Six vie for three Summit County Council at-large seats

Six people are running for three at-large seats on Summit County Council, the county's 11-member legislative body.

At-large members represent the county "at large," instead of one individual district, and represent all the cities, townships, villages and municipalities in the county. That means all voters in the county will be voting on the at-large County Council seats.

Voter Guide 2022:Who to vote for? See candidate information in their own words

The three candidates who are selected as at-large council members will have four-year terms starting Jan. 1.

The six candidates include the three current at-large members, a current district County Council member, a former candidate for county sheriff and a former Fairlawn City Council member.

To hear responses from the candidates in their own words on local issues, including housing, health care and infrastructure, visit tinyurl.com/summitcc2022.

Currently, County Council is made up of eight Democrats (District 1 representative Rita Darrow; District 2, John Schmidt; District 4, Jeff Wilhite; District 5, Veronica Sims; District 6, Christine Wiedie Higham; and at-large members Elizabeth Walters, Erin Dickinson and John Donofrio) and three Republicans (District 3 representative Gloria Rodgers; District 7, Bethany McKenney; and District 8, Anthony DeVitis).

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Shane Barker

Republican Shane Barker of Macedonia was the Republican candidate for Summit County sheriff in 2020, losing to Democrat Kandy Fatheree. He spent 25 years with the sheriff's office and was an administrative captain at the jail before retiring in 2019. Barker previously served on the Summit County Jail Operation Advisory Commission and as a Macedonia City Council member, a nonpartisan position that allowed him to keep working at the sheriff's office.

Anthony DeVitis

Republican Anthony DeVitis of Green represented Ohio's 36th House District for nearly a decade and was term-limited from running for the Statehouse seat again. DeVitis previously represented Ward 3 on Green City Council before he was appointed to the Ohio House in 2011 and subsequently elected for four terms. He has represented District 8, which includes the southern part of the county, on Summit County Council since January 2021 after being elected in November 2020.

DeVitis grew up in Akron’s North Hill and attended Akron Public Schools and the University of Akron. He’s co-owner and president of DeVitis Italian Market, his family’s Italian specialty food store, where he was worked since he was 16, according to his County Council biography.

DeVitis and his wife, Kathleen, have been married for more than 30 years and have two children, Evelyn and Clark.

Erin Dickinson

Democrat Erin Dickinson of Hudson was appointed in June 2022 to an at-large seat on County Council, filling the vacancy left by her father, Clair Dickinson, who retired in May. Clair Dickinson was on council three times: from 1989 through 1993, from 2003 through 2007 and from 2016 through 2022.

Dickinson, who chairs council’s rules committee, has spent her career as a business litigation attorney. A mother of four young boys, she is a member of the Community Legal Aid executive board, a member of the Hudson Heritage Association board and the former Akron local lead for Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, according to her County Council biography.

Dickinson earned a bachelor's degree in English and history from Vanderbilt University and a law degree from the University of Michigan Law School. She grew up in Stow.

John Donofrio

Democrat John Donofrio of Akron has been an at-large council member since 2015 and chairs the finance committee. He was appointed to the Summit County Treasurer's Office in 1979 and won the election for his first term in 1980. As a result of a charter amendment passed by voters in 2001, the county auditor's office merged with the county treasurer's office into a new office. The treasurer's office was renamed the fiscal office, and Donofrio became the county's first fiscal officer in 2002. He continued to be reelected until he retired in 2011.

A former president of the County Treasurers Association of Ohio and the former state director for the National Association of Treasurers and Finance Officers, Donofrio served 3½ years in the U.S. Air Force and was honorably discharged. He and his wife, Marijean, have five children and eight grandchildren, according to his County Council biography.

Elizabeth Walters

Democrat Elizabeth Walters of Akron was appointed to an at-large seat in February 2016 and elected that November. She's served as council president since 2021 and was council vice president in 2019 and 2020. She chairs council's planning and economic development committee. She was selected as the chair of the Ohio Democratic Party in January 2021.

Walters has lived in Summit County for most of her life. She’s worked for local nonprofits, led Democratic campaigns and organizations and served as a senior aide to Congresswoman Betty Sutton in Ohio’s 13th Congressional District, according to her County Council biography.

A lifetime Girl Scout and graduate of Cuyahoga Falls High School, Walters has a bachelor’s degree in history from St. Vincent College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, and a master’s in public administration from Cleveland State University.

Maria Williams

Republican Maria Williams of Fairlawn was elected to Fairlawn City Council in 2017. She ran for reelection in 2021 but lost by 49 votes to Joseph Gentile Jr. for the Ward 1 seat. According to a profile in the West Side Leader after she was elected, she was a bailiff at Summit County Common Pleas Court from 2012 to 2016 and at Akron Municipal Court from 2009 to 2011.

Summit County Council candidates:Akron Beacon Journal Voter Guide

Summit County Council District 6

Also on the ballot for Summit County Council is the unexpired term for the District 6 seat, which ends Dec. 31, 2024.

Republican Nick DeVitis of Tallmadge will face Democrat Christine Wiedie Higham of Tallmadge, who was appointed in June to represent County Council's District 6, which is made up of Tallmadge and a part of Akron. She filled the vacancy left by Jerry Feeman, who died in May and had been on council since 2008.

Higham, who chairs council’s personnel and intergovernmental committee, has been the director of human resources and administration for Mustard Seed Market & Cafe since 2015. She was formerly the county's deputy director of human resources under the late County Executive Russ Pry.

According to her County Council biography, Wiede Higham previously worked for the Ohio House of Representatives and then spent 10 years in social services in Summit County.

A graduate of Tallmadge High School, Higham has a bachelor's degree in criminal justice from Kent State University and a master's degree in business administration from Tiffin University. She and her husband have two children.

According to a post on his campaign Facebook page, DeVitis lives in Tallmadge with his wife of 13 years, JoEllen, and their three sons and daughter. A graduate of Archbishop Hoban High School and the University of Akron with a bachelor’s degree in business, DeVitis has worked at his family’s Italian market for more than 20 years and is currently a co-owner. His family attends St. Matthew Catholic Church in Akron.

He said his goals if elected would be "to make financially sound budget decisions and to make sure that the hard working people in District 6 are well represented. I pride myself in my dedication, diligence, and in my thorough decision making skills."

Summit County early voting:Ohio early voting begins Wednesday. Here's what you need to know before going to the polls

Contact Beacon Journal reporter Emily Mills at emills@thebeaconjournal.com and on Twitter @EmilyMills818.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Summit County Council at-large race has six candidates