Council Predicts Strong Leader in New Ward 3 Rep

North Canton City Council members have homed in on who they'd like to see as the next Ward 3 councilperson.

Council plans to make the announcement at a special meeting at 5:30 p.m. today inside Council Chambers. Patch will run its story naming the new councilperson at 5 p.m. today.

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Ward 2 Councilman Jeff Peters, also head of the Personnel and Safety Committee, said council members came to a consensus on their pick for the next Ward 3 councilperson in executive session on Monday night.

"I think (this person) is going to be one of the strongest leaders on this council," Peters said, adding the candidate stood out among the rest.

"We went around and asked (each councilperson) to rank their top two or three and why," Peters said. "I think through that ranking it was pretty clear that there was going to be a consensus. There really was one that stuck out pretty clearly. (The candidate) interviewed very well, had a very impressive resume and we think is going to be a good edition.”

Council will vote Wednesday and also swear in the new candidate.

The candidates who applied are:

• Kevin Frank, owner of Frank Properties, Ltd., where he manages and rents real estate

• Michael S. Hale, building and grounds supervisor for North Canton City School District

• Clyde E. Kemp, Jr., a former local U.S. Census Bureau office manager in Canton from 2008 to 2010

• Todd LePage, vice president of Whitacre Engineering Company (LePage later withdrew his application.)

• Rick McLaughlin, a national sales representative for Alliance Shippers, who served as Ward 3 councilman from 1992 to 2003

• Chuck Osborne, who served as at-large councilman from 2001 to 2003 and 2010 U.S. Census Bureau team leader. Osborne also ran for council-at-large in November 2011.

• James A. Repace, who served as at-large councilman from 2005 to 2007. Repace is a former president of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1985, which represented Hoover Co. workers

• Stephanie Snow Werren, development director for Leadership Stark County, a department of the Canton Regional Chamber of Commerce