Wadsworth Ward 1 incumbent Ralph Copley tries to hold off challenger Joy Martin

WADSWORTH — Four-term Wadsworth Councilman Ralph Copley, a Republican, will try to hold onto his Ward 1 seat in next month's general election, squaring off against Democratic challenger Joy Martin. Ralph Copley Age: 66 Education: technical training and professional development as part of longtime fire department service Family: Wife of 42 years, Sue; one son and one grandson Job history: Retired after 37 years of fire department service with 30 of those coming in Wadsworth. He became Wadsworth's assistant chief in 1992 and chief in 2002, leading the department until January 2013. For the past seven years, Copley served with the Jackson Township fire department in Stark County. Website: shorturl.at/bjsJ3 Joy Martin Age: 44 Education: Bachelor's of Arts and Sciences from Kent State University Family: Husband of 15 years Shane and two children Job history: Building operator working out of Macedonia for Pennsylvania-based Penske Logistics Inc. since 2000. Martin said these duties have involved administration of Starbuck's supply chain throughout Ohio and surrounding states. Website: facebook.com/joymartinforcitycouncil What makes you the best candidate for the position? Copley: My years of experience with the (city's) budget and the fire department budget and staying within constraints is one of the most important things someone can show for this position. We have to be accountable for the money that's handed to us. There's one motto I always use: "If it's important to you it's important to me." I've always lived by that motto. You have to keep the residents informed and that's always what I've tried to do. Martin: I have some pretty strong leadership skills coming from my career. In 2020, I was awarded as the operator of the year specifically for my ability to lead teams during the pandemic and remain financially profitable. I'll be able to bring the city officials and the constituents together. It's not about us versus them. We all have the same goals and I want to bring all of that together for the city. I think it's a little divided right now. What is the biggest problem facing Wadsworth and how would you address it? Copley: One of the biggest challenges I see right now is the lack of part-time firefighters. That's not just a problem for Wadsworth. It's a problem across the country. We need to focus on getting more staff in here before it starts to hurt our response times. Like I said, that's going on everywhere right now. We need to try and stay ahead of this with what we can control here, locally. Martin: To be honest, Wadsworth is a very well-run city. It recently got voted one of the top cities in Ohio and there's a lot of things being worked on in the downtown area, kind of revitalizing some of that. I think one thing to pay attention to is to not become complacent with everything great we have going. In some of the civil services, we're struggling to hire and some of the people are going to surrounding communities where they can make higher wages. We have to remember that just because things are running great now doesn't mean they'll stay that way. Contact reporter Jonathan Delozier at (330) 721-4050 or jdelozier@medina-gazette.com.