Meet Adam Shaw, Ward 4 Council member

Adam Shaw is the new Ward 4 council member. He was selected unanimously by City Council members on March 28 to serve out a vacancy created by the resignation of Mark Erdei, who is ill.

Shaw, 35, was born in Sheffield Lake, moved away for a short time, then returned where he completed middle and high school in the Sheffield-Sheffield Lake Schools. The 2006 Brookside graduate then pursued jobs in corporate loss prevention, working at J.C. Penney and WalMart. He graduated from Lorain County Community College with an associate degree in criminal justice and from Cuyahoga Community College’s police academy. He became a Deputy Sheriff with the Lorain County Sheriff’s Department, a post he has held more than ten years.

Shaw is President of the union representing Lorain County Deputies Association. He is also Field Staff Representative with the Fraternal Order of Police, Ohio Labor Council, representing three law enforcement agencies outside of Lorain County.

When the married father of three moved back to Sheffield Lake in 2020, he considered running for council, but did not meet the two year residency requirement. He explained his motivation was to bring a younger voice into discussions concerning the city. “There’s a lot to having a younger perspective in politics. It needs to happen. The world has changed,” he said.

Shaw believes he can provide insight on safety matters affecting the city, given his work experience. “It’s a calling; it’s just me,” he said saying that his job brings a lot of rewards along with heartbreak. “Some days you’re able to help someone and make a complete difference in their lives; another day, you take someone to jail.”

As a council member, Shaw said, “I want to see that the safety forces have what they need to do their jobs.”

He also hopes to see council take action that capitalizes on the city’s proximity to Lake Erie. “It’s the driving force behind the economy in Northeast Ohio. I’d love to see the city capitalize on that.”