The Cuyahoga Falls Democratic Central Committee on Saturday voted to appoint Meika Penta of 23rd Street to fill the vacant at-large seat that Paul Colavecchio resigned effective Feb. 15th.
Penta, who is running against former Mayor Don Robart’s wife Cecilia Robart for the Ward 3 seat on council, will be officially sworn in Tuesday. She will hold the at-large seat until January 2020, at which point it will be taken over either by Tim Gorbach (D-At-large) or Russ Iona (R-8), who will face off for the seat in this year’s election.
Penta works in finance at an advertising firm and is also the mother of three children—her oldest will soon graduate from Cuyahoga Falls High School. She completed a degree at the University of Akron while working full time and has been known to volunteer at Western Reserve Hospital, as part of the city’s Adopt-a-Spot program, and for community cleanups. She challenged Councilman Vic Pallotta (R-3) for his Ward 3 seat in 2017, but was narrowly defeated.
Regarding Penta’s appointment, Mayor Don Walters said “Meika Penta has shown her passion for Cuyahoga Falls time and time again. As the Ward 3 candidate for the November election, this appointment will give her the experience to hit the ground running 1/1/20 as the next Ward 3 Council Representative.”
Council President Mary Nichols-Rhodes (D-4) said “Meika Penta has made a positive impact on our city over many years through community service. She makes a great addition to Cuyahoga Falls City Council.”
“I’m honored to be selected by my peers to complete the council-at-large term,” Penta said. “I’m proud to call Cuyahoga Falls home and looking forward to serving the many great residents and businesses in our community.”
Ward 3, where Penta hopes to win in November, is one of three wards of the city that will have new representation on council after this year’s election. In Ward 2, Mary Ellen Pyke (R-2) is not seeking reelection, leaving the seat to either Democrat Susan Anne Spinner or Republican Michael B. Washington. In Ward 8, Russ Iona’s seat will go to either the Democrat Frank Stam, a former Cleveland Brown, or the Republican, former community development director of the Robart administration Susan Truby.
