Six candidates are running to fill four open seats on Johnstown City Council this year. Two candidates are incumbents seeking to hold onto their seats on council, while four others – Kyle Cook, Nick Hubbell, Matthew Huggins and Nicole Shook – vie to fill remaining seats.
Kyle Cook
Kyle Cook is running to represent the Johnstown City Council in a more involved role.
Currently serving as a zoning and planning committee member, Cook has deep roots in Johnstown, and can trace his lineage back to the first families that settled the community.
Cook previously served in the U.S. Army from 2001-2011, serving two years of active duty stateside as an E-6 staff sergeant. Cook currently works in sales at a local company, TECH, which manufactures industrial products.
“I’m not coming in here with an ego or an agenda,” Cook said. “I’m coming in here with a love for the city that I’ve grown up in, and empathy toward the people in the city that I consider family – not just my blood family, but everybody that lives here I care about because they chose to make it home too.”
Communication improvement between council members and community residents is a main priority for Cook. By increasing transparency in city discussions, Cook stressed, there are fewer barriers for the community to be active, heard and respected.
“Right now, there’s not much conversation or, at least, respect. I don’t care if you like somebody or if you disagree with the politics,” Cook said. “If they have an idea, it should be heard and it should be considered, and it should be seen as an opportunity to both be solid in what you believe and why, as well as see things from a different perspective.”
As president of the Johnstown Historical Society and a local American Legion member, he said that community preservation is crucial to the community’s “hometown feel.” Through the prioritization of local businesses and updating zoning definitions, Cook believes good development can happen.
To Cook, good development includes maintaining basic city services, like road maintenance, and keeping active communication between surrounding townships the current council has struggled with prioritizing.
“I do come with a great deal of experience in business and a great deal of experience in the military, but primarily, I care,” Cook said. “I’m going to do this and hope that I can make a difference to preserve Johnstown…I know the history and live in the present, but I do really, really care about the future, because I don’t want it to reflect negatively.”
Ryan Green
As his term comes to a close, incumbent Johnstown City Council President Ryan Green is running for reelection.
Raised in Pataskala, Green has been a lifelong resident of central Ohio. After graduating from the Ohio State University with a degree in political science, Green took root in Johnstown in 2014 because he said it reminded him of his hometown’s small-town charm. It’s where he started his small business, Green Mallett Property Services.
“We have a lot of things that are worth preserving. It’s an easy choice to continue to serve on council here to fight to preserve that way of life in the face of all the growth that we have coming,” Green said. “How do we preserve what makes Johnstown unique? Preserve that rural character that we have and make sure that it fits Johnstown and it’s worth our while.”
On the council, Green serves on the zoning board and has volunteered on the economic development committee, worked on charter review, and developed zoning and design review plans.
For Green, getting back to the basics is a main priority. With the influx of development from Intel, Green stressed, the need for stable basic operations has increased.
“A lot of excitement came our way, but it seems like in the last few years, the majority of council has forgotten about just the basics of running a city,” Green said. “And we need to get back to that: paving roads, having an adequate staff, doing the projects and services that taxpayers expect when they have a successful city. It’s fun to play with all the growth and development in the area, but if you can’t handle basic day-to-day operations, that becomes a problem.”
Green emphasized that his proactive approach to community development has guided the long-term plan for Johnstown through prioritizing transparency in council meetings, local economic development with local businesses and developments with Intel.
“A lot of people do city council after they raise their family and after they’ve been through the system, and they’re trying to fix the things that they wish that they had or they wish they could have seen. And I want to be on the front end,” Green said. “I know what I want to see for my kids and my future family here, and I want to be proactive on the front end, to do as much as I can for the city while we’re here and while we’re growing in the city.”
Nick Hubbell
Nick Hubbell decided to run because he wanted leaders from Johnstown who put its people first.
Hubbell was born and raised in Johnstown with generational ties from his family’s involvement in the community. His mother was a fourth-grade teacher in town, his father a volunteer firefighter, and his grandparents farmers just outside of the city limits.
