The North Royalton City Council has voted in the replacement for the Ward 6 Council Representative position. Councilman Mike Wos had resigned from the position, effective March 16.
City Council fulfilled its requirement to fill the vacancy, or it would have been filled by Mayor Larry Antoskiewicz. According to the North Royalton City Charter, “Any vacancy in the Council shall be filled by the remaining members thereof for the unexpired term. If the Council fails within thirty (30) days after such vacancy occurs to fill same, the Mayor shall fill it by appointment.”
The appointment for the replacement was open to those who live in Ward 6. Other criteria also needed to be fulfilled, according to the City’s charter: “Candidates for Council shall have resided in the Municipality and have been an elector thereof for a period of at least two (2) years next preceding his or her election. Each ward Council member must have lived in his or her ward at least one (1) year prior to election and must continue to live in the ward he or she represents during his or her entire term of office. No member of Council, except as hereinafter provided in this Charter, shall hold any other elected public office or be employed by the Municipality, except that of notary public or member of the State Militia, or Reserve Corps of the United States, or be directly or indirectly involved in the disbursement of public moneys of North Royalton, except while performing his or her duties as Councilperson. To the extent as provided by law, no member of Council shall directly or indirectly solicit, contract for, receive or be interested in the profits or emoluments of any contract, job, work or service with or for the Municipality. Any member who ceases to possess any of the qualifications herein set forth, or who removes from the Municipality, shall thereby forfeit his or her office.”
City Council accepted resumes until Monday, April 6, at 4 p.m. The interviews, which were open to the public, took place on April 8, where two candidates, Edward Cyngier and Christopher Lloyd addressed Council at a special work session. A special Council meeting then took place, where Council first recessed into Executive Session to discuss the candidates, then reconvened and unanimously voted on Cyngier. He was then sworn in on April 9.
Cyngier ran in the 2025 Ward 6 Council race against incumbent Mike Wos. That November election showed a tie. After the ballots, which include provisional ballots and those that are posted the Monday before the election, the official results are then released. On November 25, the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections then released the official results, showing that Wos won over Cyngier by five votes, with Edward Cyngier receiving 687, or 49.82% of the vote, and Michael R. Wos receiving 692, or 50.18% of the vote. According to the Ohio Revised Code, if there is a vote margin between two municipal candidates that is one half of one percent or less, an automatic recount must take place. Since the official count for the Ward 6 race margin fell within that scope, with .36 percent of the vote, the recount was then scheduled for Thursday, December 4. The recount confirmed that the official results remained the same, with Wos winning with 50.18% of the vote.
When asked about his appointment to Council, Cyngier responded, “I am grateful for the opportunity to serve my community and can’t wait to get to know the people in this great city.”
By GLORIA PLEVA KACIK
Contributing Writer
