Lakewood's Unopposed Mayor to Keep His Seat

At least one election race in Lakewood came and went without much fanfare.

Mayor Michael Summers — last December after then-mayor Ed FitzGerald was elected as the Cuyahoga County executive — ran unopposed on Tuesday.

He still brought in 9,425 votes, according to complete by unofficial results from the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections.

On election night, Summers camped out at on Madison Avenue along with city council members — Mary Louise Madigan, Tom Bullock and Shawn Juris — who also ran unopposed.

“Running unopposed lessens the drama and the uncertainly and therefore it’s easy to understate the order of magnitude of being elected the mayor Lakewood,” Summers said. “It’s a great city, it’s a big job and these are challenging times. And I am very grateful for the opportunity to be the mayor of Lakewood.” 

Summers presented Lakewood Patch with his outlined objectives for the next four years. 

He said that in the next four years, he looks forward to making some “good, long-term moves,” that include “right-sizing city government” in response to state funding cuts.

In addition, he said the city will continue to focus its efforts on improving the city’s aging housing stock and strengthening the city’s commercial corridors.

Along with all of the returning council members, Summers will be sworn in on Jan. 2.