It's Official: Nowlin, Juris Selected to Fill Council Seats

The two Lakewood men tentatively selected to fill two open seats on Lakewood City Council were officially approved by council Monday night.

Ryan Nowlin was OK'd for the at-large seat, and Shawn Juris got the go-ahead for Ward 3. The posts were vacated when Nickie Antonio was elected to represent District 13 in the Ohio House of Representatives and Michael Summers was appointed to the city's mayoral post.

Mayor Ed FitzGerald was elected to become Cuyahoga County's first county executive — a new form of county government, set to take effect Jan. 1.

Nowlin, an attorney practicing family law, has some experience in city government. He currently serves on the city's board of zoning appeals. He is also a member of the Citizen's Advisory Committee and works with the Lakewood YMCA as the chairman of the advisory board.

Juris, the owner of the Juris Agency, has a background in finances — appropriate for the upcoming issue of balancing the city's budget. He's involved with the Pillars of Lakewood project. Juris also served as a member of the board of directors for the Barton Center and the Lakewood Chamber of Commerce.

Juris will finish Summers' four-year term with one year left, and Nowlin is also appointed through 2011. Both would have to run again at the end of the year to retain the seat.

"There were 40 excellent applicants ... which makes this accomplishment even more impressive," said Ward 2 Councilman Tom Bullock. "(During the selection process) I found myself wishing that we had more than two candidates to appoint — we had the happy kind of a problem."

FitzGerald — who was attending his last of more than 300 council meetings — agreed.

"This is not the norm," he said of the smooth appointment process. "There are a lot of government bodies where that does not happen. The pubic appreciates that process."

"These choices are also unusual in that they are the result of leadership development, FitzGerald added.

The interviews took place in public meetings and the discussions of each candidate in closed-door council sessions — but the process was in accordance with Ohio's Sunshine Laws.

The two candidates are expected to be sworn-in Jan. 2 — the same day as mayor-in-waiting Summers.

"I am looking forward to earning the trust of everybody else beyond the five people who voted here," Juris said.