Suni Woolstenhulme and Malena Stevens went head to head on election issues during KPCW’s “Local News Hour” Friday morning.
The candidates for Summit County clerk addressed partisanship and the previous clerk’s controversial decision to reject a slew of signatures for a citizen referendum last year.
Woolstenhulme, a Republican, has positioned herself as more politically neutral. Stevens is the incumbent, who was appointed to the job after fellow Democrat Eve Furse retired earlier this year.
Woolstenhulme said she offers residents “bipartisan oversight” of elections.
“If my opponent had run unopposed, Summit County would have a five-year clerk who was appointed and never elected,” Woolstenhulme said. “This race isn't about qualifications. Malena and I are both capable of administering the code, overseeing elections, maintaining records and managing a staff.”
Woolstenhulme runs a boutique gift business and has served on the South Summit Board of Education. Stevens emphasizes her experience in different elected and appointed county roles.
“Our business licensing code had been outdated. I, with a team in the county, spearheaded a project to redo that ordinance,” Stevens said. “We were able to do that in just a couple of months, get that approved by the county council, because I understand how government works.”
Both candidates offered perspectives on last year’s failed citizen referendum to put the Dakota Pacific housing project, now called Altus Park City, to a countywide vote.
It failed after Furse determined numerous packets of signatures were improperly bound and therefore invalid. Woolstenhulme said the clerk should have provided more information about correct procedures.
“They truly are not a player in the game. They are there in support — nonpartisan — of the community, of the voter and of their voice, and that was a deep betrayal to the community,” Woolstenhulme said.
Stevens said she would follow the advice of the county attorney just like Furse, who has endorsed her.
“Eve Furse did not legislate. She implemented the legislation. I think that's a misunderstanding that my opponent has as far as how the clerk's office operates,” Stevens said.
The general election is Nov. 3.
