Local elections will be held Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025. To vote, a person must carry either a driver’s license or photo ID issued by the Ohio BMV, a military ID, or a U.S. passport or passport card, and be registered to vote in the state. Polls are open between 6:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m.
Oberlin Municipal Court Judge
Two candidates are running to replace Oberlin Municipal Court Judge Thomas A. Januzzi, who is retiring after serving as judge since 2001. The Oberlin Municipal Court judge presides over criminal and civil cases, as well as a small claims court. They issue rulings on municipal ordinance violations, misdemeanors, money and property recovery, and other local cases. In addition, the judge manages the court building and staff. The judge must be a licensed attorney that lives within their area of jurisdiction, and may serve for six years once elected. The Oberlin Municipal Court’s jurisdiction includes the municipalities of Amherst, Oberlin, Wellington, Brighton, Camden, Henrietta, Huntington, Kipton, New Russia, Penfield, Pittsfield, Rochester, and South Amherst.
Farah Emeka, Esq., OC ’97, is a Senior Associate Attorney with business law firm Gertsburg Licata, where she practices litigation, probate and estate, and family law. In addition, she currently serves as the Chief Prosecutor and Assistant Law Director for the Oberlin Municipal Court. Emeka would be the first Black person, the first woman, and the first Oberlin resident to hold the role.
Emeka stressed that her connections to the community would guide her service on the bench.
“Your judges have to come from your community,” Emeka said. “I think that’s important because then they … feel the weight of the decision they’re making and the work that they’re doing.”
Emeka would like to reestablish a diversion program in the court, which allows first-time offenders to complete community service without starting a criminal record. Additionally, Emeka is considering a special docket that would allow defendants that meet certain criteria to be directed to mental health and addiction services rather than be prosecuted.
Emeka is the president of the Oberlin School Board and will hold the position through the end of 2025. She has served on non-profit boards such as the Ruby N. Jones Community Scholarship Fund and Oberlin Street Law. Emeka has received endorsements from The Oberlin Review, The Chronicle-Telegram, Oberlin Chief of Police Ryan Warfield, and Oberlin City Council President and Oberlin College Science Library Head Librarian Eboni A. Johnson. While both candidates for judge are nonpartisan, Emeka won the Democratic Primary last May by a landslide.
Richard Ramsey, Esq., owns the private practice Richard S. Ramsey Co., LLC, where he practices probate and estate, business, family, and criminal defense law. He has been practicing in the Oberlin Municipal Court for 22 years. Ramsey was also the treasurer of the City of Amherst for 11 years, managing the Income Tax Department and the Treasury Department. In addition to his professional work, Ramsey serves as a judge for high school and college mock trials in the Cleveland area.
Ramsey received his undergraduate degree from Capital University in Columbus, OH, and his law degree from Cleveland-Marshall College of Law. According to his website, he externed with the Housing Advocates and the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices for the Northern District of Ohio, Eastern Division while in law school.
Ramsey hopes to facilitate more direct communication between prosecuting and defending attorneys as well as the judge in the Oberlin Municipal Court, allowing parties to collaborate to resolve criminal and civil cases.
“I really take it seriously that I need to keep my feet on the ground and my head level … and not let any kind of authority get to my head,” Ramsey said.
Oberlin School District Board of Eduction
Three seats are open on the Oberlin Board of Education, which oversees the Oberlin City School District. Five individuals are running for these seats: Melissa George, OC ’12, Rosa Gadsden, Sarah Reimer Dawson, JoAnne Steggall, and John M. LePelley.
Melissa George, OC ’12, is an Oberlin native and Oberlin College alum currently working at the College as the director of Afrikan Heritage House and a lecturer in the Africana Studies Department. Additionally, George has experience working in the Oberlin school system as a coach, substitute teacher, and tutor. George said that if elected, she will focus on three main goals: community engagement, support for athletes and extracurriculars, and bridging gaps between the College, the City, and the school district.
Rosa Gadsden is a Volunteer and Outreach Coordinator at Oberlin Community Services, a local non-profit organization that supports “low-income and vulnerable community members by providing food, financial assistance, referrals, educational outreach, and other basic needs.”
“I’m running to continue being a voice for people who have had to struggle,” Gadsden wrote in an email to the Review.
She also said that multigenerational ties to the Oberlin’s schools informed her commitment to the district. She and her daughter both attended Oberlin schools, and her grandaughter is a current student.
Sarah Reimer Dawson is a practicing psychotherapist, trained social worker, and parent of two children in Oberlin City Schools. In an email to the Review, she highlighted her personal and professional experience with the special education system.
“My goal is to advocate for the continuation and maintenance of existing services for special needs kids… [and] to serve as an advocate for, and liaison to, other special needs families,” she wrote.
JoAnne Steggall is an incumbent member of the school board running for a second term. She has three children who have gone through Oberlin City Schools — two currently in high school and one enrolled at the College.
“We’ve made some really wonderful progess at the school district, and I want to be part of continuing that progress,” she wrote in an email to the Review.
She said her main commitment in her second term would be to continue work on the district’s strategic plan, which includes plans for Educational Programming, Communication, Student and Family support, and Facilities and Finance.
John M. LePelley is the Chief Impact Officer at the Korda Institute for Teaching, a nonprofit organization that works with schools around the world to reshape teaching methods. He also worked for the Cleveland metropolitan School District for over a decade, including serving as Head of the Cleveland School of Arts for seven years.
The Oberlin Review was unable to contact LePelley, but information about his candidacy is accessible on the League of Women Voters page, vote411.org. On the website he emphasized his career experience and said his involvement in the district as a parent informed his values.
“As a parent of young twins, I’m committed to supporting teachers, fostering student growth, & ensuring our schools reflect Oberlin’s values,” he wrote.
City Council
Seven candidates are running for seven spots on the Oberlin City Council, making the Council election non-competitive. Six of these seven candidates are incumbent office-holders: Council President Eboni Johnson OC ’97, Libni López, Michael McFarlin, Jessa D. New, OC ’01, Kristin Peterson, OC ’72, and Joe Waltzer, OC ’98. Councilmember Ray English is not running for re-election.
The one non-incumbent candidate running is Sandra Miller. Miller is currently serving as the Vice Chair of the Underground Railroad Center Implementation Team, as well as a Public Sector Member on the Oberlin Community Improvement Corporation Board. Vote411.org describes her as a former small business owner.
Tax Levies
Ballot issue 1 is a proposed increase of a sales tax levy supporting criminal and administrative justice services in Lorain County. The current sales tax in Lorain County is 6.5 percent, and the increase would raise it to 6.75 percent.
Ballot issues 10, 11, 12, 23 and 24 are proposed renewals of tax levies supporting the Oberlin Public Library, the Oberlin City School District, and the City of Oberlin for garbage collection and “other expenses.” The maximum that could be collected on any of these levies ranges between 2 and 3.25 mills collected per dollar.
Ballot issue 19 is a proposed replacement of a tax levy for the Central Lorain County Joint Ambulance District, lowering the millage from 2.06 to 1.75 per dollar. The replacement would account for current property values, raising the collected amount despite the millage decrease.
