Correction:
This article has been corrected to reflect that Sam DeShazior worked for the Neighborhood Development Corp.
The 13 members of Akron City Council represent 10 wards, with three at-large seats, and form the elected legislative body that runs the city. They review, sponsor and vote on the local laws that govern the city and approve its capital and operating budgets.
Council members hold regular ward meetings for their constituents. They also meet as a body on Monday evenings at 6:30 p.m. in Akron Council Chambers on the third floor of the Akron Municipal Building.
Meet the candidates below who are running for the Ward 1 City Council seat in the May 6 primary election.
Emily Durway
“We all have very similar desires for our wards. We have a desire for safety. We have a desire for security. We have a desire for housing. We have a desire for all those things for each of our communities,” Emily Durway said, reflecting on what drives her mission to represent Ward 1 residents.
Her vision for Akron is rooted in building connections between neighbors. It’s important to interact with constituents on a more intimate basis, Durway said, which could mean meeting in apartment complex community rooms, hosting block social hours at residents’ homes or having a rotating calendar of the dates and times for ward meetings.
Early voting for the May 6 primary election begins Tuesday, April 8. In-person early voting is available on select dates and times through May 5. Registered voters can also request an absentee ballot by mail through April 29; it must be postmarked by May 5.
The polls will be open May 6 from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 pm.
And she wants to build a community where neighbors rely on each other.
“I’d like to see if there’s a way that we could start sort of a collective movement where we work with people on our own street and help each other maintain our houses, in order to help improve our neighborhoods,” she said.
She wants to work with neighborhood organizations to put together educational classes and workshops for residents. An example would be a class for teaching homeowners how to properly care for their trees. And she wants to make sure there are resources for people who can’t afford upkeep.
The preservation and expansion of Akron’s tree canopy, while important citywide, is very specific to Ward 1, Durway said. The goal is to prioritize maintenance so that the priority is not planting new trees, which take time to grow.
Suggested Reading
“We have a lot of old trees,” Durway said. “I’d like to see those old trees, which often become a burden to the homeowners and to the street owners — they can endanger the house, obviously, and lives — like having ways that we can maintain them because it’s so important to maintain that canopy.”
In addition to neighborhood preservation, Durway is committed to supporting the arts community and access to art in Akron. Outside of her role as an attorney with the Stark County Public Defender Office, Durway is a theater performer and photographer and volunteers with Akron PorchRokr, among other activities.
The arts are vital to economic development, she said, and they keep people in the ward and the community for a longer period of time.
“It’s something that gets people to stay and raise kids here,” she said.
Fran Wilson
When talking about how to improve public safety in Akron, Fran Wilson likes to separate the concept from conversations around police reform.
“Honestly, public safety to me means neighborhood resources,” Wilson said. “Do people have adequate food on their table, a roof over their heads, a job, or some way to get income? Do they feel connected with the people that are living on their block?”
It’s about building a “stronger block,” where people are better connected, which comes down to funding and building relationships, Wilson said. What does Wilson want? They want to see more vacant properties repurposed into things like community gardens and they want to revamp the housing codes and enforce penalties on negligent landlords.
“This is a life or death issue, and this is a quality of life issue,” Wilson said, in particular referring to housing developments where people have become sick or died because of poor living conditions.
In terms of policing, Wilson wants to stop the “political games” and stalling when it comes to City Council making decisions about police reform. And Wilson wants to empower the Citizens’ Police Oversight Board to do its job, rather than blocking it.
Time and time again, Akron residents have said that they want the police department to be held accountable, Wilson said — it’s why voters overwhelmingly passed Issue 10, which established the oversight board following the killing of Jayland Walker by Akron police.
Wilson’s campaign, in part, is centered around listening — or public input, as they phrase it. As a frequent attendee at Akron City Council meetings, Wilson is an advocate for removing the current public comment limits. They find the current format, which limits public comment at each meeting to 10 individuals for three minutes each, with a 30-day period before an individual can sign up again, “unacceptable.”
“We need a City Council and a city government that is all right spending an hour or two hours or three hours listening to neighbors and their concerns and then acting on them,” Wilson said. “We cannot afford to cut neighbors out any longer.”
Wilson is enthusiastic about being involved in their community. They served on the Akron Civil Rights Commission and the West Hill Neighborhood Board and ran a campaign for council at large in 2023, although it was unsuccessful. Wilson is running again because they care deeply about Akron, and their neighborhood specifically, they said.
Samuel DeShazior
Incumbent Ward 1 Council Member Samuel DeShazior is focused on bringing economic development to Akron, he said.
DeShazior, who was appointed to fill the seat vacated when Nancy Holland resigned in January of 2024, said his experience in economic development includes his work in the mayoral administrations of both Don Plusquellic and Dan Horrigan.
He served as director of business retention and expansion for the City of Akron and deputy mayor of economic development, respectively. He also has worked with the Neighborhood Development Corp. and the Greater Akron Chamber.Â
“I think I got my pulse on what’s happening in the neighborhood, but also how to tie the neighborhoods to these industry leaders, so that we can be on the same page,” DeShazior said.
For DeShazior, public safety directly influences economic decisions — business owners and investors seek communities where safety is a priority, and it can be the “linchpin” for cities seeking to thrive, he said.
But for that to happen, the city needs to be on the same page about how to accomplish providing safety for Akron, and that includes first responders like the police department and sheriff’s department, he said. While he admits he does not have all the answers, DeShazior said he wants to look for cities that are utilizing public safety initiatives to promote economic growth and use them as a benchmark.
“If we can improve and make people feel warm and fuzzy every time you cross over into the corporate lines of Akron, it’s going to make you want to be closer,” DeShazior said. “It’s going to make you feel more apt to want to start your business here and to make an investment.”
Beyond public safety, DeShazior’s strategy for economic development includes an emphasis on business retention and expansion. He said that as Akron adjusts to the changing economy, the city is going to need to retool itself. One example is repurposing former business spaces into housing.
Another key aspect of his economic vision includes continued support of “environmentally sensitive” development programs, like the city’s lead service line removal program or tree canopy preservation initiatives, DeShazior said.
His approach is to focus on long-term thinking — investing in projects that might not pay off immediately but will create lasting benefits for Akron’s future.
“Not only are you planning for today, as I always say, you’re planning for a time that maybe you will never see,” DeShazior said.
