AKRON, Ohio — Top officials in Akron and Summit County say they are ready to get to work with Governor-elect Amy Acton, telling the Akron Beacon Journal in statements this week that delivering results for residents matters more than party politics as Ohio prepares for its first woman governor.
Ohio voters elected Acton on Nov. 3, choosing the former state health director over Republican Vivek Ramaswamy in the race to succeed Gov. Mike DeWine, who has held the office since 2018, the Akron Beacon Journal reported. Acton, who served as DeWine’s health director during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, is the first Democrat to win the governorship in 20 years, according to the Beacon Journal.
Summit County Executive Ilene Shapiro, in a Nov. 4 email quoted by the Akron Beacon Journal, framed the transition as a test of what the county and the state can accomplish together. “For Summit County residents, the most important measure of this moment will be the progress we make together,” Shapiro said, according to the Beacon Journal.
Shapiro committed the county to collaborating with Governor-elect Acton and all other government partners to make sure individuals and families’ basic needs are met while giving businesses chances to thrive, the Beacon Journal reported. “A strong Ohio depends on strong local communities,” Shapiro said, according to the Beacon Journal, “and we look forward to being an active partner in building a future where both our residents and our businesses can thrive.”
Akron Mayor Shammas Malik struck the same note in a Nov. 5 emailed statement reported by the Akron Beacon Journal, saying his administration is ready to work with Acton’s administration and the Ohio legislature. Malik said his administration collaborated for years with DeWine and his administration, adding that “delivering results for our residents is more important than party politics,” according to the Beacon Journal.
Malik named the areas where City Hall most wants state partnership. “From advocating for more funding to help local governments fund public safety to investing in aging infrastructure, to expanding housing opportunities, supporting economic development and investing in early childhood education, there are important areas where state and local government can work together to make a meaningful difference,” Malik said, according to the Akron Beacon Journal. “We look forward to building that partnership with the incoming administration.”
The outreach comes as Akron is already deep in state-facing work of its own. City voters on Nov. 3 approved two housing charter amendments — covering security-deposit payment plans and new protected classes in housing — and, as the Akron Beacon Journal has reported, City Council must enact enabling legislation within 90 days of the amendments taking effect, a process that will run alongside the state transition.
Housing, infrastructure and public safety funding are recurring pressure points for Summit County communities, where local governments routinely compete for state dollars for road and water projects and for programs that counties administer on the state’s behalf. A governor who built her public profile running a state agency — Acton led the Ohio Department of Health under DeWine before stepping down in 2020 — will now oversee the same state apparatus that counties negotiate with daily.
Acton’s election also caps a Democratic breakthrough in Ohio’s statewide races. As the Cincinnati Enquirer reported in its treasurer’s-race coverage, Democrats swept all but one statewide elected position on the November ballot, a result that reshapes how Republican-leaning and Democratic-leaning local governments alike will approach Columbus in the new term.
What we know — and what we’re still waiting on
What is confirmed: Acton won the Nov. 3 election and, under the Ohio Constitution, the gubernatorial inauguration falls on the second Monday in January, with Acton’s public inauguration ceremony scheduled for Jan. 11, according to the Akron Beacon Journal. What is still ahead: county boards of elections must certify the results, Acton must name her cabinet and agency directors, and her first state budget proposal — the document that will show Akron and Summit County what her stated priorities mean in dollars — will follow in the new year.
For Akron and Summit County residents, the practical next step is the certification and transition period running through the end of the year. Shapiro’s and Malik’s early statements position both governments to be at the table when the new administration begins setting its agenda — and both leaders have now said publicly, on the record, that they intend to judge the relationship by results delivered at home.