Dems leader speaks to club

It was the chairwoman's first time speaking to the group.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
VINDICATOR POLITICS WRITER
POLAND -- The president of the Democrats of the 17th and 6th Districts established ground rules before the guest speaker arrived.
Robert Lyden, the political club's president, said there would be no personal attacks, his members had to be polite, and he would kick out anyone who couldn't behave.
Then Lyden joked, "When she comes in, we can all lynch her, er, ask her questions."
The guest speaker at the group's Tuesday meeting at the Poland Baseball Association hall was Mahoning County Democratic Chairwoman Lisa Antonini.
Since her election as the county party's first chairwoman in 2002, Antonini and the group have exchanged critical comments.
The group recently formed a committee to find someone to challenge Antonini for the chairwoman's position this year but have since abandoned that effort.
Except for a minor verbal exchange with two members, there were no flare-ups or arguments.
Her assessment
"It turned out the way I expected it would," Antonini said after attending her first meeting of the political group. "It's a group of hard-working individuals who want to work to elect Democrats."
But Antonini admitted the thought of a shouting match did cross her mind before she spoke.
Lyden and other club members were pleased with Antonini's willingness to come to the meeting and answer questions.
Lyden acknowledged his group has complained about how Antonini runs the county party and has unsuccessfully attempted to unseat her.
"We all have the right to contest an election," he said. "That's the democratic process. Afterward, you go and work together."
Antonini spoke to the group about the upcoming 2006 statewide election and how important it is to elect Democrats.
"We can start off 2006 together and not be apart," she said. "I want to put the past behind us."
Before the meeting, Mark Meszaros of Mineral Ridge and Bill Flickinger of Youngstown, two of the group's members, passed out a flier criticizing some of Antonini's political decisions including her support for political candidates who lost elections.
During the meeting, Meszaros asked Antonini not to reappoint Michael Morley, former county chairman, to the county elections board.
Flickinger said it was "dumb" for Antonini to support Montgomery County Democratic Chairman Dennis Lieberman in last month's Ohio Democratic chairman race. Lieberman lost the race to then-Ohio House Minority Leader Chris Redfern.
In both cases, Antonini said she supports people who support her. As for Morley, Antonini said if he wants to continue on the board when his current term expires in two years, she'll reappoint him.