Click the links below to view information about the candidates in each race who will appear on the ballot in Akron, Stow and Tallmadge. In a primary election, candidates from each political party are selected for the general election.

In Ohio’s open primary system, voters can decide at the polls which party’s ballot they want to use to vote.

Winners in Ohio primary elections are determined by plurality vote, which means that the candidate with the highest number of votes wins, even if they did not win an outright majority of votes cast.

For more on this year’s May primary election, visit our Election Signals 2025 page.

Akron City Council Ward 1: DeShazior, Wilson and Durway

Akron City Council Ward 8: Akbar, Bolden

Stow Municipal Court Judge: Curtin, Chapman

Tallmadge City Council At-large: Epstein, Halm, Kline and Pletcher

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Editor-in-Chief (she/her)
Zake has deep roots in Northeast Ohio journalism. She was the managing editor for multimedia and special projects at the Akron Beacon Journal, where she began work as a staff photographer in 1986. Over a 20-year career, Zake worked in a variety of roles across departments that all help inform her current role as Signal Akron's editor in chief. Most recently, she was a journalism professor and student media adviser at Kent State University, where she worked with the next generation of journalists to understand public policy, environmental reporting, data and solutions reporting. Among her accomplishments was the launch of the Kent State NewsLab, an experiential and collaborative news commons that connects student reporters with outside professional partners.