Meet John Kennedy, Portage County Treasurer
The hard working residents of Portage County deserve transparency and honesty from their elected officials. Taxpayers have a right to know their tax dollars are wisely managed and invested — every dollar, every asset is valuable.
Relationships matter. Integrity matters. Successful outcomes for citizens requires strong working relationships with other county agencies and community organizations — relationships built on trust and a focus on the citizens we serve.
Being your treasurer is the privilege of a lifetime. I work every day to protect and maximize your tax dollars, and to fight for programs that give you more options — and opportunities — to pay bills, access low-interest home improvement loans, or tap into available resources that could provide substantial tax relief. The citizens of Portage County deserve nothing less.
Current leadership roles as Portage County Treasurer:
Vice Chair, Portage County Budget Commission
Chair, Portage County Investment Advisory Board
Portage County Data Processing Board
Portage County Land Bank Board
Portage County Community Action Council Board
About John
John grew up in a large family in Wilmington, Illinois, the third of five children. He learned early on the value of hard work, watching the sacrifices his parents, Tom and Dolores, made to put food on the table and provide a solid education for their kids. Dolores worked several part-time jobs and Tom worked as a teacher, college administrator and coach.
He attended St. Rose elementary and graduated from Providence Catholic High School. After his family moved to Colorado, John attended Regis University, where he earned his Bachelor’s degree. John then went on to complete a Master’s degree with a focus on community economic development from the University of Colorado Denver.
Early on, John worked as grants and contracts administrator for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, providing a compliance-check on all proposal budgets submitted to federal agencies and foundations. He worked as a policy analyst for the Center for Policy Alternatives, a non-partisan think-tank in Washington, DC that produced model policies on expanding voting rights and sustainable economic development. He testified before the New York City Council as an expert witness on the National Voter Registration Act and wrote policy briefs on the law's implementation in the states.
Prior to his appointment as Portage County Treasurer in 2023, John worked as IT director, programmer, data engineer, and third-party integration specialist for the largest student affairs association in the world, NASPA.
John is married to Marybeth Keeler, a Leavittsburg, Ohio native. The couple has two daughters - Claire and Lily.
Advocacy and Community Service
Watch John make his historic 143 mile run from Aurora to the Ohio State House to highlight the outrageous cost of insulin.
Diagnosed as a type 1 diabetic in 1996, John has made his pre-existing condition a motivator to push him to do more – not less.
In September of 2018, John made history by running 143 miles to the Ohio State House in Columbus to raise awareness about the high cost of insulin.
John began the run from his house in Aurora on Friday, September 28th at 6 AM, and arrived on the steps of the Ohio State House in Columbus just after 10 PM Saturday night to deliver petitions from Ohioans concerning the skyrocketing price of insulin.
As Ohio’s former state chapter leader for insulin4all, John organized meetings with state lawmakers from both sides of the political isle in Columbus, pushing them to take up legislation dealing with the insulin cost crisis, a crisis that has cost lives, led to unnecessary diabetes-related complications, and burdened the already fragile health care system with even greater costs.
Like thousands of others living with chronic pre-existing conditions in Portage County, John knows first hand the importance of having good health care coverage and the critical role it plays in preventing life-threatening, unnecessary and costly complications.
Since 2021, John has served on the Advisory Board of the King Kennedy Community Center. As president of the board, John advocated for and helped secure funding for a bathroom and storage facility construction project for the new gym. He worked with Ravenna Township Trustees, County Commissioners, Family & Community Services, and Neighborhood Development Services to secure funds for construction. He also sit on the boards of Independence of Portage County and Portage County NAACP.
In 2020, John launched the annual 100-mile “Hunger Run” that traverses every township, city and village in Portage County over the course of 3 weeks, all to raise money and awareness about the ongoing problem of hunger and poverty in Portage County. The annual run, held every Fall, has raised thousands of dollars for local food pantries.