Hudson At-large Councilor Samantha D’Eramo has been in the room for Canterbury Meadows. She should not have been. Her presence may cost Hudson taxpayers a fortune in legal fees because of a conflict of interest.
D’Eramo was born Samantha Clunk. She is the daughter of Kathleen and Dennis Clunk of Alliance. On December 28, 2013, she married Matthew D’Eramo at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Alliance. The wedding write-up in the Repository lists the ushers. One of them was Patrick Clunk.
Patrick F. Clunk is a partner at Tucker Ellis LLP in Cleveland. His practice is intellectual property. His sister’s problem is not his patent docket. It is the firm on his letterhead.
Patrick Clunk also appeared to be at his sister’s swearing in as their mother screamed and swore at Samantha’s constituents. Video of that is below. Notice the man in the blue shirt
John P. Slagter, also a partner at Tucker Ellis, is the lawyer for George Vizmeg and the Canterbury Meadows developers. The Akron Beacon Journal even identified him that way. Slagter spoke at the September 15 public hearing as the developer’s legal counsel. He told the paper the settlement was the result of extensive mediation with the city. He also denied that the campaign checks and the flyers from Vizmeg for Samantha D’Eramo, Amanda Weinstiein, and Kyle Brezovec were what residents say they were.
So the firm across the table from Hudson on a 95-acre settlement is the firm that employs the brother of a councilor voting on it.
D’Eramo did not sit this out. She was in the council meetings and workshops moving Resolution 26-118, the settlement with Prestige Builder Group, George Vizmeg, Kuchar, Canterbury-K Farms, and Prestige-Canterbury Farms. Pending litigation is what executive session is for. D’Eramo went into those sessions too. The minutes are on Legistar. Pull the roll calls. A councilwoman with a sibling at the developer’s firm does not get to hear the city’s legal strategy and then vote on the deal.
Patrick Clunk also donated to his sister’s campaign. He gave the maximum amount. Conveniently, he’s on the same page of donors as George Vizmeg.
This is not a distant connection. Patrick Clunk was in the audience at Town Hall on November 25, 2025, the night the new council was sworn in. So was former Hudson Councilor and current Stow Clerk of Courts Nicole Kowalski. She was in the first row with State Representative Derrick Hall. Kowalski’s husband, Ross M. Kowalski, is counsel at Tucker Ellis. Same firm. Same night.
The developer’s law firm had family in the seats before this council ever took up the settlement those lawyers are now pushing.
To make matters even more conflicted, Ross Kowalski is also mentioned on Amanda Weinstein’s campaign finance reports as an in kind donor.
Hudson already lost nothing in court. Planning Commission denied the plat. The Board of Zoning Appeals denied the conditional use. The previous council backed those denials. Summit County Common Pleas Judge Tammy O’Brien affirmed the city on October 23, 2025. The developers appealed. Then the settlement came back, after Vizmeg’s camp put money and campaign work behind Amanda Weinstein, Kyle Brezovec, and Samantha D’Eramo.
D’Eramo’s vote was tainted before the donations. Her brother is a partner at the firm representing the people suing the city. She should have said so. She should have left the executive session. She should have recused. Hudson Councilor Skylar Sutton has recused himself during this process. He is conflicted out because his property is affected by this development. Being an immediate family member of a partner on the law firm representing the developer suing the City of Hudson certainly should have be the reason for a recusal from D’Eramo.
Samantha D’Eramo skipped this week’s council meeting that had a third and actionable reading of Canterbury Meadows. Realizing the political liability for Ward 2 Councilor Dan White’s current election, Council postponed the vote until November 17th. This is conveniently after the election and if White loses, he still will be on Council to vote for it.
Samantha D’Eramo posted an apology on Facebook stories claiming her absence at the Council meeting was due to a family emergency. That family emergency still allowed her enough time to post again on Facebook an hour later. Perhaps she missed the meeting because the conflict had been publicly discovered.
She did not recuse herself. And now the legal bill for this mess will be handed to Hudson taxpayers. Previous Council took care of the matter. Now, current council has other plans. While Hudson taxpayers will get the bill for this conflict of interest, Tucker Ellis is likely to keep billing their client due to the added legal issues created by Samantha D’Eramo.
VIDEO: Weinstein Leads Witness Who Also Is Attorney For Canterbury Meadows Development
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