WESTLAKE, Ohio - Voters in three Westlake City Council wards will be voting this fall in contested races.
The candidates were invited to outline their platforms during a League of Women Voters forum last month at Porter Public Library. A video of the forum is available online.
In Ward 4, former law enforcement officer Michael Lamb is facing Todd LeVeck, a Navy veteran and retired teacher. The two are competing to fill the seat currently held by Michael O'Donnell.
Lamb and his wife have lived in Westlake for more than two decades, and their two daughters attended the Westlake City Schools. He is a former police officer with the Cleveland and Shaker Heights police departments. For the past six years, he has worked in security for a private organization.
He stressed the importance of public safety, city services, and low taxes.
"Every resident deserves to feel safe in their home, in their neighborhood, and throughout our city," Lamb said in a statement on his website.
He said he would invest in public safety resources, technology, and roads and infrastructure, while keeping taxes low.
"Just as important, we must keep our taxes extremely low because that's what makes Westlake the place where people and businesses want to move to," Lamb said at the League of Women Voters forum.
LeVeck said one of his goals as a city councilman would be to help the city provide a high level of services efficiently and cost-effectively.
"That means supporting thoughtful development that respects the community character, making Westlake more connected with safe sidewalks and bike lanes, and investing in parks and safety services so our residents continue to thrive," LeVeck said during the forum. "It means supporting our seniors with programs that get them connected with the community and offering opportunities for our youth to develop mentorship and leadership opportunities in the community."
LeVeck expressed support for recent improvements and additions to the city's athletic fields, including a new Parkside Athletic Field Complex with two turf fields and major renovations to the Recreation Center's baseball fields.
"I've been a baseball coach for probably most of my life and an athletic director, and I know what value the resources of fields are," LeVeck said at the forum. "I know that this year, in 2025, the city went into the reserves a little bit, but Westlake has 22 months of reserves. We're not going to run out of money. The city has been managed very well."
Lamb agreed that the city is managing its finances well, and said that a survey found that residents want the recreation improvements.
"One good thing about Westlake is having three accountants," Lamb said. "Two of them are on City Council, and one of them happens to be the mayor. They spend the city's money like an accountant would spend the money. They make sure that the money is available before they start spending it. The money for the fields was appropriated, and it was shown by a city survey that this was a need that the city wanted taken care of."
In Ward 3, Dave Del Regno and Michael A. Pasadyn Jr. are hoping to fill the seat currently held by Dennis J. Sullivan.
Del Regno is general manager of a Cleveland-area flooring company and has served on the Westlake Planning Commission and the Board of Building and Zoning Appeals. He has been a city resident for about 20 years. According to his website, he supports conscientious development in city neighborhoods, prioritization of the city's infrastructure, and maintaining fiscal responsibility.
Del Regno said he first became interested in City Council and started attending some council meetings after experiencing flooding in his neighborhood.
"I turned into kind of a voice for my neighborhood," he said during the league forum.
Pasadyn said he has over a decade of experience as a small business owner and is a board member of Westlake Youth Football. He has a bachelor's degree in public affairs from Cleveland State University. He said he supports the expansion of the city's small business and commercial tax base, investment in Westlake's public services, schools, and parks, as well as transparency.
Pasadyn said his business and coaching background helped prepare him to serve on City Council.
"I'm the chief operating officer for a local real estate brokerage," Pasadyn said at the forum. "I'm in charge of about 25 agents on a day-to-day basis, and if I can lead them and an entire squad of football kids, I think I'd be a pretty great selection for City Council and the city of Westlake."
Both candidates talked about the importance of maintaining and improving the city's infrastructure. Del Regno specifically talked about efforts to reduce sewer inflow and infiltration, which occurs when stormwater enters sewer pipes through cracks, leaky seals, or faulty or illegal connections. He complimented the city's efforts so far in that area.
Pasadyn talked about city development and new businesses coming in, which will require road, sewer, and other infrastructure improvements.
In Ward 1, incumbent City Councilman Duane Van Dyke is facing a challenge from Monte A. Hamaoui.
The League of Women Voters did not hold a forum in that race. Hamaoui, a Rocky River police officer, was not able to attend due to a scheduling conflict with work. Instead, the league invited audience members to speak directly with Van Dyke, who was in attendance, at the conclusion of the council candidate forum.
Cleveland.com interviewed both candidates.
Van Dyke has a bachelor's degree in environmental design from Miami University and is an architect and principal at Van Dyke Architects LLC. He has served on council since 2022 and has been a Ward 1 resident for 30 years.
One of the most important issues tackled by the city and City Council during his first term in office has been improvements to the city's recreational facilities, Van Dyke said. That includes installing artificial turf football/soccer fields at the Parkside Athletic Field Complex on Hilliard Boulevard between Columbia and Clague roads. A ribbon cutting was held on Oct. 25.
"After that, the next step is improvements to Clague Park - the Clague Park (baseball) fields and doing some revitalization of Clague Pond," he said.
Van Dyke, who is council's representative to the Planning Commission, said he is also involved in helping update the city's zoning codes.
"We've been going through it section by section and updating the zoning code to meet some of today's issues regarding multifamily homes, tree preservation, and the quality of building materials," he said.
Concerning his plans for the next four years, Van Dyke cited improvements to Clague Park, including a dredged and beautified Clague Pond, and at Meadowood Golf Course, with a new driving range and a plan for general improvements to the course.
His opponent, Monte A. Hamaoui, said that he decided to run for council to serve the community.
"I've always had this feeling of serving a cause greater than self," Hamaoui said. "I really wanted to become more involved in the city of Westlake. It's a continuation of my public service."
He said he would like to enhance safety around Clague Park by implementing advanced camera systems and upgrading crosswalk lighting for improved pedestrian safety.
"In Ward 1, we have a beautiful park," Hamaoui said. "Clague Park is an incredible asset for the city of Westlake. Well, the crosswalks leading into Clague Park are terrible."
Hamaoui said he would like to see brighter, more visible flashing lights at the crosswalks leading into the park on Clague Road at Horseshoe Boulevard and on Hilliard Boulevard at Kathryn Drive.
"What I'm asking for is higher visibility LED lighting, maybe where you hit a button and it turns red, something like that ... It just needs to tell people, hey, stop."
Traffic often does not yield to pedestrians at those crossings, he said.
He said he would be committed to fiscal responsibility and transparency. Other priorities would include continued infrastructure investments in streets, sidewalks, and sewers. He said he would like to see improved communication with residents, including making the community a little more aware of what types of crimes are taking place in the city.