SUMMIT COUNTY — Democrats came out on top locally and nationally in the Nov. 4 General Election.

Nov. 4 was historic as Democrat U.S. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Illinois) was elected the first black president after defeating Republican U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona) by 52 percent of the vote. In Ohio, Obama was the top vote-getter with 51 percent of the vote.

In Summit County, Democrats swept a majority of the Summit County races, including executive, prosecutor, clerk of courts, fiscal officer, engineer and almost all of the County Council seats up for election.

According to the Summit County Board of Elections, voter turnout in Summit County was 71 percent.

The following is based on the unofficial election results from the Summit County Board of Elections and the Ohio Secretary of State’s Office. For more election results, visit the Summit County Board of Elections Web site at www.summitcountyboe.com.

SUMMIT COUNTY

Akron

Akron voters said a strong “no” to Issue No. 8, Mayor Don Plusquellic’s Akron Scholarship Plan measure, a charter amendment that would have provided for the lease of the city’s sewer system to fund a scholarship program for Akron high school graduates who attend college or trade school in the city. Voters handily defeated Issue No. 8, with 62.5 percent voting against it.

Akron Public Service Director Rick Merolla blamed the defeat on “misleading criticism” spread by well-organized opposition.

“I never heard them once say anything good about the children of Akron,” he said, adding that as the mayor was crafting a way to bring the Akron Scholarship Plan about, “the opposition was already out creating misinformation about it, and it was just too much to overcome.”

Over the course of the campaign, the controversial plan was both lauded as visionary and condemned because of certain provisions, such as the requirement that scholarship recipients either file an Akron income tax form for 30 years or pay back their scholarship money.

Jack Sombati, an official with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, who helped lead opposition to Issue No. 8, said voters sent a clear message they would not back “privatization” of the city sewer system.

“It’s a gamble for our community, and they cannot take that gamble,” he said. “It was a very good night for the citizens of Akron.”

Countering Plusquellic’s criticism against Issue No. 8 opponents, Sombati said, “We’re willing to sit down with the mayor and those that support his scholarship and explore alternative ways to establish a scholarship.”

Plusquellic thanked those who worked to get Issue No. 8 passed, but he expressed frustration with the “inability we seemed to have in getting the word out, against the tremendous amount of disinformation and misinformation produced by the opposition,” he said in a statement released that evening.

“I’ve never worked harder on anything in my life, and I take the responsibility for the outcome. We should have gotten out earlier with our campaign. Everyone who worked on Issue No. 8 had his and her heart in the right place. We all want to improve the lives of many thousand young people in our community. Akron missed a golden opportunity tonight.”

A competing measure, Issue No. 9, backed by Issue No. 8 opponents, passed with almost 67 percent of the vote; Issue No. 9 amends the city charter to require any sale, lease or transfer of a city utility be approved by voters first.

Issue No. 7, a charter amendment that would have placed the City Council clerk position in the classified sector of Civil Service, thus giving City Council more control over the clerk’s appointment and duties, also was defeated by voters by a 58 percent to 42 percent margin.

Green

The election results of the one local issue on the ballot for voters in Green is a repeat of the outcome it produced last year.

Issue No. 21, a proposed charter amendment to allow the Civil Service Commission to adopt rules and regulations legislated by Green City Council that differ from the Ohio Revised Code, was voted down by 54 percent.

A similar issue on the 2007 ballot failed with 51 percent of the voters against it.

“The citizens have spoken, and we respect their decision,” said Jeanne Greco, city of Green human resources manager. “We will abide by the provision of the Ohio Revised Code with regards to those positions considered classified in the city.”

New Franklin

New Franklin officials’ request for more money to address capital needs went down to defeat.

Issue No. 22, a request to increase the city income tax from 1 percent to 2 percent beginning Jan. 1 was soundly defeated by 77 percent of the vote.

The increase would have brought in about $1 million more in revenue for the new city. According to New Franklin Mayor Al Bollas, the tax increase was needed to fund increasing municipal operations and capital improvements to the 1965-era main fire station, which cannot house both male and female fire medics.

“I was surprised by the results,” said Bollas. “We were trying to hurt the smallest number of people possible with an income tax.”

Bollas said the loss of new revenue will impact plans for capital improvements.

“We won’t be able to do some of the extras — making upgrades to the fire station and buying some new equipment,” he said. “Right now, we are paying as we go, but we will run out of cash eventually. We will have to start borrowing. I believe we can manage a 10-year payment plan to fund some needed fire station improvements.”

Bollas added Council would discuss how to handle the defeat of the proposed income tax increase in the coming weeks.

