Lawyer, Former Assistant Prosecutor Enters Avon's Mayoral Race

Rich Summers, a lawyer with of McDonald Hopkins in Cleveland, has entered the race to replace Mayor Jim Smith in the November 2013 election.

“Avon is at a crossroad, and needs a new voice and a new vision,” Summers, 41, said. “We must plan carefully to ensure proper economic development and growth will not infringe on the comforts of Avon's greatest asset - the residents. My main objective is to protect and raise the values of our most important investment, our homes.”

He is the fourth candidate to emerge. Three council members, Kevin Ward, Bryan Jensen and Dan Zegarac previously announced their intention to run. 

Summers, who recently set up a Facebook page for the campaign, said one of his focuses, if elected, would be the development of Nagel Road, economic development and infrastructure.

“We know it’s going to be developed, with the money spent it needs to be done right,” he said of Nagel Road. “In Avon, it seems to go ‘retail, retail, retail.' We have all this undeveloped property.”

Summers said he would like to see an effort made to bring in big businesses, such as contacting corporate headquarters in Ohio, Michigan and Indiana for relocation to Avon.

“The ‘for sale’ signs are already located on the undeveloped property,” he said. “We only get one chance to get this right. and a misguided plan will cost the residents for years to come. The next Mayor of Avon must be able to recruit the right businesses to build and locate in Avon."

And although he said he is not against CRAs and tax abatements, he said they needed to be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

“I’m not against any of that stuff as a whole, but it has to be done wisely,” Summers said.

"My vision is simple - we must attract well paying jobs and strengthen Avon's tax base. I will expand communications between the city administration and the city residents. The administration will quickly respond to your suggestions, concerns, and complaints. I will aggressively seek grants to fund special projects and will work with other federal, state, county, and local leaders to properly address the existing infrastructure needs of our growing community."

Summers served as Cuyahoga County prosecutor from 1999-2003 and has served as an Assistant Law Director for the city of Parma since 2005. He specializes now in municipal law/government affairs.

“Any form of litigation, municipal law and zoning issues, I’m pretty well versed,” he said.

Summers and his wife Kelli, a county probation officer, have a 9-year-old son, Max.

The candidate  graduated from Baldwin-Wallace College in 1994 and the University of Akron School of Law in 1998. He has coached baseball for Avon Little league for the last four years.