If you were to ask my closest friends to describe me, one resounding characteristic would be that I am reliable. ALL residents of Ward 1 can be assured that if they call me, I WILL call them back. I will listen to whatever is on their mind. I will take suggestions seriously, and I will take concerns back to the Council table to be heard, and addressed as best as possible. It is my intent to work along side other members of Council to find balanced resolutions to safer neighborhoods; affordable housing; and improved communication between residents and City leadership.

How will you work with your City Council colleagues to achieve balanced, inclusive decision-making? I will listen, learn and take action. For the past 27 plus years as a real estate landlord, I have worked closely with people from all walks of life. I have mended disagreements and dispelled controversy to create a pleasant living environment. This experience has prepared me to bring people together. I have developed many positive relationships...both professional and personal. The key ingredient in this recipe is that I treat everyone I live nearby and work alongside EXACTLY the same. I am open to hearing the ideas and thoughts of others, as well as willing to contribute my thoughts. My vision is focused on bringing the best of ideas together and working to implement them to make Ward 1 the most desirable area in Akron to call home.

What do you see as a top priority for the Akron City Council to address over the next few years? From talking to folks in the neighborhoods of Ward 1, the number one concern that is expressed to me most often is the safety of the both residents and business owners. I would like to work with other members of City Council to ensure that business owners are able to safely return home to their families after work without encountering loiterers or solicitors; and that residents can comfortably walk between establishments or to and from home feeling secure in the area where they live.

November election:What to know about Summit County voting, candidates, voting locations and more

Michael W. Bradley (write-in)

Party: Democrat

Education: R.B. Chamberlin High School, Twinsburg, OH; 1983 Portage Sheriff's School

Training/Experience: Security. Notary Public.

Current Occupation: Retired

Why are you the best candidate for this position? Will answer legitimate constituent question when presented in appropriate fashion.

How will you work with your City Council colleagues to achieve balanced, inclusive decision-making? General knowledge of many different government functions over the years from long observation of various jurisdictions.

What do you see as a top priority for the Akron City Council to address over the next few years? Most ordinary city services are running as should be, with the exception of the police department. I was a proponent of having an outside Chief to make objective reforms, but crime has gotten worse. Long ago took the position of removing the “Auditor” and replacing with a Review Board. Statutes and “poles' do not belong in the middle of the street and that money was supposed to be allocated to the police department.

Nancy L. Holland

Party: Democrat

Education: J.D., University of Akron, School of Law; A.B., Washington University

Training/Experience: Currently serving as the Akron City Council Ward 1 Councilwoman (since June 21, 2021); Former Commissioner, Akron Civil Rights Commission; Former Board Member, Children's Services Board of Summit County; Former Board Member, Akron Bar Association Board of Trustees; Former Assistant Chief, Civil Rights Section, Office of the Ohio Attorney General; Former Civil Rights Attorney/ Trial Attorney, United States Equal Employment Opoortunity Commission

Current Occupation: Attorney and current Ward 1 Councilwoman

Website: www.nancy4akron.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/Holland4Ward1

Why are you the best candidate for this position? I am an experienced member of City Council, with a track record of responsiveness to Ward 1 resident needs. I take a full-time approach to constituent services, and bring decades of experience as an attorney- for the United States, for the Civil Rights Section of the Ohio Attorney General's Office, in private practice, and in University classrooms- to solving individual and community problems, and advocating for a safe, prosperous and equitable Akron. I was born in Akron, attended King School, raised my three children in Ward 1, and believe that Ward 1 needs and deserves a strong advocate with deep roots, and a proven commitment to serving its people.

How will you work with your City Council colleagues to achieve balanced, inclusive decision-making? I value my City Council colleagues, and their unique backgrounds , experiences, concerns and perspectives; and I believe that it is our collective ability to appreciate each others' differences- as well as our common ground- that produces the very best conditions for balanced, inclusive decision-making. I strive to actively listen to my colleagues, to gain clear understanding of their positions, and I believe I am a good communicator and collaborator. Perhaps most important to balanced, inclusive decision-making, I am a strong advocate for greater public engagement and consistent transparency in critical decision making processes. I believe we become a stronger City, when we provide adequate time and opportunity for that engagement.

What do you see as a top priority for the Akron City Council to address over the next few years? Public Safety should be Akron City Council's top priority over the next few years, including continued violence prevention measures. As a City, we must continue to recognize that housing safety and stability, employment, healthcare and childcare access, addiction and mental health services- all play a role in public safety, and are part of the public safety "upstream" strategy for building a safer community.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Akron City Council Voter Guide: 3 running for Ward 1