McCarthy stepping down June 30
By Kathleen Folkerth
DOWNTOWN AKRON — After more than 30 years as an employee of Summit County, with the last seven of them in the top spot, James McCarthy is ready to retire.
McCarthy, 67, announced his decision at a meeting held with reporters June 12 in the conference room adjacent to his office.
“It’s been exhilarating,” McCarthy said. “I don’t know that there’s a higher calling than public service. I can’t imagine living my life any different.”
McCarthy, a Democrat, said he had been planning to retire “for some time” but didn’t want to confirm recent news reports about his decision until he had made the arrangements regarding his pension. He said with the amount of time he has put into work, he will receive 91 percent of his current income in retirement. His current salary is $114,000.
When McCarthy steps down, Summit County Council President Nick Kostandaras (D-District 1), a Richfield resident, will fill the position until a new executive is appointed. The Ohio Revised Code allows the president to fill the position for up to 45 days, according to David Hannon, chief of staff for Summit County Council.
Kostandaras said he wished McCarthy well.
“He has done lots for Summit
County,” Kostandaras said. “He has always
been there when I needed
him.”
He said he appreciated McCarthy’s
honesty.
“You knew exactly where
McCarthy stood,” Kostandaras said.
The Council president said he
plans to stay in town during the time he will serve
as interim executive. Summit County Council does not
meet in July until the 23rd because of its annual summer
break.
McCarthy confirmed that two local
Democrats have already said they are interested in the
job: Summit County Councilman Tim Crawford (D-District
7), a Norton resident, and attorney Russell Pry, a Highland
Square resident who is chairman of the Summit County
Democratic Party.
According to Russell Balthis,
executive director of the Summit County Democratic Party,
the next executive will be appointed at a meeting of
the 380 members of the party’s central committee,
tentatively scheduled to take
place July 12 at North High School. He added that anyone
can come to the meeting and be nominated for the position.
When pressed, McCarthy said he
favors Pry for the executive job.
“I think he has the personality
for the job,” McCarthy said. “Maybe it’s
time for a lawyer to be in here.”
McCarthy’s term as county
executive is through the end of 2008, so whoever succeeds
him will face re-election next year.
The county executive was in good
spirits during the meeting, especially as he talked
about what he said were “a lot of little things”
that helped him decide on retirement.
“One day I was shaving
and I saw my grandfather’s face in the mirror,”
he said. “One thing I didn’t want to see
happen was me walking down the hallway and drop dead.”
He said after his retirement
he and his wife would like to travel, and he’d
like to read books and work on projects around the house.
He is a resident of Cuyahoga Falls.
As for the highlights of his
tenure, McCarthy noted the county’s use of geographic
information systems (GIS) as well as improvements to
the county courthouse and the Ohio Building, where many
of the county’s offices are housed. He also mentioned
the Job Center and the ExecutiveMED prescription card
plan for county residents.
He said the county still has
a lot of work to do, and he expounded on his belief
that regionalism, while it’s talked about a great
deal, isn’t currently being done to maximize the
efficiency of government.
McCarthy said the county’s
future lies in the southwest corner.
“We are an urban county,”
he said. “Our growth is pretty much over. Montrose
is built out, Twinsburg and Macedonia are built out,
Howe Road and Chapel Hill
are built out.”
He said he wished the building
of a new county animal control facility were under way.
A 5-acre site on Eastwood Avenue was the best choice
for the new facility, he said, but County Council rejected
it last year after residents raised concerns.
“That’s where it
needs to be,” he said. “There isn’t
any better place.”
McCarthy said he’s learned
over the years that not everything goes his way.
“It’s the frustrating
part of being the county executive,” he said.
“When it happens, it’s fine, but if it doesn’t
happen, you’ve got to move on.”
McCarthy, an Akron native, began
his county career as the clerk of courts, in which position
he served from 1975 to 1989. He was county auditor from
1989 to 2000, the year he was elected county executive.
He was re-elected in 2004.
McCarthy expressed his
thanks to residents of the county.
“I’m thankful to
the people of Summit County for trusting me all these
years,” he said.
He also wished the next executive
luck in the position.
“This is the best job I’ve
ever had,” he said. “It’s the best
job in the county.”
Summit County Executive James McCarthy announces his resignation June 12.
Photo: Kathleen Folkerth
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