Correction:

This article was updated to reflect that Emily Durway has no previous experience holding public office.

Description of race / referendum:
Akron’s City Council is the city’s legislative body. Council approves the spending of city money, approves ordinances that govern the city and serves as oversight to city administration.

Fran Wilson

Democrat

Previous public office held: Democratic Ward 1 Precinct K representative

Candidate email: neighbors@franforthepeople.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/franforthepeople

Instagram: instagram.com/franforthepeople

Website: VoteFran.com

Training / experience: Senior executive in public relations, restaurant server

Education: Masters in Studies of Law (in progress)

Why are you the best candidate for the office?

Fran has 4 generations of ties to Ward 1, understands the politics and processes of City Hall today, has a demonstrated history of showing up for local issues, and has a customer service background.

Fran is a queer and nonbinary progressive community organizer. Fran has attended City Council and council committee meetings for the last 5 years, helped to pass a local nondiscrimination ordinance, has written a weekly council issues newsletter for the last 3 years, and served as an Akron Civil Rights Commissioner investigating discrimination cases.

Professionally, Fran works in international public relations and policy with a focus on U.S.-China relations and holds down a second job serving at a local Ward 1 restaurant to pay the bills.

What solutions, if any, do you propose to address concerns surrounding neighborhood safety and criminal justice in Akron?

If elected to represent Ward 1, Fran will prioritize public input in decision making, government accountability, and building stronger blocks and neighborhoods.

( 1 ) Neighborhoods
Akron history and geography shows that safety and wellbeing are tied to neighborhood resources and investment. Black, Brown, and poor Akronites have faced systemic barriers like redlining, displacement, police brutality, and economic exclusion. Neighborhoods need safe and affordable housing, food security, transportation options, and places to connect with the community.

( 2 ) Justice
Ward 1 residents and 62% of surveyed Akronites want police reform. Fran has been a long-time, vocal advocate for change and against police brutality. One clear step for more police accountability is empowering the Citizens’ Police Oversight Board with resources to investigate misconduct and offer recommendations for policy change.

What steps, if any, do you think the city should take to address housing insecurity in Akron?

( 1 ) Affordability
More than 60% of Ward 1 residents are renters. As rent increases across the ward and the city continues to face an ongoing eviction and affordability crisis, we need action. Council’s housing committee has met only a handful of times in the last two years — that is unacceptable. We need to revamp our housing code, enforce landlord registration, protect renters’ rights, and fund legal support for those being evicted.

( 2 ) Homelessness
Akron’s unhoused population has grown by 300% since 2023. 10% of APS students are homeless. Our city has a deficit of hundreds of shelter beds, and AMHA has a voucher waitlist in the thousands. The city offloads responsibility for caring for our unhoused population to nonprofits, while not increasing funding at the level that is needed. The city needs to stop sweeping encampments, stop violating unhoused people’s rights by destroying their property during sweeps, and invest in expanding shelter care and bed access in Akron.

Aside from the issues addressed by previous questions, what other top priorities do you seek to address once in office, and how do you plan to accomplish those priorities?

( 1 ) Public comment
Akronites have a right to address city leadership at its meetings. However, in the wake of major public backlash after a police killing and a housing issue, council passed legislation to restrict public comment. Fran will work to restore public comment.

( 2 ) Budgeting
Our budget process is muddled and inaccessible for residents. Fran will work with the administration to host townhalls and educate residents on budget items by ensuring information is posted publicly on the city and council’s website.

( 3 ) Fracking
In 2021, Fran organized with residents to shut down a bill authored by then-Mayor Horrigan and Councilor At-Large Fusco for a mineral rights lease near LaDue Reservoir. As councilor, Fran will keep tabs on mineral rights leasing and be vocal against all oil and gas fracking.

( 4 ) Community development
As a former West Hill Neighborhood Board member, Fran will advocate for more funding for neighborhood organizations that uplift our community.

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Emily Durway

Democrat

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/durway4akronward1/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61570236501671

Training / experience: Supreme Court of Ohio, Bar admission 2007, Restorative Justice and Restorative Circle training

Education: BA- Political Science, The College of Wooster; Juris Doctorate, The University of Akron School of Law 

Campaign phone: 234-281-3965

Candidate email: durway4ward1@gmail.com

Website: https://durway4ward1.org/

Why are you the best candidate for the office?

I am an attorney, activist and artist.  I have been devoted to public and civic service most of my life.  I have been a homeless-family caseworker, community organizer for criminal justice reform, helped change the policy of incarcerating nonviolent drug offenders in Milwaukee, trained in restorative justice, a criminal defense attorney, and I have volunteered with the Ohio State Democratic Party since 2008 in election protection.  I have devoted time and energy to nonprofits in our community focused on autism, drug treatment, music, neighborhood events and the arts. I am excited to represent our home.  I believe combining my skills of individual advocacy and my passion for systemic and policy change will help achieve changes that are needed.  I have dedicated my professional life to advocating for those who often have no voice in an oppressive system and defending people’s Constitutional rights.

What solutions, if any, do you propose to address concerns surrounding neighborhood safety and criminal justice in Akron?

Community policing and restorative justice will reduce the us/them barrier between our community and the police. Young people, people of color, and women are often unsafe when calling/ interacting with police. People refrain from calling due to the fear of escalating a bad situation.

Ensuring there is accountability with teeth for police misconduct is essential. This change requires new police policies, negotiating a new police labor contract, empowering Citizen Oversight Committee to name a few and extensive training in our department.

Keeping our neighborhoods safe is often separate from our current police department. Police are most often are called after a crime has occurred. Community organizing for porchlight usage, gardening, and beautification reduce crime. Access to drug treatment, living wage employment, education, civic involvement, community volunteering, mental health services, reentry programs, all dramatically affect safety in our community.

What steps, if any, do you think the city should take to address housing insecurity in Akron?

We need to pass legislation to ensure the active involvement of out-of-city landowners with their property and our community. Tenants must have more education and an easier onramp to escrow their rent when their rental property’s conditions are intolerable. Tenants also need protection from retaliatory evictions/ non lease renewals. We need to explore housing and zoning codes changes that allow for the establishment of smaller lots and smaller than usual size new builds. We need more resources and community support for low income and elderly homeowners to keep up their homes as they age to safeguard their safety and generational wealth.

Aside from the issues addressed by previous questions, what other top priorities do you seek to address once in office, and how do you plan to accomplish those priorities?

All Akronites should be able to access and participate in our community and be treated fairly by and through our governmental systems. I want those goals to be at the forefront of Akron City Council decisions. Any policy making that limits access or treats sections of our community as second class citizens should not be considered. We must have strong principles that guide policymaking and decision.

I support summer and yearly programs to train the next generation for leadership and civic duty in our community. Work and intern programs help the youth learn new skills, from mural work to construction.

I support the current infrastructure programs that focus on water and sewer pollution issues. I also support an extension of the canopy program to assist residents in maintaining the older established trees in our Ward.

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Suggested Reading

Sam DeShazior

Democrat

Candidate email: sdeshazior@aol.com

Editor’s note: This candidate did not provide any additional information.

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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.