Editing Struthers, Ohio (section)

== Government ==
The City of Struthers operates under a mayor-council statutory form of government as provided by the [[Constitution of Ohio|Ohio Constitution]] and the laws of the State of Ohio.<ref name="Struthers Government">{{cite web | url=http://www.cityofstruthers.com/govt_history.aspx | title=Struthers Government | publisher=City of Struthers | access-date=February 25, 2019}}</ref> As a statutory city, Struthers has home rule powers, but operates under a governmental structure prescribed by the state of Ohio. The city has three branches of government: [[Executive (government)|executive]], [[Legislature|legislative]], and [[Judiciary|judicial]].

The mayor is the chief executive officer of the city charged with executing the laws of the state and ordinances passed by city council as well as overseeing the operations and affairs of the city in conjunction with the various department heads. The mayor is also the appointing authority for the city and, with the Director of Public Service and Safety, constitute the Board of Control. The mayor also has power to veto actions of the City Council.<ref name="Struthers Government"/>

The City Council is the legislative branch of city government responsible for considering and passing ordinances within its constitutional authority. The Council consists of seven members, four elected from wards and three elected at-large. All council positions are elected for two-year terms. All proposed legislation must receive a majority vote by City Council and be signed by the mayor to be enacted. Should the mayor veto the legislation, a two-thirds (5) votes of council is needed to override the mayor's veto.<ref name="Struthers Government"/>

The Municipal Court constitutes the judicial branch of city government. The head of the judicial branch is the judge, who is elected to a six-year term of office. The Municipal Court's jurisdiction is to handle all civil cases where the disputed amount is up to $15,000, criminal misdemeanors, and preliminary hearings for felony crimes committed in the geographic area of the court's authority which includes Struthers, Poland Village, Poland Township, New Middletown, Springfield Township, Lowellville, and a portion of the turnpike.<ref name="Struthers Government"/>

The electorate (voting age population) in the city is approximately 9,000. In a presidential election year, only about 5,000 votes at best are cast in the general election, and in primary and general elections for municipal offices, the number is considerably less. Struthers is predominately Democrat and, most often, the primary election is the most important election for selecting officeholders since they are often unopposed in the general election.<ref name="Struthers Government"/>