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PENINSULA VILLAGE COUNCIL

As I wrote last month, four of the six Peninsula Village Council seats will be open and on the ballot this November 4. These seats are for 4-year terms starting January 1, 2026. Petitions can be downloaded from the Summit County Board of Elections site and require 10 valid signatures of registered voters from Peninsula. PETITIONS MUST BE TURNED INTO THE BOARD OF ELECTIONS BY 4:00PM ON WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 6. The Elections staff are very willing to help any candidate with the petition process. The last time four seats were open was in November 2021, when only two candidates put forth their names. The mayor appointed people to the two remaining seats after Council failed to fill them within 30 days of their vacancy.

Now, however, provisions in Ohio law CAN TRIGGER A VOTE TO DISSOLVE THE VILLAGE if it fails to meet two conditions – having enough candidates in each election to fill all vacant seats AND provide at least five services to residents. These include police, firefighting, garbage, water, sewer, EMS, road maintenance, parks/recreation, human services, and a public library. Peninsula has done well on the services end but has failed in the past to field enough candidates for office.

Residents` participation in Village government is essential for us to survive as a village. There are important issues coming before us that will have lasting impact on our future.

Please consider running to serve on our Council. If you have any questions regarding the process or my own experiences over the last year and a half of serving on Village Council, I`d be happy to discuss them with you, as I believe other Council members also would.

Thank you for your consideration.

Richard Slocum rslocum@villageofpeninsula-oh.gov