Longtime Canton politician Janet Weir Creighton, who made history as the first and, so far, only female mayor in the city’s history, is retiring from public office after 40 years of service.
“Forty years ago today, November the 6th 1984, I was first elected as Stark County recorder,” Creighton said. “And here I am, 40 years later on November the 6th, 2024, and it’s just time.”
Creighton made the announcement Wednesday afternoon. She has served as a Stark County Commissioner since 2011.
Creighton, a Republican, plans to spend much of her retirement recruiting and training candidates as chairman of the Stark County Republican Party, she said.
“I have a lot of candidates to recruit. I love to raise money, and I love to retain the candidates that I already have in office,” she said. “So, I have a lot to do here with the party.”
Republican candidates swept all the countywide offices in Tuesday’s general election, according to unofficial election results.
As for her commissioner seat, the county GOP will collect applications and appoint Creighton’s replacement by Nov. 21, she said. Her term would have ended in 2026, so whoever succeeds her will have at least two years of incumbency, she said.
After serving as county recorder, Creighton held office as county auditor in 2001, mayor of Canton in 2004 and, in 2008, moved to Washington, D.C. to serve as deputy assistant to President George W. Bush and director of intergovernmental affairs in the White House.
“Every position held something special for me, so I really can never say that I favored one over the other,” Creighton said. “Although, I will be honest that the White House is the icing on the cake.”
Creighton is most proud of helping to stabilize Stark County’s finances when she was first elected as commissioner in 2011. She worked across party lines with then-Commissioner Tom Bernabei, a Democrat, to promote increasing the sales tax by 0.5%, she said.
“We teamed up, we got other people to help and we made our case to the citizens of Stark County,” she said. “Our sales tax remains one of the lowest in the state of Ohio.”
Butler, Stark, Wayne and Lorain counties all share the lowest tax rate in the state at 6.5%.
“We are in the best financial condition that I have ever seen in this county,” Creighton added. “They need to stay on the right track because a healthy county really … constitutes the fact that you have some money in the bank and you're able to do things that affect the quality of life of people in your community.”
Creighton also plans to travel and “enjoy life” in her retirement, as well as explore a few other ideas that she doesn’t want to share publicly yet, she said.
“I can't believe how quickly 40 years went by, and I've always said it is my passion,” Creighton said. “I don’t apologize for it. It's what I know, it's what I do, and quite frankly, I can't believe that not everybody wants to run for office.”
