About SummitPAC
SummitPAC was founded to discover, encourage and support good candidates to run for political office.
General Information
SummitPAC Spokespersons: Steve Albrecht, 330-819-1951. John Ballard 330-696-6276.
Other Contacts: Amy Schwan, 234-678-8045. Steve Fannin, 330-814-1777.
Steve Albrecht, an Akron resident and leader of one of Akron’s largest, local businesses, announced the formation of SummitPAC, a political action committee, to support qualified candidates for local political office.
“The vision of SummitPac is to bring back a two party governing process by supporting qualified candidates for local office. There are two sides to every story and two parties are essential for good governance. Our community desperately needs more voices to be heard”, said Steve Albrecht.
SummitPAC is a locally based, unincorporated, non-profit association formed pursuant to ORC Section 1754 and 3517 and operated as a State of Ohio Political Action Committee. SummitPAC is not affiliated with any specific candidate, candidate’s committee or political party.
SummitPAC is a voluntary committee of individuals who share a strong interest in improving the quality of life in Summit County through political action. Its mission is to discover qualified candidates, encourage them to run for public office in Summit County, and provide training, support, resources, and funding.
Amy Schwan, Chairman of the SummitPAC Candidates Committee, stated: “Our focus will be on candidates that are ready, willing, and able to provide our community, at every level of government, with first class leadership. The people of Summit County, especially Akron, have suffered as a result of one-party rule and ineffective leadership. There is no genuine debate, no serious vetting of policy and budgets. There are great people out there, we are going to find them and help them get elected!”
John Ballard, SummitPAC Board Member, stated: “SummitPAC was established for citizens who care about our community and who believe their political contributions should be directed to local candidates and local issues. It’s a dirty secret many candidates know all too well, but currently most political contributions are re-directed, especially by the current Republican Party leadership, to state-wide and national candidates. The most sickening aspect of this slight-of-hand is it is done to further their private, lobbying businesses.”
“If you want your political contributions to stay in Summit County to help candidates in Summit County and address Summit County issues, then SummitPAC is the place for your political contributions”.
Contributions to SummitPac may be mailed to:
SummitPAC
Attention Mr. Steve Fannin, Treasurer
863 North Cleveland Massillon Road
Akron, Ohio 44333.
Or contribute on-line here.
SummitPAC LEADERSHIP
Steve Albrecht, Chairman – resides in Akron, Chairman of a family owned and operated local business, Vision: “Make Akron a great place to live and raise a family”.
John Ballard, Board Member – resides in Akron, retired businessman with deep roots in our community. Vision: Vision: “If you want your political contributions to stay in Summit County to help candidates in Summit County and address Summit County issues, then SummitPAC is the place for your political contributions”.
Steve Fannin, Treasurer – resides in Norton, is the President of Cole Co LPA, a local law firm in Bath, Ohio received his B.A. from The Ohio State University, J.D. from the University of Akron. Vision: “To revitalize and energize our communities and help make Summit County and great place to raise a family”
Amy Schwan, Secretary – is an Akron native and resides in West Akron. She is a graduate of Ohio University and is a retired small business owner. Vision: “To encourage participation in the local election process and help elect candidates who will give a currently unheard voice on important local issues.”
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
I am sure you may have questions so let us further explain our motivations, mission, and goals for establishing SummitPAC.
Our community is in deep trouble. Jobs are moving out, our children are moving elsewhere, and our population is declining.
In Akron, 27% of our citizens live in poverty and, it is hard to believe, we have one of the highest rates of infant mortality in the nation. Akron’s income versus expenses is barely “breakeven” and our largest city is currently one billion dollars in debt. That debt will balloon by 150% to $2.4 billion with the debt to be incurred to correct the City’s sewers. Downtown Akron is a failed commercial business district; its empty spaces and vacant buildings stand as stark proof of misguided, top-down, consultant-driven development strategies. Akron’s neighborhoods are blighted with vacant and abandoned homes, plagued by crime; and, the latest, lead water pipe connections. All this serves as tragic proof of blundering “good” intentions. Akron Public Schools, the most important driver of any business retention and attraction plan, are rated “F” in nearly all state benchmarks. All that is bad enough, but on top of all this we are confronted by structural under-employment, an increasing crime rate, and a heroin epidemic that wreaks havoc and reflects the deep despair of a community that has lost its way.
