![Kandy Fatheree beat out seasoned law enforcement professionals (L to R) Dale Soltis, Patrick Hunt and John Peake in the 2020 Democratic Primary. [Shane Wynn / Akron Press Club]](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/dfbc1c2/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2048x1536+0+0/resize/840x630!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fimages%2Fnews%2Fnpr%2F2020%2F04%2F847700863_378692373.jpg)
Summit County’s next sheriff could be a woman.
Kandy Fatheree won the Democratic primary, garnering 42 percent of the vote. Her opponents were three seasoned law enforcement professionals.
Kandy Fatheree won the Democratic primary, garnering 42 percent of the vote.
Fatheree is a captain in charge of the civil division in the sheriff’s department.
Running a campaign during the pandemic was unusual, she said.
“It was extremely weird because you aren’t getting any kind of feedback,” she said. “Obviously, being a law enforcement officer for 28 years, you get an opportunity to read people and when you’re talking to people you can tell whether or not you’re reaching them and whether it’s genuine. When you can’t talk to somebody face to face you can’t get that feel.”
Fatheree will face off against Republican Shane Barker in the November general election. Barker is a captain in the sheriff’s department in charge of the corrections division. He previously served as a Macedonia city councilman.
The Summit County Sheriff oversees more than 300 deputies and 100 civilian employees. If Fatheree becomes sheriff, she plans to make some changes.
“I want to increase our level of training to increase everybody’s knowledge, professionalism and I want to do that in conjunction with actively and aggressively going after other minority groups and high-quality individuals to come into the sheriff’s office,” she said.
The November winner in will replace Sheriff Steve Barry, who plans to finish his second term as sheriff and retire at the end of the year.
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