Elected in November 2024, Carolyn Brakey serves as Geauga County’s 121st Commissioner and only the fourth woman in county history to hold the position. She took office on January 2, 2025.

Since joining the Board of Commissioners, Carolyn has focused on transparency, fiscal responsibility, and open dialogue on county issues. She led the effort to livestream and record Board meetings, established the Commissioners’ first official Facebook page, and authored the Board’s public comment policy. With her attention to detail and commitment to accountability, she is a strong advocate for taxpayers, personal liberties, and efficient governance.

Carolyn began her public service to Geauga County as a member and eventual President of the Geauga County Board of Health, where she led reforms that improved efficiency and saved taxpayers more than half a million dollars annually. She also spearheaded the Health District’s 2022 COVID-19 guidance for schools, which made all county schools mask-optional and ended restrictive quarantine procedures. The policy was the least restrictive in Ohio at the time and was adopted by school districts throughout the state.

A licensed attorney with a background in mechanical engineering, Carolyn is the founder of Brakey Law LLC, where she advises businesses on energy strategy, regulatory compliance, and cost control, and represents clients in energy-related disputes. She also serves as General Counsel for Brakey Energy, her family’s business founded in 1999 to serve Geauga County-based manufacturers. Brakey Energy now provides comprehensive energy management services to large energy users across Ohio.

Carolyn holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Grove City College and a J.D. from Case Western Reserve University School of Law. She is a graduate of the Jo Ann Davidson Ohio Leadership Institute; a program created to encourage and train women in business and civic leadership to assume more prominent roles in government and their communities. She has been recognized as a Rising Star in Ohio by Super Lawyers® and was honored by Crain’s Cleveland Business as both a Notable General Counsel and a member of its Forty Under 40 class.

Carolyn lives in Russell Township with her husband, their twins, their beloved rescue dog, and twelve chickens. In her free time, she enjoys weight training, practicing yoga, attending her children’s athletic competitions, and exploring Geauga County’s parks and trails. She is a member of Fellowship City Church in Bainbridge, where she serves in the children’s ministry.

President, Geauga County Board of County Commissioners

Born and raised in Windsor, Ohio, Jim Dvorak grew up steeped in the rural values that make Northeast Ohio great—hard work, honesty, integrity, and community service. Jim learned those values from following his father as he volunteered at church, as a little league baseball coach, or just helping a neighbor or friend in hard times. Those experiences inspired Jim’s lifelong commitment to service.

The second of six children, Jim Dvorak graduated from Grand Valley High School in 1972. Following in his father’s footsteps, Jim attended masonry trade school, becoming a masonry instructor through Auburn Career Center in 1980. Through many years in the construction industry, Jim served in a variety of roles for various contractors. Each role gave him a greater appreciation for the value of hard work and reinforced his desire to serve the people he met along the way.

Hoping to better serve his neighbors, Jim Dvorak ran for local office in 2007, winning election as Burton Township trustee. Since taking office, Jim has dedicated himself to efficient, transparent, and accessible local government.

Open, transparent communication is vital, especially in local government. That is why Jim led the township in developing and maintaining a website and annual newsletter, providing Burton residents with easy access to information about their local government. Burton was the third township in Geauga County to sign up for the Ohio Treasurer’s open government initiative, OhioCheckbook.com, giving residents total transparency in fiscal matters.

A Geauga County commissioner since 2019, Jim is always working to preserve and protect the hard-earned tax dollars of Geauga’s residents. He is a strong believer that thoughtful, well-planned collaboration with other local governments to provide vital services to residents can increase efficiency, lower the cost of operations, and increase the quality of services. As the former chairman of the Geauga County Shared Services Design Team, Jim led a group of key stakeholders to establish feasibility studies in partnership with townships, villages, school boards, and Geauga County government to explore cost-benefits of prospective collaboration.

Since retiring from the construction industry in 2012, Jim has leveraged his knowledge as a licensed realtor, working at Century 21 HomeStar alongside his wife of 48 years, Luanne. Jim and Luanne recognized there is no place better to raise a family than Geauga County and they settled here 35 years ago to raise their four children—Rebecca, Julie, Jamie, and Mark. Blessed with seven grandchildren, Jim is dedicated to ensuring they have the same quality of life and opportunities that he has enjoyed growing up in Northeast Ohio. Collaboration is also vital when addressing multi-jurisdictional issues, such as when Jim served on the Safe Routes to School Engineering Study Committee. Tasked with studying solutions to improving the safety for Amish citizens traveling to school, the committee came forth from effective collaboration between ODOT, the Geauga County Engineers Office, the Geauga County Sheriff Department, the Township, and the local Amish community. Such community cooperation is vital to our community.

In addition to his service as Geauga County commissioner, Jim Dvorak is active in our community. He is involved in numerous organizations, including the Geauga County Township Association, the Burton-Middlefield Rotary, the Geauga County Republican Party, the Red Tulip Project, and numerous others.

Ralph Spidalieri has a 30-year background in law enforcement, starting at age 19 in the Euclid City Jail. Completing the police academy at age 20, Ralph spent most of his law enforcement career with the Shaker Heights Police Department as a corporal in the Traffic Division, alongside being a member of their SWAT team as a counter sniper. Recently, Ralph retired his position as Chief Deputy with the Portage County Sheriff's Office, where he served since January 2021.

An entrepreneur, Ralph founded Great Lakes Outdoor Supply, a sporting goods retail company, in 1999. His company has two locations in Ohio and one in Pennsylvania. Ralph understands the dynamics of budgeting and fiscal management through his years of experience as a business owner, and he carries this understanding into his public service as a Geauga County Commissioner.

Since 2012, Ralph has served as a Geauga County Commissioner, keeping a watchful eye over Geauga County government spending. Ralph maintains his commitment to Geauga County taxpayers that their county government will spend tax dollars effectively and efficiently.

Ralph is also a co-founder and executive vice president of Blue Line Unlimited, a non-profit organization that supports law enforcement, firefighters, EMS, and their families in times of medical hardship or death.

When not working, Ralph Spidalieri spends his time hunting, fishing, flying helicopters and spending time with his daughter, Nicole.