Decision 2023: Mark Zuppo officially elected as Girard mayor

GIRARD, Ohio - It's a new day for the City of Girard as voters selected the city's first new mayor since 2000.
Mark Zuppo is officially the city's new mayor, defeating write-in candidate John Wesley. There were no independent or Republican challengers in the race.
Zuppo claimed 2,132 votes compared to Wesley's 108.
Zuppo defeated former mayor Jim Melfi in the May 2 primary, winning the democratic nomination with about 54% of the vote.
Melfi spent 23 years at the helm in Girard and 10 years as the city treasurer before becoming mayor.
The city's new mayor isn't new to public service. Zuppo has been Girard's treasurer since 2016 and serves as president of the Girard City School Board. He's also a former police officer.
21 News spoke with Zuppo in May after the primary election, who said he wants to usher in a new era of leadership in the city.
His initiatives include creating improvement projects in the downtown area, creating a plan for Girard Lake and better zoning in neighborhoods.
"We have to get with the Law Director and see what we can do legally," Zuppo told 21 News in March. "We want to do a lot of private and public cooperative efforts but we have to do it within the law."
Zuppo also plans to work with police bargaining units to continue to attract top-notch officers and hopes to bring back the city's own ambulance service and a grocery store to Girard.