Hubbell graduated from the Ohio State University with a degree in political science, which was followed by his experience in public service serving as a community workforce fellow with the U.S. Department of Energy.
Similar to other candidates, growth is at the forefront of Hubbell’s mind.
“The first and biggest issue for me is protecting Johnstown’s small-town character. Growth is happening all around us, but that does not mean we should lose sight of who we are,” Hubbell said. “I want growth to be done thoughtfully, responsibly, and in a way that benefits the people who already call this place home — not just developers or outside interests looking to make a quick buck.”
Hubbell acknowledged that some Johnstown residents may be frustrated with the lack of communication from the council, but he cares about rebuilding trust with the community.
“Transparency and trust in local government need to be restored. Folks deserve to know what is being discussed, when meetings are happening, and how decisions are being made. It’s time we brought the community back into the conversation,” Hubbell said.
At the end of the day, for Hubbell, prioritizing infrastructure, like roads and sidewalks, and community involvement in government have guided his campaign. His approach to leadership incorporates finding commonalities in issues through active conversation.
Hubbell said he wants to be a voice on the council for those who have lived all their lives in Johnstown.
“I am still just a Johnstown guy who loves his hometown and wants to see it thrive. I chose to plant my own roots here because of what this town already is, not because of what people from the outside want it to become.”
Nicole Shook
Previously on the council, Nicole Shook is running to represent Johnstown again.
Shook, who served from October 2022 to January 2024, has been in the hospitality industry for 35 years, currently working as the Café Zupas regional catering sales manager.
Shook, while not born and raised in Johnstown, understands the needs of a small town. After the news of Intel’s development, her need to be involved was sparked.
To Shook, “controlled growth” is the best approach to preventing uncontrolled development in preserving the environment of Johnstown, through careful approaches to annexation discussions and expansion efforts to help promote growth internally with local voices.
“I understand growth is scary. I respect that scary feeling. That’s why I think we need to put people in [council] who understand control..Controlled growth is big, and we need to start being assertive and have our seat at that table,” Shook said.
Allowing the public to better understand complex municipal processes is at the forefront of Shook’s mind. To her, providing a clear explanation of the city’s decision helps the public be involved with community issues, as they can actively engage. Shook said she wants to offer clarity by standardizing the explanations of council ordinances.
In her last election, Shook made a mistake on her ballot candidacy petition, which resulted in her being ineligible on the ballot. Instead of being discouraged, she decided this would be an opportunity to continue her work serving the community. Shook has been involved in various community initiatives as a board member of the Greater Johnstown Parks and Recreation District and a founding member of a nonprofit community resource for healthy living, Johnstown Lifestyle.
“Instead of just stewing in my own self-pity, I got over the anger at myself and bitterness, and decided that, how can I show the community going forward?” Shook said. “If I want to run in two years, what can I show them how dedicated I am to this; how I know that communities don’t just happen — they’re built. And I’m willing to roll up my sleeves and I’ll get the job done right… And so that’s what I did.”
Shook stressed she is for everyone in Johnstown. Just because she wasn’t born there, Shook explained, doesn’t mean she is disconnected from the issues Johnstown faces. This instead equips her better.
“I wanted to show people that I can love this town just as much as anybody who was born and raised here. I decided to come here. I decided to stay here. I decided to build a house here. I decided to invest in this community,” Shook said. “And because I’ve known other things, it wasn’t just Johnstown that I knew. I knew a lot of things. I’ve been to a lot of different places and lived. I chose this town to raise my kids. I chose that school district to put my kids in, and so when I’m in, I’m all in.”
Two candidates, incumbent city council member Wesley Kobel and Matthew Huggins, were unable to be reached for comment prior to publication.
Election Day is Nov. 4.
Tyler Thompson writes for TheReportingProject.org, the nonprofit news organization of Denison University’s Journalism program, which is supported by generous donations from readers. Sign up for The Reporting Project newsletter here.