Name: Janet Esposito (Incumbent)

Political Party: Republican

Background: Esposito has lived in Portage County her whole life and has served at Portage County Auditor since 1995. Esposito was awarded the 2008 OGRIP Best Practices Award for GIS (Geographic Information Systems), the 2008 Tyler Munis Public Sector Excellence Award, the 2009 New Horizon Award for Promotion of Weights & Measures, and 2009-2012 Ohio Training for Weights & Measures personnel recognition.

Why should I care: The county auditor is the bookkeeper of all county elected officials, along with other county agencies such as park district, health department, soil and water conservation district, and regional planning commission. Another part of the job is to pay the bills for these groups, including payroll. Esposito has been working full time for the county taxpayers. When the auditor sells notes and bonds, tax payers are saved money. Esposito said Kent State students have utilized the resources of the auditor and whether they are working in different parts of the university, information is given to them when asked.

Message for Kent State students: “I want them to know that they need public servants that are going to work for all citizens of the county. It never matters what political persuasion there is because when you are elected, you’re elected to serve all the people, not certain political parties or anything else,” Esposito said in a statement. “My door is open to the public.”

Name: Christopher J. Mallin

Political Party: Democratic

Background: Mallin has been practicing law since 1974. He is a Portage County transplant and has been continuously active in the Democratic party. He has been a member of the Portage County Democratic Central Committee since 2005, an officer of the Portage County Democratic Party from 2007 to 2010 and was a delegate to the Ohio Democratic Party Convention from Portage County in 2006 and 2008.

Why should I care?: Mallin said the appraisal of real estate is the most important factor of being an auditor. He said he wants to be sure the real estate and the values that are appraised in Portage County are fair values so the owners are not paying more than they should and so local governments can depend on tax revenues. In the past, every school district in Portage County suffered a severe loss of revenues when the state budget was cut four years ago. With that, every school district has had multiple levies put on the ballot to change services since they were able to provide. Mallin believes the county’s $19 million industrial development plan should support the schools.

Statement from candidate for KSU voters: As auditor, Mallin would be sure to take record of each change made within new industrial corporations. Mallin said vote for auditor doesn’t affect the tuition of structural or transportation issues for a Kent State student, but they should vote the if they “have a concern of the wider county. “If the Kent State students are concerned that the industrial corporations that are changing the historical agricultural lands in the Portage County, that’s a concern to vote,” he said.