A Strange Twist in Ward 6: Fairlawn Councilwoman will Run for Seat She Just Vacated

Kathleen Baum resigned as Ward 6 councilwoman in Fairlawn, but it looks like she'll only be out of office about a month.

Baum left her post July 31, citing "recent decisions of the OPERS (Ohio Public Employee Retirement System) Board."

But in an odd twist, it appears she will serve out the remainder of her term, with a short break this summer.

Council President Russ Sharnsky said Baum, a former school teacher who later worked for the Fairlawn Police Department for about a decade, retired from that job to run for City Council.

But the timing of the two positions — jumping from one job directly to the next — apparently violated a technicality in OPERS regulations, meaning she could not collect her retirement earnings.

"It was going to impact her retirement," Sharnsky said.

So she tendered her resignation July 31, leaving the final two years of her term up for grabs in the November election.

But as of the deadline last week, only one candidate had filed to run for the unexpired Ward 6 term — Baum.

In the meantime, Sharnsky said that under the city charter, council has 30 days — until the end of August — to appoint a replacement who will represent Ward 6 till the end of this year.

So far, there's one applicant: Again, Baum.

Other interested individuals have until Aug. 15 to apply to fill the Ward 6 seat till the end of the year.