Commissioner talks about her first 2 weeks

Sharon Sweda was tapped to replace Ted Kalo last month

After two weeks on the job, Lorain County Commissioner Sharon Sweda said she is getting to know more about the county, her fellow commissioners and her duties on its governing board. On March 1, Sweda and her predecessor, Ted Kalo, were guest speakers for the monthly breakfast meeting of the Lorain Growth Corp.-Main Street Lorain downtown business consortium. Last month, Lorain County Democrats tapped Sweda to replace Kalo, who left his county commission to become the appointed clerk of courts for Lorain Municipal Court. Sweda took her oath of office Feb. 13. “It’s been fun, it’s been a learning experience and it’s been exciting to see everything that’s going on, not just in the commissioners’ office, but throughout the county,” she said. Sweda said she has a relational management style and her fellow commissioners, Lori Kokoski and Matt Lundy, each have their own styles as well. “My previous management style was basically relational, because I feel that if you establish a relationship and you have that flow of communication, you have the ability to sit down, talk and work through almost anything that comes across the board,” she said.

“It’s been fun, it’s been a learning experience and it’s been exciting to see everything that’s going on, not just in the commissioners’ office, but throughout the county.”

— Lorain County Commissioner Sharon Sweda

In the last two weeks, Sweda said she has traveled around the county to meetings and venues to meet leaders. That is important because moving forward, it will help influence and inform good decisions and establish communications that will lead to good results, she said. Sweda reported in the last two weeks: • The commissioners have considered new vehicles for the Lorain County Sheriff Phil Stammitti’s Office. In two years, the Sheriff’s Office will be caught up on its vehicle replacement cycle, with cars not aging out of the fleet for a while. • A changeover of software is coming to Lorain County Clerk of Courts Tom Orlando’s Office. That will improve record keeping and efficiency in the office. • The Lorain County Board of Elections has received and begun training on new voting machines. The machines will go live this year and will be efficient and protect the integrity of the voting system. Sweda has joined voices criticizing House Bill 70, the state law governing Lorain City Schools’ and the Academic Distress Commission, and calling for change of governance for the district. She acknowledged Lorain Schools are not directly under the jurisdiction of the Lorain County Commission. “But I think as an elected official, you’re sometimes called to have a voice where it isn’t your jurisdiction,” Sweda said. “My leadership style is that I will stay engaged, and I will continue to work on the issues within our community that make a better community for all of us.” Sweda thanked Kokoski and Lundy for their work. Lundy became a mentor in 2018 as Sweda campaigned for a seat in the Ohio Senate, and it turned out he mentored her for the commission post. Kalo also left big shoes to fill, Sweda said. “He left a big chair, too. I go to lean back and I’m —” Sweda said, motioning as if she was sinking backward, a move that prompted chuckles from the crowd. Sweda also has taken up promotion of the Visit Lorain County “Mardi Gras in Lorain County,” a campaign that started March 1 and runs through March 9. Local businesses and restaurants are participating with special dishes and displays. Shoppers and diners can enter to win a New Orleans prize pack and the Mardi Gras week will culminate in a concert of New Orleans music makers Terrance Simien & the Zydeco Experience at 7 p.m., March 9, at the Stocker Arts Center of Lorain County Community College. Tickets are $5 for general admission and $15 for VIP tickets, good for the show and a Creole-inspired “culinary experience” prepared by LCCC students.