John M. Baranek

Nonpartisan

Training/experience: Certified Public Accountant (Ohio); 45 years of experience in public and private accounting and finance.  Received various awards from the Ohio Auditor of State Office and Ohio Treasurer Office along with GFOA awards for Financial Presentations

Campaign phone: 330-730-3497

Campaign email address: financestow@gmail.com

Education: M.B.A. – Business ; B.B.A. – Accounting

Previous public office: City of Stow Director of Finance – 24 years; Stow City Council – 1.5 years

Why are you the best candidate for the office?

In all of my public positions held, I worked with local residents and other elected officials to provide the necessary services and improvements for the City to move forward economically and help to establish guidelines for new construction and improvements for residents in Ward 3, and the rest of the City.

What are the top priorities you seek to address once in office?

Continue the City to move forward with improvements for the residents and expand the City commercial/industrial tax base to help fund any service expansion for public safety and residential recreation needs.  Continue to expand the City’s Community/Senior Center programs activities while providing input for the City’s Amphitheatre Project.  Work with local companies for their continued support for all of the City’s services and residential activities.

What strategies will you use to accomplish those priorities?

The main strategy is to work with all members of Council, Administration, and residents to provide excellent ideas to keep  the City of Stow moving forward and staying financially sound for future developments.

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.