Norton

Voters living in the Norton City Schools District, which includes some New Franklin residents, overwhelmingly defeated Issue No. 49, a new continuing 4.9-mill operating levy for the Norton City Schools District, by 63 percent of the vote.

Funds from the levy would have been used to pay for increasing general operating costs, according to Stephanie Hagenbush, treasurer and chief financial officer of Norton City Schools. Funds from the levy would have helped to offset a projected deficit for 2011, according to Hagenbush. Voters last approved a new 4.9-mill continuing levy in 2004.

District Superintendent Dave Dunn said he was disappointed the levy was defeated. He said the district will meet in the coming weeks to determine whether another levy will be placed on a ballot next year.

“It’s tough economic times,” said Dunn. “We had some conversations with the community [about the levy], and we will have discussion with the community in the coming months.”

Springfield

Springfield Township fared better with its three levy requests than other local communities.

Issue No. 43, a renewal of the five-year, 1-mill levy, which collects $174,000 annually for general reconstruction, resurfacing and repair of roads and bridges in Springfield, was approved by 58 percent.

The renewal would begin in 2009. It does not represent an increase in taxes, according to township officials.

Issue No. 44, a tax levy that will combine an existing 1-mill levy and a 0.9-mill levy into one 1.9-mill levy and raise an additional $338,632 for general police operations, won by 54 percent. The issue will cost owners of a $100,000 home an additional $37 annually in taxes starting in 2009, with collections coming to the department in 2010.

Springfield Township Police Chief John Smith said he appreciates the support of the voters on the issue.

“This is a great community,” he said. “We picked a bad year to ask for money, but we gave people the facts and let people decide. It means a lot that people feel our service is good, and supported us.”

Smith said department operations will face “a couple of tight years before collections come in, but we planned for this.”

Issue No. 45, a new 2-mill levy that would have been collected for one year only to fund the purchase of one new fire department truck to replace two aging ones, was defeated by 55 percent of the vote. It would have cost the owner of a $100,000 home a one-time payment of $61.25 in new taxes. It was projected to raise an estimated $548,000.

Springfield Township Fire Chief Vic Wincik did not return calls seeking comment by presstime.

Judge races

Three current Akron Municipal Court judges — Eve Belfance, Alison McCarty and Lynne Callahan — won judgeships on higher courts during the election. According to officials from the Republican and Democratic parties, Gov. Ted Strickland will appoint replacements to their Akron Municipal Court seats.

In the 9th District Court of Appeals judge race, Democrat Belfance defeated Republican William Wellemeyer by 59 percent of the vote.

“I am thrilled to serve in this position,” said Belfance. “I see my life as serving, and it is such a privilege to be able to serve in this position. I am thrilled the public had the confidence in placing me in this position, and I will serve the best I can.”

Wellemeyer did not return calls seeking comment by presstime.

McCarty, a Republican, defeated Democrat Deborah Matz, taking 64 percent of the vote in the race for one of two newly created judgeships at the Summit County Common Pleas Court.

“I’m thrilled, and I am just so thankful to all of those citizens who came out to vote for me,” McCarty said. “I am very excited for the challenge that this new position presents, and I will work very hard to do an excellent job for this county.”

Callahan, a Republican, won the race to fill the Common Pleas Court seat currently held by Judge Mary Spicer, who is retiring. Callahan, who has been an Akron judge for 11 years, received 60 percent of the vote against Thomas Freeman, a Democrat who works as a magistrate in Summit County Juvenile Court, who received 40 percent.

“I’m really excited,” said Callahan about moving up to the common pleas level. “The closer this got, the more excited I became about taking on that job. I’m excited and humbled to have a win like that.”

Callahan added she would spend time before she begins her new term observing the current common pleas judges to find out what practices will work best in her court.

Akron attorney Mary Margaret Rowlands, a Democrat, defeated Akron Municipal Court Judge John Holcomb, a Republican, by 52 percent to 48 percent for the other new seat created by the state legislature. Rowlands currently serves as legal counsel in the Summit County Fiscal Office.

Rowlands ran unsuccessfully for the common pleas bench in 2004 against Judge Judy Hunter. Holcomb is in his 13th year on the municipal bench and has five years left in his term.

Attempts at contacting Rowlands and Holcomb for comment were unsuccessful by presstime.

Voters decided Republican Brenda Burnham Unruh will keep her seat in Summit County Common Pleas Court. She received 60 percent of the vote, while her opponent, Akron attorney Orlando Williams, a Democrat, received 40 percent. Unruh was appointed to the seat in 1999 and was elected to it in 2000 and 2002.

