Michael Vu has chosen to pursue future career growth and will resign as director of the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections March 1 of this year.

Under an arrangement completed in a Board of Elections executive session yesterday and confirmed this morning, Vu will continue as a consultant through June of this year to ease the transition of a new director.

The Board is expected to establish a search committee to identify the new director at its 1:30 p.m. meeting today.

Vu came to the board in 2003 from Utah, after a nationwide search, where he had been the elections director of Salt Lake County.

"Michael Vu has worked hard and accomplished a great deal on behalf of Cuyahoga County voters and will, I am sure, continue to have success in his career of public service," Board Chairman Robert T. Bennett said, adding:

"Michael oversaw a difficult transition period at the Board including the implementation of a new electronic voting system county-wide in the May (2006) primary followed by a near flawless general election. His work will give the new director a solid foundation upon which to build."

"After nearly four years with the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections I have decided that the time is right to pursue new career options. When I came to the Board my objective was to move the election process from a punch card world of hanging chads to the new technology of touch screen voting. This was a once in a generation challenge for those who work in the world of elections. Now, after facing some serious challenges, we are well on the way to successfully integrating electronic voting into our elections system. The time is right to turn the leadership of the Board over to new hands. By leaving now, there will be ample time to find a new director and to provide that person with the time necessary to plan for a successful 2008 presidential election year," Director Michael Vu said.

The Cuyahoga County Board of Elections has established a Search Committee to recommend candidates for Director and Deputy Director of the board. Committee members are:

• Chair, Capt. William Wilkens, Former Director CCBOE, 1995-2000
• Erskine Cade, Vice President Key Corp
• Jimmy Dimora, Chairman, Cuyahoga County Democratic Party or Representative
• Rob Frost, Chairman, Cuyahoga County Republican Party
• Judy Gallo, United Labor Agency/Greater Cleveland Voter Coalition
• Stan Miller, Executive Director, Cleveland Branch NAACP
• Dr. Norman Robbins, Professor, CWRU
• Deborah Sutherland, Mayor of Bay Village