North Olmsted School Board member John Lasko and family check election results during the May 5 primary.

Kennedy, Lasko reach general election
By Jeff Gallatin
North Olmsted
Published May 13, 2009

For Kevin Kennedy and John Lasko, the race to become mayor moves forward while incumbent Thomas O’Grady and Tim Smith drop out.

Current City Council President Kennedy led the quartet of candidates in the May 5 primary voting with 2,832 votes while North Olmsted School Board member and Municipal Planning and Design Commission Chairman Lasko took second with 1,807 votes. O’Grady, the incumbent who was seeking his second full term as mayor was third with 1,408, while businessman Tim Smith got 670 votes in his first try at political office.

Kennedy said he was pleased with how the vote turned out.

“I am thrilled that our message of change got out to voters in North Olmsted and that they responded positively,” he said. “I am thankful to the voters for putting their trust in me.”

Lasko said he appreciated people’s support in the race and that he was encouraged by the vote.

“We got a late entry into the race in February so I believe we did really well in getting that many votes,” Lasko said. “We have what I would call momentum and we can carry that support into the November balloting.”

O’Grady said he supports the end result of  the primary voting.

“Our citizens have spoken and I am at peace with their decision,” O’Grady said. “I congratulate those who are moving forward and wish them and our city the best.”

Smith said he was happy as well.

“It was a pretty good effort and I appreciate the number of people who supported me and offered encouragement throughout the race,” he said.

City Council President Kevin Kennedy and his family celebrate his leading the votes in the primary. (West Life photos by Larry Bennet)

Kennedy, who was endorsed by all seven of  the other members of City Council, several former council members, the Cuyahoga County Democratic Party and the city Democratic Club, said the support of those groups, volunteers and many others played a key role in his primary victory. He said there is a lot of work remaining to be done before the general election in November.

“We’re going to continue to work toward some needed change in the administration of the city,” he said. “We will be responsive to people and their needs.’

Kennedy quipped that he was going to make some much needed changes and catch up on yardwork around his home.

“Then it’s back to work on continuing to get our message out to the voters.”

He said he will continue his work in city neighborhoods and businesses.

“I will be knocking on your door between now and November,” he said.

Lasko said he intends to utilize the aforementioned momentum in bridging the gap between his and Kennedy’s votes.

“We’re going to be talking to and working with a lot of people in the coming months,” he said. “We’re getting a lot of enthusiasm and reaction to what we’re doing and that will continue. Don’t forget that this was a primary election and that we would expect more people to vote in the general election. In addition there were more than 2,000 votes cast for other candidates. All of those votes are available now and we will work to go out and get them.”

O’Grady said a number of factors went into his unsuccessful bid.

“The economy certainly played a role in this,” he said. “When economic conditions are bad then incumbents tend to have a tougher time of it. I’m still proud of the different projects we got done and financial fine tuning of government we’ve done.”

O’Grady said he believed fliers distributed by the city fire union in the waning days of the primary also played a role.

“There was harsh and misleading information on those and people seeing them had to have them in their head,” he said. “There also was harsh information coming out of the Kennedy camp which played a role. But, my opponents also worked very hard on the overall campaign and it paid off.”

O’Grady, who was a teacher at North Olmsted Middle School while he served on city council said he will take some time to decide his next move.

“I could go back into education as a teacher at that level or as an adjunct professor on the collegiate level,” he said.

O’Grady also noted he will be finishing the educational requirements to be a principal. He also cited his experience in the business and government sectors.

“I have some options, but right now, we will continue to run the city government as efficiently as we can the next few months and we will work on a smooth transition with whoever wins in November,” he said.

Smith, who has run Joe D’s printing for more than 20 years, said now that he has tried it, he will remain active in city affairs.

“I’ve already been busy with a lot of different groups in sports and the community,” he said. “But, I will take a more active role in civic affairs. And, I do have some work to catch up on at the business.”