Attempts at contacting Unruh for comment were unsuccessful by presstime.

Judge Judy Hunter, a Republican, received 62 percent of the vote to keep her seat in the common pleas court. She was challenged by attorney John Fickes, a Democrat, who received 38 percent in the race.

Hunter was appointed to her seat in 2003 and won election for the unexpired term in 2004. She previously served as Summit County Juvenile Court judge for one term.

“I’m very grateful for the support from the community and looking forward to the privilege of serving another six years,” Hunter said.

She added that voters responded to her experience as a judge.

“They decided that experience matters and looked at my record and decided they could be secure keeping me on the bench,” she said.

Candidate Tom Parker, in his second attempt for a common pleas court judge seat, was the winner this time with 54 percent over his opponent, incumbent Robert Gippin, who received 46 percent. Gippin, a Democrat, was appointed to fill the seat of Marvin Shapiro when the latter retired earlier this year. The full term commences May 1, 2009.

“I have to tell you, it is very humbling,” said Parker, a Republican who is an attorney in the firm of Parker, Leiby, Hanna & Rasnick and a visiting magistrate in Akron Municipal Court. “We worked very hard. This is my second run, and to see the support we got across the county, it is humbling. We’re excited obviously.”

Parker said he believes he and Gippin ran positive campaigns.

“Bob and I have quite a bit of respect for one another,” Parker said. “He’s done a good job as judge, and we tried to run a good, clean race. We each ran on our merits, and it helps that I was on the ballot before.”

Parker said the win was the second big event of his week. The day before, his first grandchild was born.

Attempts at contacting Gippin were unsuccessful by presstime.

One of the tightest races of the night was for judge of Summit County Probate Court. Incumbent Bill Spicer, a Republican who has held the seat for 28 years, narrowly won the seat with 51 percent of the vote against his opponent, Elinore Marsh Stormer, a Democrat who is currently a judge in Summit County Common Pleas Court, who received 49 percent.

Early results had Stormer leading, but Spicer’s numbers picked up as the evening went on.

“It didn’t feel that great to begin with, but as we started to pick up votes, my mood cheered up,” Spicer said.

He credited his volunteers with helping his campaign get the win.

“They went out there and went door to door and did whatever had to be done,” Spicer said. “Plus, the court has a good reputation.”

Attempts at contacting Stormer for comment were unsuccessful by presstime.

Incumbent Summit County Juvenile Court Judge Linda Tucci Teodosio earned a second term with 69 percent of the vote. Opponent Katarina Cook, an Akron Municipal Court magistrate and Republican, received 31 percent.

“I’m very, very excited,” said Teodosio, a Democrat. “I’ve worked really hard throughout the campaign, and I’m looking forward to serving another six years and putting more programs in place.”

She added that voters responded to what is happening in the court.

“I think it was the hard work we’ve done in the court in improving services for children and families,” said Teodosio, who commended her staff.

John Quinn, a Democrat, won a second term on the Summit County Domestic Relations Court bench with 61 percent of the vote. His opponent, Edna Boyle, a Republican, received 39 percent.

Summit County races

In countywide races, Democrat incumbent Russ Pry will remain in the county executive seat. Voters elected him with 61 percent of the vote over Republican Jim Laria, the current Akron Municipal Court clerk.

Pry said he’s glad for the chance to continue to work toward making Summit County one of the best places to live.

“I am thankful that the voters of Summit County appreciated the job that I’ve been doing as the county executive, and I look forward to four more years,” he said. “It’s going to continue to be creative, collaborative efforts to bring jobs and keep jobs here in our county.”

“I want to congratulate Russ on his victory, wish him the best,” Laria said. “Hopefully, he can help turn the county around.”

Laria said he hasn’t thought far enough ahead to say whether he might run for the position again.

“We’ll see where we go after the full results are in,” he said.

Summit County offices saw their share of incumbents returned to their seats, a notable exception being County Engineer Greg Bachman, a Republican, who succumbed to a challenge by Democrat Alan Brubaker, who took 55 percent of the vote.

Brubaker, of Springfield Township, said his is a “great win for the citizens of Summit County. We can soon start with the programs to make our county better, safer and stronger economically and physically.”

Brubaker said he’s prepared to jump right into issues he wants to address upon taking office.

“We want to get started with making our intersections safer and our traffic signals more efficient,” he said.

Bachman didn’t return calls seeking comment by presstime.

For the two Summit County Council races that include districts in the South Side News Leader, both incumbents won.

