During the upcoming elections, as candidates are accusing one another of not being interested in the welfare of the people they serve, there is one Summit County elected official who has distinguished himself from the rest in putting the public interest at the forefront.
He is Summit County Probate Judge Todd McKenney.
McKenney, who is not seeking re-election, has performed a great service to the residents of Summit County.
Upon reviewing thousands of property deeds, he discovered that many of them would not transfer, on death, to the co-owner of the property without going through the costly, time-consuming and easily avoidable probate process.
Judge McKenney, along with Summit County Fiscal Officer Kristen Scalise, held several free town meetings to inform and provide assistance in ensuring the rightful transfer of property without the high cost of going through probate court, which would tie up valuable court time unnecessarily.
The judge also provided information on various other Transfer on Death Affidavits.
To top it all off, Judge McKenney conducted a free Saturday workshop at the court for residents, reviewing their deeds and, with the assistance of his staff, recording the necessary changes for the modest, required filing fee.
This was an invaluable service, especially to the more senior of our residents.
And finally, as if that weren’t enough, complimentary coffee and doughnuts were provided for the residents while they were waiting.
Judge McKinney was, to our amazement, continually apologizing to the crowd for having to wait so long to be helped.
We will be forever grateful to him for his selfless service and commitment to the residents of Summit County. We have never seen the term “public servant” so perfectly exemplified.
Richard and Barbara Moneypenny
Cuyahoga Falls
Drop the appeals, let all Ohioans vote
Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted’s latest delaying tactic to create more confusion and to ultimately try to sway the election results in Ohio in favor of the GOP makes me ashamed to call myself an Ohioan (“Ohio’s election chief appeals to high court,” Oct. 10).
Over the years, too many Americans have sacrificed their safety, well-being and even their lives to ensure we have the right to vote without interference from biased politicians. Americans should be celebrating the freedom to vote in unbiased elections, not waiting for the U.S. Supreme Court to decide whether most Ohioans get to exercise their right to vote an early absentee ballot in person on the weekend before Election Day, as ordered by a federal appeals court.
Husted’s assertions that the election process should be settled long in advance of Election Day doesn’t seem to apply if there is any possibility that he can create confusion and have certain portions of the population disenfranchised.
He has repeatedly demonstrated his bias in his attempts to sway the vote. After twice losing in court, he continues his struggle to suppress the vote in Ohio with additional delay by refusing to follow court orders.
Having such a person in charge of elections in this state is a black mark on Ohio as the GOP tries to go back to the days when women could not vote and people of color would face physical violence if they tried to vote. Shame on you, Jon Husted.
Roger Marble
Ravenna
Romney’s energy plan running out of gas
One of the most egregious statements made by Mitt Romney at the presidential debate was his promise to create an energy-independent America.
If elected, he said, he would open the Keystone XL pipeline immediately. Wait a minute.
The dirty tar-sand oil flowing through the pipeline from Canada would be refined in Port Arthur, Texas. The refined oil would not be available to the U.S, but would make its way to countries in Asia.
Romney then went on to praise the use of “clean coal.”
When has coal ever been clean?
Romney’s energy-independence proposals are far from free, and they will make a huge contribution to global warming.
Celine E. Riedel
Avon Lake
Romney, Obama revealed in debate
During his 90-minute debate with Mitt Romney, President Obama kept saying his opponent had changed his position on the issues and was a different Romney.
I think what happened was that the media and Obama’s Chicago political machine were circumvented by the live debate.
We saw the unfiltered, true Romney and Obama.
This, coupled with a president who has begun to believe his own TV ads, made for a record poor performance for the incumbent.
If Obama had taken time to listen to his opponent’s repeated explanations and knew anything about his own programs or views, he wouldn’t have been so embarrassing.
Maybe he could have come up with something better than “liar, liar, pants on fire”-type comments a day later.
This is an example of what happens when you give people important positions without regard to successful experience and appropriate talent. Obama is a nice guy who is in over his head. I feel sorry for him, and for us.
Gary Eaton
Stow
It’s a mistake to ignore the lake
Whoever wins the presidential election, President Obama or Mitt Romney, will need to continue the support of Great Lakes restoration.
Great strides have been made in improving the condition of the lakes. We need continued support for healing the lakes, so people have a nice place for fishing, boating and swimming. Action also needs to be taken on the Asian carp problem.
Whether liberal or conservative, we must ask our elected officals to protect our national treasure, Lake Erie.
Dale Young
North Canton
