Voters decide mayoral races across Stark County

Kelly Byer, Canton Repository
Updated ·4 min read
An Election Day sign.
An Election Day sign.

Incumbents in Canal Fulton, East Canton, East Sparta and Hartville cruised to victory Tuesday while the Village Council president in Beach City unseated the incumbent mayor.

Meanwhile, in Navarre, residents selected their first new mayor in 28 years, according to unofficial results from the Stark County Board of Elections.

All of the races were nonpartisan.

More coverage: Stark County communities will choose their mayors this November

Joe Schultz
Joe Schultz

Canal Fulton

Mayor Joe Schultz easily kept his seat after a challenge from newcomer Joseph Powers. The incumbent received 70.5% of the vote, surpassing Powers by about 41%.

"I'm just excited to have the job back," Schultz said Tuesday night.

Schultz, 63, took office in 2016 and has been a teacher at Northwest Local Schools for nearly 40 years. He said that he does all he can to represent voters but, as a spiritual person, he gives "all the glory to God."

Under his leadership, the voter-approved income tax reform boosted city finances and Schultz said he wants to continue positioning the city for growth.

"We feel like we're going in the right direction," he said.

Joseph Powers
Joseph Powers

Powers, 21, is a lifelong Canal Fulton resident and studies mechanical engineering technology at Stark State College. He previously told The Repository that he wanted to bring a new perspective to the mayor's office.

Beach City

Mary Beth Yoder, president of Village Council, unseated incumbent Mayor John Hartman, who took office in 2020. She had about 54.4% of the vote compared to Hartman's 45.6%.

Mary Beth Yoder
Mary Beth Yoder

"I am very excited," she said. "Very excited and confident."

Yoder, 40, grew up in Beach City and now raises her family there. She works in real estate and dentistry and previously owned a restaurant, which gave her experience managing employees and finances.

Yoder, who spent most of the evening at a watch party in a coffee shop, credited direct contact with residents and attendance at community events for her success.

"It was definitely a challenge to unseat a sitting mayor," she said.

East Canton

Incumbent David Spencer will serve a full, four-year term as mayor after defeating Eddie J. Budinski. Spencer received about 72.7% of the vote, surpassing Budinski by 45.5 percentage points.

David Spencer
David Spencer

Spencer, 43, was on Village Council for two years before he was appointed mayor in February 2022 after Kathleen Almasy resigned. He grew up in East Canton and is the vice president at Ambaflex Manufacturing in Canton.

During his campaign, Spencer said the village was at a turning point after a population decline and the solution was "controlled growth" and improving infrastructure.

Eddie Budinski
Eddie Budinski

Budinski, 49, has been an East Canton resident most of his life and has worked as a book dealer and subcontractor in the security field. He told The Repository that he felt the village "could do better" and wanted to increase collaboration with Osnaburg Township, among other priorities.

East Sparta

Incumbent Don Stropki, who took office in 2016, won another term as mayor. (Information has been corrected to fix an error. See correction below. 4 p.m. Nov. 8.)

He bested challenger Sacha Stashak by 40 votes. Stropki collected 57.8% of the vote while Stashak received 42.2%.

Hartville

Cynthia Billings will serve a third term as mayor after besting Theresa Muncy. The incumbent received about 64.7% of the vote, surpassing Muncy by 29.4 percentage points.

Billings, 60, was elected in 2015 and previously served as a councilwoman since 2005.

"I'm thrilled," she said Tuesday. "I'm really glad. I still have some stuff I want to get done and appreciate the fact that they're going to let me do it."

Strategic planning for the village has been discussed for years, and Billings said she would like to start the process. She also hopes to change zoning laws to make the village more friendly for small businesses.

Justin Cline
Justin Cline

Navarre

Justin G. Cline won the race against Chauntelle Skirtich to succeed longtime Mayor Robert Benson. He received 65.2% of the vote, while Skirtich collected about 34.8%.

"I'm excited, and I'm optimistic for the future of the village," Cline said Tuesday.

He's been on the Village Council for five years and is chairman of the Navarre Parks Department and a member of the Navarre-Bethlehem Park Board. Cline, 39, also works with students who have disabilities at Fairless High School.

He plans to fulfill his role as councilman through the end of 2023 and prepare for the next four years. Cline's priorities include street repairs and improvements to attract visitors at Rochester Square and the nearby Towpath Trail.

"Really, I'm just trying to make Navarre more of a community rather than a bunch of houses," he said.

Skirtich, 59, has lived in the area for 28 years and works part-time as the fiscal officer for the Navarre-Bethlehem Joint Fire District. She campaigned on improving the downtown and ensuring transparency and accountability among village officials and staff.

Uncontested mayoral races

The incumbent mayors in North Canton, Brewster, Hills and Dales, Magnolia, Meyers Lake and Minerva ran for reelection unopposed. They are:

  • Stephan B. Wilder in North Canton.

  • Charles Hawk in Brewster.

  • Mark J. Samolczyk in Hills and Dales.

  • Travis M. Boyd in Magnolia.

  • Michael M. Labriola Jr. in Meyers Lake.

  • Timothy N. Tarbet in Minerva.

CORRECTION: Don Stropki won reelection as East Sparta mayor on Tuesday. His first name was incorrect when this story first published.

Reach Kelly at 330-580-8323 or kelly.byer@cantonrep.comOn X, formerly known as Twitter: @kbyerREP

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Voters decide mayoral races across Stark County