Summit County voters will make local political history when they choose their next county executive.
If Democrat Ilene Shapiro wins next month, she would be the first elected female county executive.
If Republican Bill Roemer wins, he would be the first Republican to hold the office.
The Shapiro-Roemer matchup was an unexpected one, forced by the death of County Executive Russ Pry in late July. Before his passing from complications from colon cancer, the 58-year-old Pry asked Shapiro, who was serving as an at-large member of County Council and was council president, to run in his place for the four-year term.
She has since been appointed to the position by the Democratic Party and is pledging to carry on initiatives launched by Pry, including efforts to reduce infant mortality and mental health awareness.
“Russ and I philosophically were pretty well aligned,” Shapiro said. “I’m clearly a different personality but ... that heart share is the same.”
Meanwhile, Roemer, who previously served a four-year term on County Council and is a certified public accountant, is promising to refocus spending. He noted that the county has shut down a portion of its jail.
“To me, the No. 1 priority is safety and it’s been just wrong what we’ve done to the sheriff’s budget over the years,” he said. “I think we’ve had misplaced priorities.”
Background
The winner will take over the fourth-largest county in Ohio and oversee a $107 million operating budget. The position will pay $131,661 next year.
Neither Shapiro nor Roemer have a tremendous amount of high-profile political experience.
Shapiro, 69, of Akron served on County Council for more than nine years before being appointed county executive. She is a former senior vice president of sales with FirstMerit Corp. and director of strategic alliances at the Summa Foundation.
Roemer, 58, of Richfield is a retired Ameritech sales director and an accountant. While on council, he donated half his government salary to charity.
In addition to previously serving on the council, he is a board member of the Summit Educational Service Center in Cuyahoga Falls.
Roemer faces an uphill battle, given the penchant of county voters to choose Democrats in countywide elections. Outside of nonpartisan seats, Republicans hold no countywide positions and the GOP didn’t even field candidates this year for sheriff or engineer.
“What it’s going to take for a Republican to win is to have a combination of an unpopular Democrat and/or over time a shift to a more Republican-leaning citizenry,” said Stephen Brooks, associate director of the Ray C. Bliss Institute of Applied Politics at the University of Akron.
Shapiro has been the top vote-getter among at-large council candidates two out of the three times that she ran.
Heroin
Both candidates agree that the heroin epidemic is one of the biggest issues facing the county, especially with the amount of money being allocated to the indigent defense fund and the fact that it has overwhelmed the coroner’s office.
“We are investigating how to realign existing resources,” Shapiro said.
The county also is trying to figure out how to free up more space at rehabilitation centers for addicts, she said.
Roemer said he attended three funerals of boys he used to tutor. The county must increase the number of rehabilitation beds, promote greater education in schools and boost enforcement, he said.
Summit hasn’t invested enough money in public safety, Roemer said. He cited, for example, how the county communications director makes more than $110,000 a year and said he would eliminate that position.
Neither Roemer nor Shapiro are interested in revisiting a local sales tax increase for safety forces. County voters shot down a proposed 0.25 percent increase two years ago.
Priorities
In addition to confronting the heroin crisis, both candidates say they have plenty of other priorities.
Shapiro wants to continue stressing diversity when hiring employees and companies that work with the county. She also cited being more proactive when dealing with economic development, particularly workforce development.
“I’m a private sector person who’s used to driving revenue,” she said.
Shapiro also wants to better promote positive stories within the county.
Roemer cites his private sector business experience as an asset, saying he’d be able to review the budget and provide better fiscal oversight.
“I have the business experience,” he said. “I have the educational experience to interface effectively with businesses.”
He also wants to develop a countywide approach to deal with storm water problems. Summit has debated the issue for years but never moved forward with a regional plan.
Roemer also said he would put forth legislation barring county employees from donating to their bosses political campaigns, a common practice in Summit.
“I’m beholden to no one,” he said.
Rick Armon can be reached at 330-996-3569 or rarmon@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter at @armonrickABJ .