Trustees fill seat left vacant by official’s death

Sheffield Township trustees appointed David M. Newsome at their regular meeting on March 10 to fill the open seat left vacant by the death of Mark D. Horton last month.

“I personally looked into legal counsel like I should have and asked what qualifications this person should have and I was told that the best person with the knowledge of the job should go in there,” said Trustee Tim Mihalcik.

Mihalcik said that the board received about six applications and its familiarity with Newsome along with his qualifications made its decision very easy.

The appointment was made at the board’s regular monthly meeting held at 5166 Clinton Ave. The meeting was tense at times and was attended by about eight people who were in strong opposition to board’s appointment, and was described as chaotic by Mihalcik.

“You couldn’t have a responsible meeting because you couldn’t tell people you were trying to fill the position with the most qualified person,” Mihalcik said.

Newsome, 47, is a buildings and grounds supervisor for Bay Village City Schools. He previously served on the board for 12 years starting in 2006 before being narrowly defeated by Horton in 2015. Newsome will fill the remainder of Horton’s term that expires in November at which time an election will be held.

Horton, 64, was killed Feb. 12 in a two-vehicle crash on state Route 58 in Wellington while he was on his way to a union event in Columbus.