Sarah Elizabeth Wesley (Kent City Council At-large, Ohio, candidate 2025)

Sarah Elizabeth Wesley

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Democratic Party

Candidate, Kent City Council At-large

Elections and appointments

Last election

May 6, 2025

Education

Bachelor's

Kent State University, 2008

Personal

Profession

Educator and administrator

Contact

Campaign Facebook

Sarah Elizabeth Wesley (Democratic Party) is running for election to the Kent City Council At-large in Ohio. She is on the ballot in the general election on November 4, 2025.^[source] She was on the ballot in the Democratic primary on May 6, 2025.^[source]

Wesley completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Sarah Elizabeth Wesley provided the following biographical information via Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey on October 15, 2025:

• High school: Conneaut High School
• Bachelor's: Kent State University, 2008
• Gender: Female
• Profession: Educator and Administrator
• Incumbent officeholder: No

Elections

General election

General election for Kent City Council At-large (3 seats)

The following candidates are running in the general election for Kent City Council At-large on November 4, 2025.

		Candidate
	Submit photo	Benjamin Tipton (D)
	Submit photo	Tracy Wallach (D)
	Submit photo	Sarah Elizabeth Wesley (D)
	Submit photo	Cecil Anderson (R)
	Submit photo	Eric D. Dreger (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	John M. Kuhar (Nonpartisan)

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	Incumbency information for this election was not available.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Kent City Council At-large (3 seats)

Derek Salustro, Michael L. Thrasher, Benjamin Tipton, Tracy Wallach, and Sarah Elizabeth Wesley ran in the Democratic primary for Kent City Council At-large on May 6, 2025.

		Candidate
	Submit photo	Derek Salustro
	Submit photo	Michael L. Thrasher
	Submit photo	Benjamin Tipton
	Submit photo	Tracy Wallach
	Submit photo	Sarah Elizabeth Wesley

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	Incumbency information for this election was not available.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Endorsements

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Campaign themes

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Sarah Elizabeth Wesley completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Wesley's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I am proud mother of 3 children, I have been married for 18 years, I have lived in the city of Kent since 2003 when I came here to attend Kent State University. I am a small business owner in the city Kids Kare Kent Campus is my early learning center and I have devoted the last 20 years to educating our youngest little learners to get them ready for elementary school. As an educator and small business owner, I care deeply about keeping Kent such a wonderful city. I currently sit on the Civil Service Committee and it has been wonderful getting to learn about the government workings of Kent. I am running for council because I want to encourage younger people to get involved in politics. A lot of times young people don’t get involved because there aren’t people seated at the table who younger so they don’t think they even have a seat to voice their concerns. I want to be a voice for all people in the city. I want to help grow our community economically by helping bring new businesses in but by also encouraging young people to stay here after graduation. We have a beautiful city and I want to be apart of helping it grow.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• We have an issue with affordable housing in the city. We have to combat this issue in order to keep Kent affordable for people to live and work here.
• I want to improve the lives of all residents of Kent, from helping get out roads fixed to bringing new businesses for economic growth to our city.
• I want to bring a new younger perspective to the council, I want younger people to see me and feel like they do have a voice about issues affecting the city. There are some wonderful people on council that I can learn from and I want to help the current members connect with the younger generations.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

As an educator of young kids I care deeply about education in the city of Kent

As a small business owner I care about all small business in the city and want to help current small businesses and encourage new businesses to join us in our great city!

As a mother to three children in Kent I want to make sure they have a beautiful and safe city to grow up in.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

I admire Ruth Bader Ginsburg she was undeniable powerhouse for gender equality, she was both sassy and respectful in her work on the Supreme Court and she refused to bend at the knee or keep quiet just because she was a woman. She opened so many doors for women and did so her own way without changing who she was fundamentally. Her mark on history can never be erased.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

I think one of the most important characteristics of an elected official is to always keep an open mind and really listen to citizens concerns. You are elected by the people to improve the lives of the people. That is exactly what I hope to achieve as a council member.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

I believe that a council at large person has the duty and responsibility to be a voice for every citizen in the city of Kent. That is what makes this position unique. I will get to meet and help everyone, I want to make a difference in all of our residents lives, we have so much to offer here and I look forward to being apart of helping the city grow and thrive.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

My very first historical event was 9/11. I was a junior in high school. I was in chemistry class when the towers fell and we spent the rest of the day watching the news reporting on tv at school. I remember just feeling so deeply sad for our country as a whole, but in the days that followed seeing every single American come together as one still impacts me today. In a time where we are so deeply divided. We absolutely can come back to the middle and find common ground to treat people with decency, dignity and respect.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

My very first official job was serving ice cream at the Dairy Queen, I worked there through out high school. It was such a fun job and I loved working there.

What is an accomplishment that you are proud of?

I think it goes without saying that being a mother and wife is the best achievement I could ever ask for. Outside of my home and second to my family I have successfully operated an early learning program that serves primarily under funded children in our community. I have devoted my entire adult life to the early education of children and I am so grateful to have been apart of the early years for 100’s of our young people’s lives in the city of Kent!

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

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