Tim Crawford, a long-serving Democrat from Norton, will continue as Council representative to District 7, taking 66 percent of the vote in the race against Republican Mark Young.

For the District 8 seat, Democratic incumbent Paula Prentice, of Green, beat Republican John Jones 61 percent to 39 percent.

Prentice said she was happy that voters allowed her to retain her seat.

“As chair of the Health and Human Services Committee, there are a number of projects I want to continue working on — youths aging out of foster care and health insurance for children,” she said. “We are sitting with 6,000 kids who do not have health insurance. There also are a lot of issues with the schools, and there are some avenues I want to explore to help the schools with their needs.”

Democrat incumbent Daniel Horrigan defeated Republican Mary Stormer 56 percent to 44 percent to continue to serve as clerk of the Summit County Common Pleas Courts.

“The voters, I think, understood who the two different names were, and to me it just reaffirms my faith that they were able to make the best decision and the right decision,” Horrigan said. “I am ecstatic. It truly is an honor to be elected as the clerk of courts. It’s a humbling experience.”

He said he will continue to place a big focus on improving technology and access for the public in the Clerk of Courts Office.

Stormer didn’t return a call seeking comment by presstime.

Democratic Fiscal Officer John Donofrio received 67 percent of the vote and was victorious over challenger William Conte, a Norton Republican.  

“This is my eighth time running as treasurer/fiscal officer, and I’m just grateful that all the voters had the confidence in me to vote for me again,” Donofrio said. “I’m fortunate, and I’m grateful.”

He said it’ll be business as usual at the Fiscal Office for now, but he and his staff will be working to implement new services, such as paying real estate taxes starting in February with a credit card or online.

“I have a great staff of over 200 people who work hard,” Donofrio said. “As times change and the economy changes, we try to develop programs ... to do the right thing to help taxpayers.”

Conte said he learned the position and the race had more to do with politics than it did the qualifications for the office.

“I guess I learned that the hard way,” he said.

As far as possibly making a future bid for the seat, Conte said, “I’m not going to rule it out, but either way, I’ll still be active.”

He said he will keep www.billconte.com running as a source of information about fiscal conservatism and free market capitalism boiled down to Summit County.

In the race for Summit County prosecutor, Democrat Sherri Bevan Walsh won a third term with 69 percent of the vote. Walsh’s opponent, attorney Nancy Mercurio Morrison, a former employee of the prosecutor’s office, received 31 percent.

“I’m very happy certainly to see that the voters have the trust in me to continue doing the job I am doing,” Walsh said.

She attributed her win to the work being done in her office.

“I think what made the difference is every single person in my office works hard day in and day out,” Walsh said. “We have done a great job with the cases we handle. We have done a good job of protecting crime victims and we’re out there in the community.”

STATE

In the District 28 Ohio Senate race, Democratic incumbent Tom Sawyer handily defeated Republican James Carr by 68 percent of the vote. Sawyer, who has served in politics for 32 years, said winning re-election to this seat has been one of the “most gratifying” experiences of his political career.

“I’m very grateful to all my supporters,” said Sawyer, who was appointed to the seat in March of 2007.

Sawyer said his top priority in his next term is solving the issue of school funding in Ohio.

“We need to stabilize the entire range of how education is funded in Ohio,” Sawyer said. “It’s the single most important thing we need to do.”

In the District 43 state representative race, Democratic incumbent Stephen Dyer beat Republican Judy Jones, an at-large New Franklin Council member, by 59 percent.

Dyer thanked his supporters for voting him into a second term of office.

“This was a great day,” he said. “I am really glad to see Democrats win a majority in the Senate. It means we will be able to do some things that we have not been able to do, and make things better for residents in the district.”

Dyer said school funding is at the top of the list for the next General Assembly.

“I have a comprehensive plan that will be the hallmark issue of the next session,” he said.

The details of the plan will be presented in the coming months, according to Dyer.

In the District 45 state representative race, Democratic incumbent John Otterman defeated Republican Joe Fazek with 71 percent of the vote.

“We now have control of the House, and that makes a big difference on how we will approach things,” Otterman said. “Things will change in Columbus. Legislation will be dealt with more compassion and research. We can get some things done finally. One of the main things is school funding. We are looking forward to working on that and the economy, which has been in dire straits. We will be working very hard to deal with the loss of jobs and help those out of work.”

FEDERAL

In the District 13 Congressional representative race, Democratic incumbent Betty Sutton defeated Republican David Potter and Independent Robert Crow by 64 percent.

Democratic incumbent Tim Ryan handily defeated Republican Duane Grassell by 78 percent of the vote to retain his seat as District 17 Congressional representative.