Besides filling district seats on the Summit County Council, voters will elect candidates to two of the three at-large seats, an unexpected development. The position once held by Ilene Shapiro, now county executive, is occupied by an appointed incumbent, Clair Dickinson, who is running for the two remaining years of Shapiro’s term. The second at-large seat was held by Sandra Kurt, now Summit County clerk of courts. The appointed incumbent is Elizabeth Walters, who also has decided to run. All are Democrats.
Republicans, meanwhile, selected Alex Pavloff to run against Dickinson and Chris Parker to run against Walters.
We recommend the election of Clair Dickinson and Elizabeth Walters on Nov. 8.
What sets Dickinson apart is his experience and grasp of how county government functions. The former appeals court judge served two stints on the County Council, totaling almost eight years. He has been widely involved in legal and community organizations. Dickinson’s broad knowledge and proven good judgment are valuable additions to the council.
Dickinson provides a steady voice for continuing charter reform, cooperation among local governments and taking a regional approach. He supports, for example, an appointed county engineer and taking a countywide approach to storm water management, with the executive and County Council in the lead.
Pavloff, a graduate student at the University of Akron in applied politics, has been active in the local party. He founded and chairs the Summit County Young Republicans. In his first race, Pavloff is enthusiastic and a quick study, focusing on how to fight the heroin epidemic. He suggests opening the closed wing of the Summit County Jail as a detox and rehabilitation facility. He does not offer the seasoned leadership of Dickinson.
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Elizabeth Walters had planned to run for the Ohio Senate, but withdrew after her appointment to the County Council.
Although she has not run for office before, Walters brings a range of practical political experience. Now community outreach coordinator for the International Institute of Akron, she was executive director of the Ohio Democratic Party, deputy field director of the campaign that repealed Senate Bill 5 and district director for former U.S. Rep. Betty Sutton, among other similar activities.
Walters would look for ways to continue to make Summit County an attractive place for immigrants and work collaboratively on problems such as the heroin epidemic. Although in office just since February, she has proposed that the county offer six weeks of paid leave to new parents, making the county a leader in the state in offering the benefit to both mothers and fathers.
Parker is an attorney who has sought appointment to judicial vacancies and served for seven years as an assistant prosecutor in Hudson. He, too, embraces governmental collaboration. Parker also sees the need for another Republican on the council to provide a check against “overprogressive” aspirations by the Democratic-dominated council. He would do well as a council member. Yet in this race, Walters has the edge in preparation and experience.