Todd Zieja appointed to fill York Township trustee position

YORK TWP. — The York Township Trustees unanimously voted to appoint Todd Zieja to fill the township's empty trustee position on Thursday. Thursday's meeting gave York Township residents the chance to announce their interest in being a trustee, list their qualifications and answer questions from the public. York Township resident James Schmidlin was the only other person who expressed interest in the position during the meeting. Zieja holds a master's degree in public administration and has worked in law enforcement for the past 28 years. He also served as a York Township trustee for one term from 2018 to 2022. He was not reelected when he was one of five candidates who ran for the two open trustee seats during the November 2021 election. "I was a trustee for four years (and) went through some challenging times here," he said. "I think there's a lot that we need to do to improve it. The reason I want to run for this is for my children because I want to make it better for them." His goal for the township is improving communication between the government and community members, Zieja said. For instance, he would like to see more people attend meetings to voice their opinions. "That's the challenge that small townships face is communication," he said. "Be there to help people, use our knowledge to further that along (and) make it a better place and get a better community." Zieja is filling the open position that former Trustee Colene Conley left behind. The York Township trustees accepted her resignation during a special meeting last week after she served the township as a trustee for about 30 years. The starting date for Zieja's appointment is Sept. 1, Trustee Richard Monroe said. The appointment lasts until Dec. 31, and he has to run for reelection in November to continue being a trustee. Interested candidates had until Aug. 9 to be put on the November ballot to run for the seat. Zieja is the only candidate who filed with the Medina County Board of Elections for that trustee position. The term ends in December 2025. Contact reporter Madisyn Woodring at (330) 721-4049 or mwoodring@medina-gazette.com.