Candidates certified for this year’s trustee election
The Board certified the slate of candidates for this year’s Board of Trustees election at the August meeting. The qualification process yielded no competitive races that will result in member or retiree voting.
Four board positions are open for election this year. Three of those seats received only one qualifying candidate: current trustee Russell Smith for the college/university employee seat, Daniel Sferra for the municipal employee seat; and current trustee Steve Toth for one of the two retiree seats.
According to Ohio law, the Board is not required to hold an election if only one candidate has been nominated for an elected position by petition. Thus, those three candidates will take office as if elected, for four-year terms beginning Jan. 1, 2027.
The other seat that was up for election this year, for state employees, received no qualified candidates. That means the seat will become vacant in January, and the trustees at that time will proceed with selecting a successor from the state employee group, according to Ohio law.