Summit County Sample Ballot & Voter Guide 2026

Shane R. Barker is a retired Summit County Sheriff's Office administrator with 25 years in the office, per Akron.com's reporting on his 2020 candidacy for Summit County Sheriff. No campaign website was found as of September 9, 2026; the official election filing is the only verifiable source for Shane R. Barker.

Jonathon D. Bollas is a Tallmadge Ward 3 city councilman and a project manager at Cardinal Health, per Signal Akron's candidate coverage. He holds an MBA from Malone University and a bachelor's degree from Kent State University, per the same source. No campaign website was found as of September 9, 2026; the official election filing is the only verifiable source for Jonathon D. Bollas.

John Chapman appears on the November 3, 2026 ballot for Summit County Council At-Large (Vote for 3), per the county elections office's certified candidate list. No campaign website was found as of September 9, 2026; the official election filing is the only verifiable source for John Chapman.

Erin Dickinson is an incumbent Summit County Council at-large member and a business litigation attorney, per the council's official biography page. She was elected council president in January 2026 after previously serving as vice president, per the same source. No campaign website was found as of September 9, 2026; the official election filing is the only verifiable source for Erin Dickinson.

John A. Donofrio is an incumbent Summit County Council at-large member who served as the county's treasurer and then fiscal officer for 34 years before retiring in 2011, per the council's official biography page. He has served on council since 2015 and chairs its Finance Committee, per the same source. No campaign website was found as of September 9, 2026; the official election filing is the only verifiable source for John A. Donofrio.

Elizabeth Walters is an incumbent Summit County Council at-large member, per the council's official roster. She has worked with the International Institute assisting refugees, per her campaign site. Her campaign cites expanding paid parental leave as a policy accomplishment, per her campaign site.

Tania Nemer is a former federal immigration judge and Summit County magistrate, per her campaign site. She currently serves as Deputy Chief of Civil, Tax, and Child Support for the Summit County Prosecutor's Office, per her campaign site.

Tammy O'Brien is the incumbent Summit County Common Pleas judge for this seat, serving since 2011 and having presided over more than 140 trials, per Signal Akron's candidate coverage. No campaign website was found as of September 9, 2026; the official election filing is the only verifiable source for Tammy O'Brien.

Kelly L. McLaughlin is the incumbent Summit County Common Pleas judge for this seat, serving since 2018, and previously worked as a magistrate and chief magistrate in the county's Domestic Relations Court, per Signal Akron's candidate coverage. No campaign website was found as of September 9, 2026; the official election filing is the only verifiable source for Kelly L. McLaughlin.

Alison McCarty serves as the Administrative Judge of the Summit County Court of Common Pleas and is seeking re-election, per her campaign site. She describes more than 35 years of experience as a prosecutor and judge and says she is now in her 18th year on the bench, per her campaign site.

Job Esau Perry has been a trial attorney since 2005 and a magistrate since October 2024, per Signal Akron's candidate coverage. He also served on the Akron Public Schools Board from 2021 to 2024, per the same source. No campaign website was found as of September 9, 2026; the official election filing is the only verifiable source for Job Esau Perry.

Kate A. Makra appears on the November 3, 2026 ballot for Summit County Court of Common Pleas Judge (Term Beginning January 6, 2027), per the county elections office's certified candidate list. No campaign website was found as of September 9, 2026; the official election filing is the only verifiable source for Kate A. Makra.

Mary Margaret Rowlands is the sitting Summit County Court of Common Pleas judge, first elected in 2008, per the court's official judge page. She spent 19 years in private legal practice before taking the bench and now leads the court's Re-entry Court program, a specialized docket certified by the Ohio Supreme Court, per the same source. No campaign website was found as of September 27, 2026.

Christine L. Croce is the incumbent Summit County Common Pleas judge for this seat, appointed in 2013, elected in 2014 and re-elected in 2020, per Signal Akron's candidate coverage. She previously prosecuted more than 50 criminal trials and served as legal counsel to the Summit County Sheriff's Office, per the same source. No campaign website was found as of September 9, 2026; the official election filing is the only verifiable source for Christine L. Croce.

John Galonski is the county prosecutor's chief assistant prosecutor for the civil division and is admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court, per Signal Akron's candidate coverage. He has more than 25 years of courtroom experience as an assistant prosecutor, per the same source. No campaign website was found as of September 9, 2026; the official election filing is the only verifiable source for John Galonski.

Joe Darwal appears on the November 3, 2026 ballot for Summit County Court of Common Pleas Judge (Term Beginning May 1, 2027), per the county elections office's certified candidate list. No campaign website was found as of September 9, 2026; the official election filing is the only verifiable source for Joe Darwal.

Joy Malek Oldfield is the incumbent Summit County Common Pleas judge for this seat, serving since 2016 after serving as an Akron Municipal Court judge from 2011 to 2016, per Signal Akron's candidate coverage. No campaign website was found as of September 9, 2026; the official election filing is the only verifiable source for Joy Malek Oldfield.

Amy Corrigall Jones has been a lawyer for 25 years and was elected as a Summit County Common Pleas judge beginning in 2012, per her campaign site. She founded the Summit County Valor Veterans Court in 2013 and created the Summit Offender Recidivism Reduction Program, per her campaign site. She currently works as an Executive Liaison with Summit County and the Summit County Sheriff's office, per her campaign site.

David Lombardi appears on the November 3, 2026 ballot for Summit County Juvenile Court Judge (Term Beginning January 1, 2027), per the county elections office's certified candidate list. No campaign website was found as of September 9, 2026; the official election filing is the only verifiable source for David Lombardi.

Katarina Cook has served as administrative judge of the Summit County Domestic Relations Court since 2021, per Signal Akron's candidate coverage. Her campaign site highlights the court's Justice on Wheels program, part of the Ohio Justice Bus initiative, to expand access to family-law help.

Lisa Carey Dean has more than 25 years of experience as a licensed Ohio attorney, per her campaign site. She joined Roderick Linton Belfance, LLP in 2005, became an Equity Partner in 2015, and focuses her practice on family law, per her campaign site. She previously worked in the appellate divisions of the Summit County and Portage County Prosecutor's Offices and served as Judicial Attorney to Judge Judith A. Nicely of the Summit County Domestic Relations Court, per her campaign site. She has served as a Magistrate in Cuyahoga Falls Mayor's Court and, since 2020, as the elected Law Director for the City of Green, per her campaign site.

Steve Elliott serves as the Chief Magistrate of the Summit County Probate Court, per his campaign site. He has worked with families on probate matters both as an attorney and as a magistrate, per his campaign site.

Stevenson currently serves as Clerk of Courts for Barberton Municipal Court, a role she was elected to in 2013, 2015 and 2021, per Akron Legal News. Stevenson was appointed by Governor Mike DeWine as Barberton Municipal Judge in July 2023. Earlier in her career, Stevenson served as a magistrate in the Summit County Probate Court from 2000 to 2012, as an assistant civil prosecutor in the Summit County Prosecutor's Office, and as a judicial attorney to a Stark County Common Pleas judge and an Ohio Supreme Court justice. No campaign website was found as of September 9, 2026; the official election filing is the only verifiable source for Diana Stevenson.