Introducing the 2023 Upper Arlington Candidates
Welcome UA voters! Early voting starts October 11, 2023 and Election day is November 7, 2023. LeadershipUA wants residents to be informed and equipped with information to make their decisions. Each candidate for Upper Arlington City Council and Board of Education were asked to succinctly answer two questions. Below are their submitted responses and websites. To learn more please join us October 5th for LeadershipUA’s Candidate Night.
If you are unable to attend, the recorded Q&A Forum can be viewed via the following link:
View the Recording: LeadershipUA's Candidates Night 2023
Passcode: LM0+n2?F
A link to the Q&A Forum is also available via the City’s Insight Email.
2023 GENERAL ELECTION | NOVEMBER 7, 2023
Military & Overseas Absentee Voting: Begins September 22
Deadline to Register to Vote: October 10
Early In-Person Voting: October 11 and includes the Saturday and Sunday before Election Day.
Absentee Voting By Mail: Begins October 11
Election Day: November 7 (Polls Open 6:30 a.m. - 7:30 p.m.)
City Council Candidates
John Kulewicz
Why are you running for office?
I seek re-election to the UA City Council in order to continue the work begun four years ago. We are making the operations of our city government more open and accessible to all. We are trying to maximize what we do with our pools, parks and recreation services. We are providing with increased efficiency the basic amenities that allow each of us and our families to pursue our own purposes in life. It is vitally important to our community to move forward with our progress toward each of these objectives.
If elected, what is your top priority?
My top priority if re-elected will be timely completion of the Community Center within budget. The Community Center is the largest above-ground project that the City of UA has ever undertaken. Its opening will be beneficial to everyone in our community.
Heidi Munc
Why are you running for office?
I am running for City Council to ensure that we balance progress and preservation over the next two decades while Central Ohio experiences rapid growth.
If elected, what is your top priority?
Drive strategic and sustainable economic development while building resilience for future.
- We are a suburban city of mostly single-family homes but there is a need to build other types of housing stock – particularly options that are attainable to our aging population who can’t afford to stay in their home, but want to continue to live in UA.
- Young families looking a place to call home are now interested in more than schools. They also want neighborhoods with unique local businesses that create differentiated spaces.
- It is important that any new development in UA considers resiliency to climate change. Central Ohio is going to get wetter and windier, and we need to ensure that we are getting power lines underground and preserving adequate green spaces to help absorb runoff water. These considerations should play an important role in the planning process.
Andrej Rotter
Why are you running for office?
I am running for Upper Arlington City Council because I am deeply committed to the well-being and progress of our community. I believe that through effective leadership, transparent governance, and a focus on sustainable development, we can create a brighter future for all residents. By serving on the City Council, I aim to contribute my skills and passion to help shape the positive changes our city needs.
If elected, what is your top priority?
If elected to the Upper Arlington City Council, my top priority will be advancing environmental sustainability and reducing our carbon footprint. I am dedicated to implementing policies and initiatives that promote clean energy, reduce waste, and enhance green spaces, with the aim of making our city a model of eco-friendly living. By fostering a greener community, we can safeguard our environment for future generations and lead by example in the fight against climate change.
Todd Walter
Why are you running for office?
I have been involved in Upper Arlington community activities my entire life and I want to continue to see experienced and reasonable people leading our community. My wife and I chose to raise our family here because it is a safe city with terrific people, good schools, and a strong sense of community and civic engagement. By seeking a seat on council, I plan to use my educational, professional, and volunteer experiences to improve Upper Arlington for our children, our residents, and the next generation of families. My experience includes:
• Educational: Georgetown University Law Center (J.D.), Miami University (B.S. in finance), Upper Arlington High School.
• Work: 20 years as a business lawyer focused on real estate development, capital markets, finance, and investments, Seasoned executive experienced at leading organizations and teams, building trust, and delivering results, Bellwether Enterprise Real Estate Capital, LLC, Executive Vice, President and Chief Legal Officer, Rockbridge Capital, LLC, Executive Vice President and General Counsel, Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP, Associate.
• Civic Engagement: Co-chair of Citizens for UA Schools (successful 2022 school levy), Upper Arlington Community Center Task Force, Treasurer’s Financial Advisory Committee for UA Schools, Youth sports coach for girls soccer, flag football, UA youth football, Bear Cub baseball, UAJBA baseball
If elected, what is your top priority?