The front page, Beacon Journal headline (7/7/14) Summit County is Dumber and Poorer accurately summarizes the reality. The front page, Beacon Journal headline (9/15/16) Akron’s Poverty Rises accurately reinforces the reality.
Yes, there are thriving areas of Summit County, but the County’s future is jeopardized by a decaying Akron. Akron contains 40% of the county’s population and its central 62 square miles of landmass is the core of the county’s real estate. Summit County will not be a great place to live, work, and raise a family if the Akron core is rotten. It is perfectly fine that many of us live in the suburbs, but it should not be because there are so many reasons not to live in the City. Let’s face reality. Akron is not a good place to live and Summit County is now at risk, clutched in the arms of its drowning relative.
What happened? How is it that our once proud and prosperous community is now such a sad and broken place? If you believe in cause and effect, that policy matters, you must conclude we are where we are because of the consequences of many bad decisions over the years, made mostly by holders of public office, nearly all Democrats.
Not all, but far too many office holders don’t understand their responsibilities. Not all, but far too many office holders manage to get elected, but are ineffective, misguided, self-serving, and sometimes dishonest. Not all, but far too many office holders make bad judgements regarding legislation, policy, budgets, and priorities. Our community, our businesses, and, most importantly, our children pay a terrible price.
Democratic office holders, who have been dominant for decades, must be held accountable, but the real cause of the sad and broken state of our community is the failure of the Republican Party to discover qualified candidates, encourage them to run for public office, and support them with back office resources and funding to oppose failed policies and initiatives. Democratic One Party Rule in City Councils and City Halls has been the rule and what has been the outcome: dysfunction, arguments rather than debate, political maneuvers, unchallenged policies, development strategies based on fantasies, unimaginative plans based on top-down, imported consultants, and, most heart breaking, a Black community that has been shut off from hope, respect, and accomplishment.
Over the years, the focus of the Summit County Republican Party (SGOP) has been on funding statewide races not local races. Clearly, for the lobbyists that run the SGOP, the opportunity to receive significant fees for their lobbying at the State level are greatly enhanced by disbursing our local campaign contributions to State office holders. The SGOP stock response is that there is no point spending money locally because there is a 7:1 dominance of Democrats. Advancing this attitude of defeat happens to accord nicely with using local SGOP dollars to grow their lucrative, state-level lobbying business, but SummitPAC will not concern itself with the SGOP’s financial or operating strategies. Our mission is to offer a responsible alternative to voters in our community who are concerned about where Summit County is and where it is headed.
This brings us to the reason for forming SummitPAC.
Our mission is to discover qualified candidates, encourage them to run for public office in Summit County, and support them with resources and funding. Our focus will be on candidates that are ready, willing, and able to provide our community with first class leadership.
Our goal is to change the status quo in Summit County by creating a vigorous two-party system that will protect and advance the best interests of all citizens.
There are great candidates “out there”, but they need operational and financial help, and, most of all, encouragement. Let the SGOP up-stream funds to support state wide candidates, let SGOP funds be used to establish the influence and maintain the personal income of our local lobbyists SGOP leaders, but Summit County must have an alternative. SummitPAC is that alternative.
SummitPAC will solicit and disburse political contributions in Summit County to candidates who can provide our community with first class leadership and assure smart policy choices are made and that our community is protected by a vigorous two-party system.
The condition of our civic affairs is distressing, but we are, nevertheless, very optimistic. We believe a fulfilling and prosperous future is possible for our families and children if we work together to support responsible policies for growth and development. Our community has very significant competitive advantages. We have a frayed but well-designed infrastructure, unequaled water resources, great health care resources, and our own University. It is time to utilize the fundamental building blocks available to our community to make Summit County a better place for everyone.
Our citizens, especially our youth, are ready, willing, and able to invent a vibrant future. Our community is not too big to change and we are not too small to excel in a global economy. There is incredible development and growth potential in our community that can “spin-off” thousands of jobs and millions of dollars in economic benefits for all of Summit County.
We have the “hardware”, we just need to get the bugs out of the “software”.
The mission of SummitPAC is to discover qualified candidates, encourage them to run for public office in Summit County, and support them with back office resources and funding. Our focus will be on candidates that are ready, willing, and able to provide our community with first class leadership.
If we have good leadership and make good choices, we can make our future bright.
“If you want your political contributions to stay in Summit County to help candidates in Summit County and address Summit County issues, then SummitPAC is the place for your contribution.”
– Steve Albrecht, Chairman
– John Ballard, Board Member