Veronica Sims is Summit County Council's first Black female president
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
Summit County Council District 5 representative Veronica Sims has been elected the body's first Black female president.
Sims was elected by her fellow members at County Council's 2023 organizational meeting Monday. Members elected District 1 representative Rita Darrow as vice president.
“I am truly honored and thankful for the support of my colleagues in this new leadership role," Sims said in a statement. "It is something that cannot be taken for granted, and I appreciate their confidence in me to guide this legislative body as we continue to work on behalf of our constituents to make Summit County the best place to live, work, learn and play for everyone."
Sims became council vice president in 2022 after the retirement of at-large member Clair Dickinson, becoming the first Black women to serve as an officer on council. She is the second Black woman to serve on council overall and the fifth Black person to serve on council since its current charter form of government was established in 1979 and the first council members convened in 1981.
Sims replaces at-large member Elizabeth Walters as president. The pair are leading the county’s efforts on declaring racism a public health crisis, and they co-chair the Racism as a Public Health Crisis Special Review Committee.
Sims was appointed to council in 2020 to replace David Hamilton, who was elected to Akron Municipal Court, and was elected to the seat that November. She previously served on Akron City Council and the Akron Public Schools board.
Sims is the chair of council’s planning and economic development committee, vice chair of the public safety and health and human service committees and a member of the finance committee.
Darrow was elected to council in 2020, replacing Ron Koehler, who lost reelection. She formerly served on the Macedonia City Council and was a past president there. She is the chair of council's long-term planning committee, vice chair of the personnel committee and a member of the public safety and health and human services committees. She is also third vice president of the Federated Women of Summit County.
As of last year, for the first time in its more than 40-year history, there are more women than men on Summit County Council.
The 11-member council is currently made up of seven women and four men: Darrow; John Schmidt, District 2; Gloria Rodgers, District 3; Jeff Wilhite, District 4; Sims; Christine Higham, District 6; Bethany McKenney, District 7; Anthony DeVitis, District 8; Walters; Erin Dickinson, at-large member; and John Donofrio, at-large member.
Many of the women on County Council are newer members:
Darrow was elected in November 2020.
County Council in January 2020 selected Sims to complete the remainder of David Hamilton's term after he was elected as an Akron Municipal Court judge. She was elected to the seat in November 2020.
McKenney was elected to the seat in the 2018 election, filling out the remainder of the term of Tim Crawford, who had served on County Council since 1993 and left to take a county government job. She was reelected in November 2020.
Walters was appointed in February 2016 and was first elected in November 2016, and reelected in 2020.
Rodgers was first elected in November 2008 and has been on council for 14 years, the current longest-serving female council member.
Higham and Dickinson were appointed to council in June. Higham filled the vacancy left by Jerry Feeman, who died May 8, while Dickinson filled the vacancy left by her father, Clair, who retired May 31. Their appointments brought County Council to be majority-female.
Majority-female Summit County Council: Women represent majority on Summit County Council for first time
Nearly all of Summit County's elected officials are women, including County Executive Ilene Shapiro, Prosecutor Sherri Bevan Walsh, Clerk of Courts Sandra Kurt, Sheriff Kandy Fatheree, Fiscal Officer Kristen Scalise, Juvenile Court Judge Linda Tucci Teodosio, Probate Court Judge Elinore Marsh Stormer, Domestic Relations Court Judges Katarina Cook and Kani Hightower, and Common Pleas Court Judges Tammy O'Brien, Kelly McLaughlin, Alison McCarty, Mary Margaret Rowlands, Christine Croce, Joy Malek Oldfield, Alison Breaux, Kathryn Michael, Susan Baker Ross and Jennifer Towell.
The only male county elected official, other than the four men on County Council, is County Engineer Alan Brubaker.
Contact Beacon Journal reporter Emily Mills at emills@thebeaconjournal.com and on Twitter @EmilyMills818.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Veronica Sims is Summit County Council's first Black female president
