Barb assumed office on January 1, 2015, following seven years’ public service as a Genoa Township Trustee, and was re-elected in November 2018 and to a third four-year term in November 2022. Her fellow Commissioners elected her President of the Board in 2016, 2019 and 2022, and Vice-President of the Board in 2015, 2021 and 2024.
Commissioner Lewis earned her Ph.D., M.A. and B.A. degrees in political science from The Ohio State University, where she taught hundreds of OSU students the fundamentals and ideals of American constitutional government.
Drawing on her academic background and practical experience as an elected officeholder, Commissioner Lewis is guided by a simple philosophy of good governance:
- Keep our taxes low, our community safe, and our infrastructure sound
- Promote the private sector’s creation of well-paying jobs, workforce housing and broadband access
- Promote sound development that respects our green space and waterways
- Be mindful of the needs of our community’s less fortunate
- Collaborate openly and honestly with others
Commissioner Lewis emphasizes government efficiency, citizen outreach, and maintaining good working relationships with all of Delaware County’s elected officials and leaders. She envisions our county as one unified, dynamic and growing community.
Commissioner Lewis is also a leader for Delaware County’s “Stepping Up Initiative,” modeled on a national program that reduces the number of non-violent offenders with mental illness in our jails and prisons while providing them with proper recovery treatment in a cost-effective manner. Towards that goal, Commissioner Lewis serves on the Justice and Public Safety Steering Committee of the National Association of Counties, based in Washington, D.C. She also chairs the Justice and Public Safety Committee of the County Commissioners’ Association of Ohio, and has been a board member for the United Way of Delaware County.
Commissioner Lewis was raised in Genoa Township, where she attended Harlem Elementary and Big Walnut High Schools. She resides in Genoa Township with her husband Jim, an attorney. They are active members of the Church of the Resurrection and have two grown sons, one of whom resides in Denver and the other in Columbus, with his wife and their five youngsters.