Mayor Seeks Mix of Experience and Fresh Ideas with Council Endorsements

Angie Charles
2 days ago
5 min read

Updated: 11 hours ago

Pribonic eyes team that will help him seal his legacy

NOTE: This is Part 3 of a four-article package about this year’s City Council elections. See links to other pieces at the end of this article.

By now, most Stow voters have seen the campaign literature sharing Mayor John Pribonic’s endorsements for Stow City Council At-Large.

There are five candidates running for three positions. The mayor has endorsed these three:

Cyle Feldman, current City Council President, with six years served. This would be his last two-year term;
Kyle Herman, who just completed his first two-year term, seeking re-election to a second two-year term;
Kim Young, a new candidate, has not held political office previously.

Together, with Drew Reilly, who is running unopposed for Law Director after being appointed in 2024 to the unexpired term of former Law Director Jaime Syx, these candidates make up the “Mayor’s Slate” of endorsed candidates for City Hall.

We asked Pribonic why he chose to endorse these Council At-Large candidates. Here’s what he had to say:

Cyle Feldman

“I’m heading into my last two years as mayor and I’d like to see the city on good footing when I leave,” he said. “We have an excellent administrative staff working in City Hall, excellent workers throughout the city, but we need to ensure they are supported by City Council members who share the vision for what we want to accomplish in Stow.”

“Cyle, Kyle and Kim bring a varied set of life and career experiences that will be of great benefit to the city over the next two years,” he said.

“I want to see a mix of experienced and newer council members because when I leave, Cyle Feldman, who’s been an awesome partner as council president, will be leaving his role on council as well,” he said. “We need Cyle to help keep the train on the tracks over the next two years as the newer members gain their footing.”

“His experience with the schools (as athletic director) and his tireless advocacy for building new sidewalks, bringing in new restaurants and adding a city communications specialist are things we will continue to work on with him. With the re-election of Herman and election of Young, we think we can get those things done.” (See Feldman's website here.)

Pribonic credited Feldman, Herman, Ward 2 Councilwoman Kelly Coffey and Ward 3 Councilman John Baranek for helping to usher in some key city goals, including:

The new senior & community center on Fishcreek Rd.
The Amp entertainment district project planned at the Norton Rd. plaza
Acquisition of 39 acres wetlands to protect greenspace in Ward 4 off Steels Corners Rd.
Approval of safety initiatives like the addition of School Resource Officers for Stow-Munroe Falls Schools; expansion of the city’s use of flock cameras to aid the police department in solving crimes and making arrests; and the continuation of a program that provides a drug prevention counselor in Stow schools.

Kyle Herman

Herman, Pribonic said, brings to council an enthusiasm for new ideas that will help the city continue to develop in a way that benefits all the city's families. (See his website here.)

“His advocacy for preserving green space, like the wetlands, while also pushing for a reimagining of development along Rt. 91 for a possible future downtown area are things that Stow residents have said they want,” Pribonic said.

“Kyle’s worked tirelessly along with city staff on the planning and zoning code update project, a huge endeavor that will have lasting implications for our city for many years,” he said. “His efforts to push the city to partner with the non-profit group Power a Clean Future Ohio sets us up to find ways to make the city more energy-efficient, which will save the taxpayers money.”

Kim Young

Young, Pribonic said, will help balance out the talent on City Council with someone who, as a recently retired businesswoman, has a finger on the pulse of our city’s senior community. (See Young's website here.)

“Kim is an engaging, smart woman who will bring common sense along with the professional collaboration, team work and negotiation skills honed over many years of working in business,” Pribonic said. “Kim understands the needs, concerns and desires of our seniors, who make up one-third of our city’s population. We need their voice represented in a meaningful way in every decision that the city makes as these folks have been the backbone of our community for so many years.”

Kim’s legislative priorities align with the mayor’s goals as well, he said.

“We want to build a strong community for everyone who lives here, where they can grow their families, send them to strong schools and age in place when they get older. Having amenities that address every age group in Stow is critical to keeping residents here and making Stow attractive for new residents,” he said.

Looking Ahead

Pribonic said he has a few things he’d still like to accomplish, with the help of Feldman, Herman and Young.

“We do need to revisit hiring a city communications specialist,” which was voted down this year by council.

“With no city newspaper, we’re having a hard time reaching folks with information on what’s going on in our city,” Pribonic said. “We need someone whose only job is to make sure the city is communicating on a regular basis in ways that we’re able to reach our residents with information they want and need.”

“We’re also working on a Master Arts Plan, which will need the commitment of council for that to come to fruition,” he said. “Residents really like the art on the utility boxes and we want to find other ways to distinguish Stow as a fun, welcoming community that leverages the talents of our residents.”

“We’ve been very frugal as an administration with taxpayers’ dollars, and we’ll continue to act responsively,” Pribonic said. “Reilly, our fire and police chiefs and others on our team have spent countless hours looking for and applying for various grants that can be used to help us fund projects. We need to find ways to free up more of their time for those efforts, which save the city money while allowing us to fund new initiatives. Having Cyle, Kyle and Kim on council to support those efforts will enable us to work at a faster pace on initiatives we collaborate on together.”

The other two candidates running for Council At-Large are incumbent Jeremy McIntire (see story that explains why he didn’t earn the mayor’s endorsement here); and Josh Wall, a young man who, according to his website, attended Stow schools while growing up in low-income housing. No additional information about education or job experience is provided.

Other Stories in our 2025 Stow Election Coverage