Bipartisan Janet Esposito led Portage during a Republican resurgence | Along The Way

So many active participants in the political life of Portage County showed up a week ago last Thursday at the retirement reception hosted by Janet Esposito’s daughters, Conni Taft and Laura Shafer, that it might be easier to say who did not attend.

Nevertheless, here are a few of those active in public life that I recall having seen at the event for Portage County's longtime auditor.

Aurora Mayor Ann Womer Benjamin, a Republican having her own wonderful career in public service, presented an Aurora City resolution to Janet whom she credited with encouraging her to enter politics. In 1993, as a Portage County Commissioner, Janet asked Ann to run for the Ohio Legislature.

Driving to Columbus three days a week when the legislature was in session, did not appeal, but Nancy Hansford, then chairman of the Portage County Republican Party and Ohio Gov. George Voinovich, jumped in to ask her to run, so she did.

Victorious, Ann served four terms and then served the Taft Administration as director of the Ohio Department of Insurance.  She is in her third term as mayor of Aurora.   Referring to her daily diary, Ann identified December 6, 1993, as the day she first met Janet, whom she described as a “heavy hitter” in Republican politics.

Portage County Prosecuting Attorney Vic Vigluicci, a Democrat, said he appreciated that Janet does not label people.

“If she saw you were trying to do your best for the people of Portage County, she was available to help,” he said.

With Portage County Democrats in the majority at the time, Janet reminded him early on that her husband, Tony, was an Italian-American Democrat.  “That’s what I am,” Vigluicci said. Vic has served as Portage County Prosecutor since 1995, the same year Janet took office.  Both have been bastions of stability, critically important, for Portage County.

Brimfield Township Trustee Sue Fields, who won her seventh four-year term last November, thanked Janet for her assistance and for “keeping me out of trouble."

"She always made herself available,” Fields said.  A Republican, Fields was the first township trustee in Portage County to graduate from the Ohio Township Association’s Leadership Academy.

Republican Matt Kelly, whom the voters elected to succeed Janet, praised the high quality of the staff that Janet has bequeathed to him. Kelly presented a resolution from Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost in Janet’s honor.

State Rep. Gail Pavliga, accompanied by state Rep. Steve Demetriou, both of them Republicans representing Portage County, presented Janet with a commendation approved by the Ohio House.  Hiram Mayor Lou Bertrand, a Republican, spoke.

Portage County Commissioner Sabrina Christian Bennett, a Republican, attended as did Portage County Recorder Lori Calcei, a Republican, as well as former Ohio legislator Randi Clites, Ravenna Mayor Frank Seman, and Ravenna Township’s Jim DiPaola. The presence of both Portage County Republican Party Chairman Amanda Suffecool, a Second Amendment champion, and Portage County Democratic Party Chairman Denise Smith, a former chief assistant prosecutor, lent the occasion an aura of bipartisanship. It was also a recognition that Janet Esposito and her voter appeal have been extraordinary.

A big surprise for me at the event was meeting Portage County Sheriff Bruce Zuchkowski, a Republican, who at 6 feet, 8 inches tall, looks like he can handle any prisoner. As a student at Kent State University in 1988, Zuchkowski played varsity basketball for the late Jim McDonald, the then head coach of the Golden Flashes.  He transferred to Malone College where he continued to play basketball.  Most of his career, prior to being elected sheriff, was with the Ohio State Highway Patrol.

Janet Esposito served the people of Portage County as an officeholder for 34 years, 28 of them as county auditor, six of them as a Portage County commissioner.  She maintained the books of the Portage County Fair Board for 15 years prior to entering politics.   Her phenomenal memory for names and her down-home manner instantly appealed to voters.  Janet became a leading Portage County vote-getter.  She said she was most proud that the audits of the auditor’s office during her tenure never had any findings against it.

“We always had good audits,” she said.

Janet chaired the Portage County Republican Party from 2012 to 2016, transformative years in which the Tea Party and populism fueled resurgent Republicans.  Democrat Barack Obama, the incumbent president, may have carried Portage County in 2012, but four years later, in 2016, the populist Donald Trump won the presidency and carried Portage County with him.

Four years later, in the 2020 presidential election, Trump lost nationally, but won in Portage County.  Two years later in the 2022 midterm elections last November, Republicans Pavliga and Demetriou won their Ohio House seats and Republican Kelly won the Portage County Auditor’s office. Republican Mike Tinlin of Brimfield was elected the third Portage County commissioner, making it the first time in anyone’s memory that all three Portage County commissioners are Republican.

Newcomer J.D. Vance, endorsed by President Trump, won his U.S. Senate race against Democrat Tim Ryan even carrying Portage County, which Ryan had represented in the U.S. House of Representatives for 20 years.

Yes, Janet Esposito could and did reach across the aisle and work with Portage County’s Democrats, but she is retiring during high tide for Republicans. Decades long solidly Democratic Portage County is gone.

David E. Dix is a retired Record-Courier publisher.

This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Bipartisan Janet Esposito led Portage during a Republican resurgence