Meet Kyle
Ward 1 Councilperson
Kyle was unanimously selected 6-0 to Lakewood City Council’s Ward 1 Seat in early 2022.
The Board of Elections recently certified Kyle’s petitions to run as a candidate to retain the Lakewood Ward 1 council seat in November 2023. Since Kyle was unanimously appointed to the Ward 1 council seat in February 2022, he has been at work representing the residents of Ward 1 and pushing for policies, funding, and legislation that continue to make Lakewood the most desirable, equitable, and well-run city in Northeast Ohio. It has been his honor serving the city and its residents in this role. He is most proud of the following accomplishments:
Guided the Public Safety Committee (which he chairs) through complicated discussions with the Administration regarding dispatch operations and enhanced speed enforcement, particularly around schools;
Worked with the Administration to craft and pass an ordinance requiring structures more than 30 years old and more than four stories in height, underground parking structures, and above ground parking structures to be reviewed by a structural engineer regularly to ensure public safety;
Passed a Resolution and worked with the Administration to make Lakewood a SolSmart-designated community to improve solar market conditions, making it faster, easier, and more affordable for Lakewood residents and businesses to install solar energy systems;
Authored, co-sponsored, and helped pass an ordinance to prohibit smoking and vaping in Lakewood's parks;
Worked with and invited the Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund to the Public Safety Committee to raise awareness about the BE SMART Campaign regarding safe firearm storage to address the fact that firearms have tragically become the leading cause of death among children in the United States;
Served as Council's representative on the Lakewood Shoreline Special Improvement District and helped lakefront property owners utilize the State of Ohio's special statutory funding mechanism to perform shoreline improvement projects to protect their homes and property; and
Authored, worked with his colleagues, and directed American Rescue Plan Act ("ARPA") Funding to the following projects:
The Beck Center for the Arts Music and Creative Arts Therapies Building repairs;
Enhanced Neighborhood Traffic Calming Program to purchase 19 new radar speed signs and multiple speed tables;
Acquire and improve ODOT property to convert approximately 4.5 acres of vacant land near I-90 into park/public space for Lakewood residents;
Childcare assistance for young families to supplement the current childcare scholarship offered by the City;
Pickleball Court Conversion at Lakewood Park;
Holiday Lighting Expansion for Lakewood's commercial corridors;
Lakewood Library Accessibility Expansion - Madison Branch;
Eviction assistance to be provided by the Legal Aid Society of Cleveland; and
LakewoodAlive Small Business Support.
One of the most rewarding parts of this role has been the opportunity to meet residents across Ward 1 and help them navigate city resources to address a question or need for support.
Kyle’s Lakewood Story
After graduating from Lakewood High, Kyle left for college and law school; but knew he would come back to raise his family. Growing up in Lakewood, he fell in love with the diversity of backgrounds of his friends, classmates, and neighbors. The youngest of seven children, Kyle was raised in a blue-collar family (his dad was a proud union carpenter), and he was a first generation college graduate. He married the love of his life (Allison) in 2012 and they are raising their three young children and dog in the Lakewood home they bought in 2013. He wants his children to grow up in a thriving multicultural, multi-generational, and socioeconomically diverse community like Lakewood that he feels was vital to his development as a complete and well-rounded person.
An advocate, ardent supporter, and product of Lakewood City Schools, Kyle served as president and trustee of the Lakewood Rangers Education Foundation from 2012-2018. He oversaw the organization’s transition from mostly alumni-based services and scholarships for graduating seniors to also funding current initiatives, students and educators in the Lakewood City Schools. The organization shifted from being called the Lakewood Alumni Foundation to the Lakewood Rangers Education Foundation to align with the new direction.
Kyle also served on the Lakewood Planning Commission, which provides recommendations on Lakewood’s Zoning Code, Community Vision, oversees changes to the use or development of land and holds public hearings on those topics, from 2015-2020. He served as Chair of the Planning Commission in 2020 and Vice-Chair in 2019. During his tenure, the Commission made critical recommendations to the city on issues ranging from expanded outdoor dining to major development projects.
Kyle’s Professional Background
After graduating from Lakewood High School, he attended Miami University then the Ohio State University Michael E. Moritz College of Law for law school.
Kyle is currently a public servant serving as Director of Real Estate and Senior Assistant Legal Counsel at the Cleveland Metroparks, where he has overseen and stewarded the protection of over 1,300 acres (and counting) of new park land in northeast Ohio. He also oversees the procurement and contract review process for most major capital construction projects for the organization along with other important organizational and law enforcement issues. Prior to his role, Kyle worked as an attorney at a large Cleveland law firm, where he gained experience representing both government and businesses – providing a deep knowledge and experience of the unique challenges and opportunities facing local governments.
Kyle externed for the Supreme Court of Ohio in 2008 and the Ohio House of Representatives in 2009, so he has a deep understanding of how decisions made in Columbus affect folks living in Lakewood and Northeast Ohio.
Other relevant community/professional involvement includes:
American Constitution Society (Northeast Ohio Chapter), Co-Chair of Programming, 2012-2013, 2017-2020, Vice- President, 2014-2016;
Cleveland Bridge Builders, Cleveland Leadership Center, Class of 2016;
West Park Kamm’s Neighborhood Development, Board Member representing Cleveland Metroparks, 2017-2021;
Advanced Leadership Institute, Stokes Fellow, Cleveland Leadership Center, 2020-2021;
Former Loaned Executive for United Way Cleveland;
American Bar Association;
Ohio State Bar Association;
Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association; and
Northeast Ohio Law Director’s Association.
