Cleveland’s Ward 2 city council seat is no longer vacant following a swearing-in ceremony Thursday for Annie Sutton.
The council appointed Sutton to fill the remainder of Rebecca Yardley’s term through the end of this year. Yeardley resigned the seat on August 31 because she was moving out of the city.
A native of Cleveland, Sutton served on the city council for almost 20 years before deciding to run for mayor in a special election in 2020. Josh Turner defeated her by 36 votes.
Cleveland Municipal Judge Garrison Baker administered the oath of office to her at a special ceremony on Thursday afternoon, October 12. Sutton feels she will have no trouble filling the position with her past service on the council.
“I already know about the finances, the streets, just Cleveland in general,” she said.
Sutton will begin serving a full four-year term on the council in January. She was the only candidate to qualify for this year’s November election and will automatically assume the seat at the first of the year.
The Baldwin City Council made a similar appointment this week.
Councilmembers appointed Erik Keith to fill the unexpired term of former city councilmember Larry Lewallen. Lewallen resigned last month with three months left in his term. He was not seeking reelection.
Keith was the only candidate to qualify to run for Baldwin’s Post 1 seat. He was sworn into office on October 10.
Keith will be sworn in for a full four-year term in January.
