What to know about the Portage County Commissioner and County Auditor

The 2022 midterm elections are coming up, and there is a race between candidates for county auditor and county commissioner of Portage County.

Each U.S state has a county auditor who is part of the general administrative body for a county’s government and represents the county at a federal level. They hold the responsibility of overseeing management and administration regarding payroll, transferring deeds, appraising real properties, Inspector of Weights and Measures for the department of Agriculture, collecting personnel property and estate taxes, and more. 

The current county auditor, Janet Esposito has held the position for 30 years and is retiring in May of next year. It’s important that people vote for a county auditor, and there’s a reason they should have a say in who is elected. 

“All because they want to have the job done right, and their money kept track of, and all the tax dollars that come in and out a year. We pay all the bills, we take in all the money and we give the money, you know, we document it and give it to the Treasurer,” Esposito said. “I think it’s important every time because they’re the ones that pay the taxes you know, the ones that know what’s going on in the county.”

From there, auditors do all the real property values and work with a state tax commissioner. Every month, they send in all the residential and business sales that go on in Portage County. From there the increase and decrease in sales are evaluated, and recommendations are given and considered. Afterward, appraisers go out every year and look at all the permits the county receives, and the improvements that have been made. 

Esposito’s retirement makes room for a new auditor. Brad Comes and Matt Kelly are the candidates that will appear on the ballot this November. 

Republican candidate Kelly, an Air Force Veteran and former member of the Mogadore Villiage Counsel is who Esposito personally endorsed. 

“He [Kelly] is very interested. he has a background in accounting. He understands what we do. He was involved with the console over there and different levels of government. So he understood how that works,” Esposito said.

Matt Kelly could not be reached for comment.

Brad Comes, the Democratic candidate for county auditor whose slogan is “Stewardship. Innovation. Transparency.”, is very active in the Portage County community. 

He has been the Portage County treasurer since 2015, and also serves as the Treasurer of the Community Action Council Board, previous Chair of the Board of Trustees of the United Way of Portage County, previous President of the Ravenna Kiwanis Club, and is a member of the Leadership Portage County Class of 2020 and many other community organizations.

Brad Comes did not respond to the request for comment. 

Just as important as the county auditor is to the county, the commissioner also holds important responsibilities.

The Portage County Commissioner establishes and executes policies. They hold authority for government taxing, appropriating, budgeting and purchasing, and more. 

Currently in this role is Sabrina Christian-Bennett. Bennett represents the Republican party and has been commissioner since 2014 and is campaigning for reelection in November. She is running against Democrat Geraldine Hayes Nelson and Republican Mike Tinlin.

Nelson, a Portage County native, previously served as President of the Portage County NAACP for over 10 years. She is an advocate for workforce readiness, job creation, environmental sustainability, and economic development. 

Like Nelson, Tinlin has also served the Portage County community. His previous positions include Portage County deputy sheriff and patrol commander of the Portage County Sherrif Department. 

All auditor and commissioner candidates will be on the election ballot this November.