CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio — The tumultuous tenure of Cleveland Heights' first directly elected mayor came to a crushing end in September, as residents overwhelmingly chose to recall Kahlil Seren following months of controversies and scandals .

A whopping 82% of voters opted to remove Seren from office less than four months before his four-year term was scheduled to end. City Council President Tony Cuda has since replaced him as interim mayor, but he himself will have to relinquish the position in favor of a permanent chief executive come Jan. 1, 2026.

At the same time as the recall election against Seren, the regularly scheduled nonpartisan mayoral primary was taking place, with Councilman Jim Petras and Council Vice President Davida Russell emerging as the top two vote-getters. Petras

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