The filing deadline for the November 5 election candidates has passed and candidates for various positions in both the city and school board, as well as Parma Municipal Court judge, have been named. The filing deadline for election was August 7. This article, Part 1 of our Election Series, focuses on the races of Mayor and Council President for the City of North Royalton.
The position of North Royalton Mayor is currently occupied by Mayor Bob Stefanik. He will be retiring at the end of this year and cannot run again, as he is term limited out after 12 years in office. The position is being sought by five individuals, who are listed according to the time they filed with the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections:
John Nickell, has served as a Councilman in Ward 1 since 2007. He will be termed out of his council seat at the end of this year. He currently chairs the council’s Building and Building Codes Committee. Nickell currently is the Director of Technology for the North Royalton City School District.
Larry Antoskiewicz has served the North Royalton City Council since 2005. He was appointed as Ward 5 Councilman, then was elected Council President in 2011. Antoskiewicz currently chairs the North Royalton Planning Commission and Council’s Finance Committee. He is a retired Teamsters Union Agent.
Gary Petrusky has served as a Councilman in Ward 2 since 2007. He will be termed out of his council seat at the end of this year. He currently works as the Assistant Vice President at PNC Bank in the Balance Sheet Analytics and Modeling Division. Petrusky currently serves as the chairman of the Council Stormwater Committee.
Maria Cross, also known as Desiray Cross, was a Cleveland radio and television personality. She is a graduate of North Royalton High School and previously owned The Coffee Garden in North Royalton. She also worked in payroll and as a senior legal clerk for the City of Cleveland. Cross is currently working as an author of children’s books.
Barbara Ann Zindroski is a former North Royalton School Board member, serving from 2005 to 2009 and again from 2011 to 2015. She ran again in 2015, but lost to Heidi Dolezal. Zindroski is retired from the Parma City School District with 36 years in education, where she taught Dental/Medical Assisting.
For the spot of Council President, Paul F. Marnecheck II, is unopposed. Marnecheck is currently serving as the Councilman for Ward 4. Ward 6 Councilman Dan Kasaris had originally pulled petitions to run for this position, but then did not formally file.
According to the North Royalton City Charter, if the winner of the November election does not secure 40 percent of the total vote, a runoff will take place in December between the two highest vote getters.
The time line for the November 5 election is as follows: September 20, Absentee ballots to be mailed; October 7, Voter Registration Closes; October 8, Opening of vote by mail; November 2, Absentee Ballot application deadline; November 4, Voting In Person at the Board of Elections ends and all Absentee ballots postmark deadline; November 5, Election Day (6:30 a.m. – 7:30 p.m.) and all overseas Vote by Mail ballots must be submitted to be received by November 5. Also, all absentee ballots returned in person must be received at the Board of Elections by 7:30 p.m.
The Recorder will provide complete information with bios in an upcoming edition on all candidates running for office in the November 5 election.
By GLORIA PLEVA KACIK
Contributing Writer