2/23/2004

Portage County prepares for three local elections

Nicole Hughes
Daily Kent Stater

This is part of a series taking a look at the issues, trends and candidates involved in the upcoming March 2 Ohio primary election.

In addition to the high-profile statewide and national primary elections that will be decided March 2, the Portage County political parties will also be nominating candidates to fill certain local seats.

Three of those positions are county treasurer, county recorder and clerk of common pleas court. These positions serve to help the county function smoothly.

Treasurer

The candidates for Portage County treasurer are Democrats Steve Shanafelt and Vicki Kline.

“A treasurer is a member of three boards,” said Shanafelt, the incumbent. “Revisions meets April, May and June to argue the values of properties, (the) budget commission meets weekly to review and approve school tax budgets, and the Investment Advisory Board advises commissioners on investments.

“Daily tasks are working with people to collect real estate and real property taxes,” he said. “We have two people in the department who deal with collections. One collects real estate and real property, and the other does collections from mobile homes.”

The county treasurer also works directly with the people.

“Times have changed,” said Kline, who works at Kline Financial Group. “Before, a treasurer was the tax collector, but now they need to be trained in all aspects. Being elected is just the beginning. You need to work with the people once in office.”

Both candidates agree that being a treasurer is a full-time job.

“It is important for people to know that I am a full-time treasurer and take the responsibility very seriously,” Shanafelt said. “You want to know that the guy is there, and you will be able to talk to him.”

Kline said she gives 110 percent or doesn’t do something.

“If I get elected, I will wind down my business to be a full-time treasurer,” Kline said. “I will be accountable, accessible and responsive to taxpayers. They deserve a full-time treasurer.”

Recorder

Bonnie Howe, Gene Brown and Linda Kovacs are vying for the Democratic nomination for Portage county recorder, and Louis Dudek is running unopposed for the Republican nomination.

The recorder handles transfers, deeds, liens, street name changes, zoning resolutions, power of attorney, military discharge papers (which are free), zoning maps and amendments, said Howe, who is currently serving as a Rootstown township trustee.

“There are three points to the job: office manager, public servant and strong leader in the county,” said Brown, current Ravenna city councilman. “People come in to the recorder’s office wanting to buy, sell or look at options on property, so the information is important.”

Clerk of courts

Democrats Linda Fankhauser and Charlene Badger are running for clerk of common pleas court, and Ronn Franczkowski is running unopposed for the Republican nomination.

The current clerk of courts is retiring, and the county recorder is among the candidates who are running for the position.

“I wanted to make the move from being county recorder to being clerk of courts because I have an interest in the court system,” said Fankhauser, current recorder and candidate for clerk of courts. “My husband has been a policeman for years, so I have gotten to know the court system.”

The clerk of common pleas court position includes record keeping for the court system.

“The position is a hands-on job, not an administrative job,” said Badger, current administrative assistant to the retiring clerk of courts. “The clerk’s office takes in $8 million a year and manages over 60,000 court cases.”

Candidates for all of the positions said they want to make a difference in the county.

“I am running for clerk of courts because I want to help people in Portage County and make a change,” said Franczkowski, who works as a real estate agent.

Others are concerned with what the people want.

“I will be a noisy treasurer and be the people’s voice,” Kline said. “We need to fund schools — they are our future, but property taxes shouldn’t be a burden.”

“We also need to educate residents regarding healthy financial management,” she said. “Programs need to be created and more responsibility needs to be placed, especially for recent graduates.”

E-mail: nhughes@kent.edu