To bring a reasonable, rational approach to Upper Arlington City Council. My history and my passion are to be a bridge builder willing to listen, learn, engage in dialogue, and find consensus around the issues at hand. We are all neighbors, and our agreements are so much greater than our differences. It is important that we can disagree on matters of substance without being disagreeable. I will bring an open and transparent approach to Upper Arlington City Council. Upper Arlington has long prided itself in having a non-partisan council of residents leading our city. For that reason, I am not seeking a political party endorsement and I am running to be solely focused on doing what is best for Upper Arlington – not to serve the interests of any political party. My goal is to leave this city better than I found it by ensuring that our community is safe, our city services are excellent, our finances are sound, and our city's economy is strong. I will work together with you to build a better future for our community.
School Board Candidates
Glen Dugger
Why are you running for office?
There are a number of reasons I’m running for office. First and foremost, I have 2 grandchildren in the District, and two more who are a couple years away. I want my grandchildren to receive the extraordinary opportunities in the UA schools that I, my wife and my children received. As a family, we have always focused our energy in support of the Upper Arlington Public Schools. While my wife Joanie ran 4 school levy campaigns, it was a family affair, my kids delivered yard signs, and stuffed envelopes and I helped dial for votes. I was President of the UA Ed Foundation board for two years, and during the 17 years Joanie ran the ED Foundation, I felt we were embedded in the schools, I knew what was happening and how things were going. After Joanie left the Foundation, although I remained the announcer for the girls lacrosse team and the boys hockey team, I felt I’d lost contact with something very important. As I reached age 64, I decided the District was where I wanted to refocus my time, energy and expertise as I had done for virtually all my time since having children. As a real estate development attorney, familiar with complex real estate tax, finance and bond issues, I have a skillset unrepresented on the Board, and one which is needed by the largest business in the City.
If elected, what is your top priority?
If elected, I believe my top priority is to work with the administration, parents and teachers to re-establish excellence in the classroom. I hope to encourage excellence in every program and activity in the schools, from the middle school orchestra to the girls water polo team to the third grade reading program to the high school special ed classroom. If we believe its worth doing in our schools, we should strive to give every student the absolute best experience in that activity, whatever it may be. Historically, Upper Arlington Schools have been known as one of, if not the finest, school districts in the state of Ohio. My priority will be to return Upper Arlington to pre-eminence.
Ruth Edmonds
Why are you running for office?
I am running for the open seat on the Upper Arlington School Board to bring common sense leadership, not micromanagement to support the Superintendent and the District in its focus on student learning and academic achievement so that we maintain competitive A+ position.
If elected, what is your top priority?
There are four essential A.S.A.P. priorities I will consider in policy governance when I'm on the Board. Does the policy enhance; Academic excellence, School spirit, Accountability in finances, Parental engagement?
Jenny McKenna
Why are you running for office?
When I ran in 2019 I saw the Upper Arlington Board of Education missing an important perspective, a parent with children currently in Upper Arlington Public schools. As an active PTO member, a volunteer chair on the levy campaign committee, and a member of the Barrington Building Steering committee, I believe that I had the unique qualifications to fill that void. My first campaign was centered on the value of diversity, equity, and inclusion, individual well being and empowering all of our students with the tools, resources and support they need to thrive in the world after they graduate. Those issues are more important now than they have ever been, and I remain passionately committed to ensuring they remain at the center of our mission.
I have learned a lot about our district over the last four years. Not only did we find a way to tap into the community's resilience to lead our children through unprecedented times together, we also faced the challenge of finding a new superintendent to help lead our district into a new era of education and opportunity. As the board liaison that helped lead the search for our new superintendent I knew it was important to find a person who valued DEI, student well being and STEM and who had a vision for how we continue to be a lighthouse district in Ohio.
The next four years will require our board and district to create a new strategic plan that will encompass the values of balance and belonging, whole learning and continuous improvements. The value of having an incumbent member of our board who has helped to lead our district through the last four years will be of central importance to our success over the next four years.
If elected, what is your top priority?
