This article is part of the Voters Guide produced in partnership with the League of Women Voters of the Akron Area.
Description of Race/Referendum:
The Summit County sheriff provides services to the courts, oversees the county jail, and acts as the chief law enforcement officer for the county.
Vote for no more than one — term commencing Jan. 6, 2025.
Shane Barker
Republican
Candidate Email: shane@barkerforsheriff.com
Training / Experience: OPOTA Peace Officers Training Academy, OPOTA Jail Administrators School, and over 1000 hours of advanced and continuing education Law Enforcement Training.
Current occupation: Retired
Campaign phone: 330-608-0156
Website: barkerforsheriff.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/sbarker4sheriff
Education: Woodridge High School, Kent State University, American Flyers.
Why are you the best candidate for this office?
I am the best candidate for the Summit County Sheriff because of my extensive experience, my deep understanding of the community, and my commitment to restoring integrity and safety to our Sheriff’s Office. With over 25 years of service in the Sheriff’s Office and a strong showing in the 2020 election, I have proven my dedication and capability to lead. Unlike the current administration, which has overseen significant failures and mismanagement, I bring a track record of competence and a clear plan to address the critical issues facing our county. I am endorsed by the Summit County Republican Party and former Sheriff Steve Barry, a Democrat, underscoring my broad appeal and ability to work across party lines for the good of our community.
What are the top priorities you seek to address once in office and what strategies will you use to accomplish these priorities?
My top priorities as Sheriff will be to restore public trust in the Sheriff’s Office, ensure that law enforcement is both effective and accountable, and address the underlying issues that have led to significant safety concerns in our community. I will focus on:
Rebuilding Trust: I will implement transparency measures, including regular public reporting on law enforcement activities, to ensure accountability and foster trust between the Sheriff’s Office and the community. I will also form a Community Advisory Group to gain a comprehensive understanding of ongoing community issues.
Community Engagement: I will actively engage with local residents, businesses, and community leaders to better understand their concerns and work collaboratively on solutions that enhance public safety.
I will also be working on addressing the issues in the jail, which I managed effectively before the current administration took office. I will go into further detail on that issue in the next question.
What are your ideas for making improvements to the Summit County Jail?
First, I’d focus on passing the jail inspections that are performed by the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections and allow increased access to the Summit County Grand Jury. This will necessitate fixing the specific problems that have already been observed, such as cleanliness, maintenance, and overall conditions.
Second, I’d work on hiring additional staff. The staff at the jail has been significantly reduced under the current administration, which has resulted in serious issues, including escapes, an increase in drug use, and a troubling rise in suicides. Proper staffing is essential to maintaining order and safety.
Third, I’d specifically address preventing jail escapes, overdoses, suicides, and occurrences of deputies engaging in inappropriate conduct with inmates. By tightening security protocols, enhancing staff training, and increasing oversight, I will ensure that our jail is not only secure but also a place where inmates are treated humanely and fairly.
Kandy Fatheree
Democrat
Candidate Email: info@sheriffkandyfatheree.org
Phone: 330-524-0629
Training/Experience: 32 years in law enforcement, 30 years with the Sheriff’s Office
Current occupation: Summit County Sheriff
Website: www.kandyfathereeforsheriff.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/SheriffKandyFatheree
Education: Associates Degree in Criminal Justice; FBI National Academy for Executive Leadership
Why are you the best candidate for this office?
As your current Summit County Sheriff, I’ve spent my first term enacting a series of reforms aimed at modernizing, diversifying, and professionalizing the Office. I’ve made internal changes to improve conditions for our deputies and staff, like reforming our promotions process to make it fairer and more transparent, providing more mental healthcare resources, and cutting our deputy shortage in half. I’ve made external-facing changes such as expanding our community policing, introducing new programs to educate the public, launching a Sheriff’s Office mobile app, and expanding our recruitment efforts to reach more women, minorities, and new citizens. And I’ve made command decisions designed to improve public safety, like expanding our School Resource Officer program, providing new cruisers to local police departments, working with the City of Akron to form a Gun Violence Unit, and increasing the number of annual training hours for our deputies to put us ahead of state standards.
What are the top priorities you seek to address once in office and what strategies will you use to accomplish these priorities?
Like agencies nationwide, we’ve faced a recent shortage of deputies. Through innovative recruitment efforts we’ve now cut that shortage in half. My goal is to get us back to full staffing in my next term, which is within reach if we continue our current approach.
I’ll also continue our work to reduce inmate recidivism, especially amongst those with mental health and addiction issues. Providing recovery assistance and helping them find jobs and housing is paramount to preventing their return, and is a significant savings to taxpayers.
And we will continue to focus on reducing violent crime, drug and human trafficking, and gun violence in our communities through our partnerships with local police, and through the numerous task forces that I lead.
What are your ideas for making improvements to the Summit County Jail?
We’ve made many physical and operational improvements to the Jail, with some still underway, but there are more programs I hope to introduce. Last year we began providing tablets to our inmates, allowing them to pursue training and education, and conduct e-correspondence and video visitation, putting a halt to contraband coming in through physical mail. This year I also fulfilled one of my main goals as we opened a new facility to help former inmates with mental health and substance abuse disorders and who are homeless get the help they need to recover, and find permanent housing. And for those still incarcerated we’ll be introducing the IGNITE program, which has produced very positive results in other counties. It allows inmates to take classes for their GED or diploma, enroll in college courses, and earn certifications in different sectors. The goal of these programs is to reduce recidivism, which frees up jail space for more serious offenders, and saves everybody’s taxpayer dollars.
