Issues & Progress
Keep Canton Moving One Block at a Time
Over the past term, Mayor Sherer has focused city government on the issues that matter most to Canton families. Safer neighborhoods, better roads and water lines, stronger schools, more housing, and a city that works for the people who live here, not just the industries around them. Explore what’s been accomplished on each issue below, and what’s still ahead.
Public Safety
A safer Canton makes a safer Stark County. Mayor Sherer is turning the former AEP building into a new multijurisdictional Safety Center, giving Canton’s police, fire, and safety partners the ability to work side by side with state and federal agencies to keep our community secure. It’s part of a broader push to strengthen the force: new equipment, new facilities, and closer coordination across every level of law enforcement.
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The new Safety Center will bring together local, state, and federal safety partners under one roof, improving coordination and response across jurisdictions. Alongside it, Mayor Sherer has secured capital funding dedicated specifically to safety projects, and has pursued grants to outfit officers with body cameras, vests, and drones. These investments are improving the efficiency of how quickly Canton’s safety forces can respond when residents need them most.
That commitment extends to the city’s physical footprint, too. A new fire station is planned for Harmont Avenue, along with a new police substation, and the city continues to replace aging fire engines and ambulances so crews have reliable equipment on every call. Mayor Sherer has pursued this work on a bipartisan basis, working across party lines to get safety funding across the finish line.
Infrastructure
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When Mayor Sherer took office, he ran on—and delivered—a plan to shift the city’s investment strategy toward the neighborhoods where people live, rather than concentrating solely on institutions like the Hall of Fame and Aultman. In 2025, that commitment became official policy with the Connecting Canton Together Comprehensive Plan Amendment, which redirected the city’s comprehensive plan funding specifically toward neighborhood development. That plan has already reached 16 neighborhoods across Canton’s four quadrants, starting with Vassar Park and continuing into areas like the Elgin neighborhood near the McKinley Monument and the Harrisburg-Royal neighborhood off 19th Street. The city is also replacing 7–8 miles of water line every year, tackling infrastructure that in some cases is more than 100 years old.
That investment reaches every corner of the city, including Southeast Canton—a neighborhood some say gets overlooked, but one that’s seen real, visible investment under Mayor Sherer, from new raised crosswalks to habitat improvements along 3rd Street Southwest. Major paving projects, like the repaving of West Tuscarawas in front of Aultman Hospital, are also underway.
Mayor Sherer has also nearly doubled the city’s annual paving investment compared to most prior years—and Canton is now paving roughly 11 times more than it did back in 2008, when road paving funding had all but disappeared.
Recent Infrastructure Wins:
- Water main replacement across the Gross Avenue NE, West Manor, Mount Vernon, and Croydon-Brookpark areas, backed by more than $2.7 million in Ohio Public Works Commission (OPWC) grants
- A new roundabout at Fulton Drive, 25th Street, and Harrison Avenue, funded through a $5.85 million SCATS grant
- The West Tuscarawas Corridor Safety Project, now backed by more than $12.5 million in combined state and federal funding
- Streetscape improvements on East Tuscarawas and Cleveland Avenues, funded through more than $2.5 million in congressionally directed spending
- A new Safe Routes to School project at Glenwood Intermediate, funded through a $775,425 federal grant
- More than $20 million secured in prior years for projects including 11th Street SE, Colonial Boulevard, Cleveland Avenue North, and water main work in Perry Heights and Harter Heights
All told, Mayor Sherer’s administration has secured more than $39 million in outside infrastructure funding in recent years—with more grant applications in the pipeline and additional wins expected before November.
Education
Not every student is headed to college or the military, and Mayor Sherer believes Canton should have a real plan for the ones who aren’t. Through the McKinley CTE Collaboration, the city is partnering directly with Canton City Schools to give career-tech students hands-on experience in city departments, and it’s already turning into real jobs.
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Over the past two years, the city has hosted tours of multiple departments for McKinley High School’s Career and Technical Education classes, giving students a first-hand look at career paths within city government—from the street department to the police department to building maintenance. Those tours have already led to real hires: seasonal, pre-apprenticeship-style roles for senior students, first in the Department of Motor Vehicles and now in the Building Maintenance Department as well.
The short-term goal is threefold: open these opportunities up to juniors, not just seniors; grow the number of local students the city hires each year; and expand the number of city departments able to bring students on. The long-term goal is bigger still: Building a lasting workforce pipeline between Canton City Schools and the city itself, so more of the students who grow up here are able to build their careers here, too.
Working Families
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Mayor Sherer has taken a strong position on annexation, working directly with Plain Township and Canton Township on agreements that let the city and its neighboring townships grow together rather than compete for the same residents and businesses. These agreements are built to benefit families on both sides of the line, expanding opportunity without pitting neighbor against neighbor.
That same commitment to opportunity extends to Canton’s kids. Through the city’s partnership with the school district’s Career and Technical Education program, students get the chance to work directly for the City of Canton across multiple departments, building real career experience before they’ve even graduated. It’s one more way Mayor Sherer is making sure Canton’s next generation has a reason to stay, work, and build a future here.
Housing
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In partnership with Canton City Schools, the city completed a land swap that traded the former Munson Stadium site for the Baxter and Washington Elementary properties. That land is now slated for 16 new single-family homes… New construction on sites that had sat unused, in neighborhoods that need more housing stock, not less.
A second, larger land swap is already underway. Canton City Schools will transfer the Fairmont, Shriver, Compton, and Deuber school buildings, along with the former Rosaletti practice football field, to the city. In exchange, the city will give the district the 17th Street property in front of McKinley High School. The city will demolish the aging school buildings on its new sites and build housing in their place, turning underused school property into new homes for Canton families.
None of this happens without partners. The city continues to work directly with local developers to get projects built, and with organizations like Habitat for Humanity, which has already announced plans for new housing at the former Baxter Elementary site. At the same time, Mayor Sherer’s administration has been aggressive about acquiring tax-delinquent properties and clearing blighted buildings… removing the eyesores and safety hazards that hold neighborhoods back, and clearing the way for the next wave of construction.
Economic Development
From day one, Mayor Sherer has taken a strong position on growing Canton’s economy: attracting new businesses to the city, retaining the longstanding Canton companies that are already here, and building the public-private partnerships needed to get major projects across the finish line.
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Mayor Sherer has made economic development a day-one priority, leveraging the city’s resources and relationships to bring new businesses to Canton while working just as hard to keep longstanding Canton employers right where they are. He sees public-private partnerships as essential to that work—bringing city government, private developers, and local businesses to the table together to move projects forward that neither side could tackle alone.
That same partnership-first approach is already paying off in the city’s housing and infrastructure work, from land swaps with Canton City Schools to developer-backed housing projects across the city. Growing Canton’s economy and taking care of the people who live here go hand in hand.
Fiscal Responsibility
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Balancing the city’s budget every year hasn’t stopped Mayor Sherer from getting big things done, because he’s paired that fiscal discipline with an aggressive push to secure outside funding wherever it’s available. His administration has pursued grant programs from the Ohio Public Works Commission, the Stark County Area Transportation Study, and Canton’s congressional delegation, among others, rather than asking residents to foot the bill through higher taxes.
That approach has already paid off: Since 2024 alone, the city has secured more than $39 million in outside infrastructure funding (see the Infrastructure section above for the full breakdown), with new grant applications in the pipeline and more wins expected before November.
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Keep William V. Sherer II as Mayor of Canton
Keep the momentum going. Keep Canton moving forward. Keep William V. Sherer II as Mayor.