Over the last four years our world has changed in ways nobody could have anticipated. I am proud to have been an integral part of leading our district through unprecedented times by engaging with members of our community from a variety of backgrounds to open new schools, keep an “all means all” commitment as our core mission and deliver on the core initiatives of our strategic plan. My top priority will be to continue this work and to ensure that our next strategic plan encompasses the values of balance and belonging, whole learning, and continuous improvement while also prioritizing comprehensive STEM programming for K-12. I will also work hard collaborating with all stakeholders to create a plan that is reflective of our community's values and prepares our students to serve, lead, and exceed after they graduate.
Sumia Mohamed
Why are you running for office?
I’m running to give back to the community and to the country that has given so much to me. I want to bring my professional and global life experiences as a mother, environmental scientist, researcher, teacher, PTO volunteer and Sudanese New American to the UA Board of Education, building on our strong academic foundations, improving our school's ability to function well over the long-term and making our children and graduates ready for the world.
If elected, what is your top priority?
As a School Board member, I will use the holistic thinking approach that I've cultivated throughout my career as a researcher and scientist, thereby nurturing our learning environment in the following ways:
- Restored leadership - Creating a patient environment within the school board itself and working with all and for all to champion every student in their pursuit of knowledge, empower every teacher/staff in their field of expertise, and partner with every family to ensure that each child has the opportunity to be challenged, supported, fulfilled, and attain achievement.
- Make our graduates ready for the world - I will ensure our children receive equal access to educational opportunities and the resources needed to provide those opportunities, whether in the classroom or in their extracurricular activities.
- Work toward a well-rounded and thriving student body - all children are deserving of having their wellbeing and identity honored, so they can feel empowered and retain the knowledge shared in the classroom. This is how we will elicit the best out of them, in the short and long term. If elected, I will examine our learning environment to make sure our resources address the uniqueness of all children, whether they need an IEP, love art, want to take AP classes, play a sport, pursue a trade or the military, and any other needs.
Liz George Stump
Why are you running for office?
I am excited to build brighter futures for our kids through empowering teachers to deliver 21st century education. As a parent of a 4th grader and 6th grader in UA Schools, I’ve been living firsthand the challenges of educating our community the last few years. I believe it’s critically important to bring my leadership capabilities to the BoE to ensure we stay focused on building a culture of understanding and respect while addressing inequities of experience within the district, fostering operational excellence to support students, teachers, and families, and anticipating the future and adapting to changing trends nationally and worldwide.
If elected, what is your top priority?
Our district is fundamentally sound - the challenge facing our community is imagining the next phase of educational evolution. I'm excited to bring together our administration, educators, students and families, and broader community to find our common goals and design and implement educational programs beyond the basics, ensuring all our students feel like they belong and equipping them with all the skills they need for adulthood.
Lori Trent
Why are you running for office?
As an incumbent, an educator, parent and active community member, I am driven to make UA Schools the best we can be! I have proven my commitment to public education and demonstrated my leadership experience by serving in many capacities, as well as board president for the last two years.
In my first term, we have managed a Covid pandemic, expanded our mental health initiatives, and implemented a MTSS system to provide individualized learning for every UA student. With a new superintendent and administration, I have helped ensure that the right changes are being made. I am building bridges to innovative initiatives that provide more options for students and better prepares them for our ever-changing, unpredictable world.
Our work on the Board has paid off: On the recently released Ohio Department of Education 2022-2023 school district report card, the Upper Arlington CSD is 1 of just 8 districts in the entire state to earn a five-star overall rating as well as earning five stars in each of the five separate components on the report card. This is our second five-star overall rating in a row, so we are great and getting better. I am 100% focused on delivering the highest-quality education to our students, and won’t be distracted by politics because I am focused on the future, yet respecting the past.
If elected, what is your top priority?
My top priority is supporting every single student. I am devoted to supporting a culture of belonging, kindness, inclusion, and sincere respect for one another. I believe that every student is talented and gifted, they may just need to have some guidance to help them discover their talents and gifts. I recognize that Upper Arlington Schools are the prized jewel of our community and I am going to keep us on the right path to continued success and recognition. I have worked with countless students over my 30+ years living in this district and I believe that this community shares two very important values – we all care deeply about our children and want what is best for them and we all care deeply about our community and one another. Upper Arlington is a warm, generous, inviting community that truly cares about all of its neighbors. The amount of generosity that I have witnessed over the years in helping one another is unmatched in any community that I know of.