Northwood Councilman Randy Kozina is the new council president.

Council voted 5-1 (Kozina abstained) for Kozina to take the helm at a recent organizational meeting.

Kozina, who has never been president, is completing his first, four year term on council. He previously served on the board of education with the Northwood Local Schools District for 14 years before he became a councilman.

Kozina was appointed by Mayor Mark Stoner in 2005 to serve out the unexpired term of former Councilman Tim Reardon, who resigned on Oct. 15 of that year. Kozina then ran against Councilman Jim Barton in the general election just a couple weeks later, narrowly beating Barton for a full four year term on council. Kozina resigned from Reardon’s seat on Dec. 31 to take his elected seat on council. Stoner, on Jan. 1, 2006, appointed Barton to fill Kozina’s vacated seat.

The duties of president of council include running committees of the whole meetings, and presenting meeting agendas to council. The president also fills in for the mayor at council meetings when he is absent.

“I was approached about becoming president, and obviously, I was interested in it,” Kozina told The Press last week.

He was the only councilman nominated for the post.

“We’re a pretty informal body. We have a good group of people, and everyone works well together,” said Kozina.

The foremost issue facing Northwood this year, he said, is the economy.

“It’s basically the same issue that’s facing everyone,” he said.

Mostly, the city is bracing for the possibility of more unemployment in the business sector, he said.

“We have quite a few employers in the city. Some have already cut back. We’re hoping not too many more cut back this year,” he said. “It affects our budget. In addition, it affects a lot of people’s lives – not just whether or not we’re going to get a road paved.  We’re just hoping for the best.”

Kozina, 55, has lived in Northwood for all but two years.

He is the son of Charles Kozina, who served on council for several years before retiring in 2003 at age 84.

Kozina, who has three full-grown children, is a full-time officer with the Toledo Police Department.

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