McKelvey, Sammarone earn Democratic voters' support

Youngstown Mayor George M. McKelvey has virtually no opposition in the May 8 Democratic primary, but even a strong challenger would have trouble overcoming McKelvey's record of success in his first four-year term.
Remember what the mayor faced when he walked into City Hall in January 1998. Ohio Auditor Jim Petro had placed the city under fiscal watch and was deciding whether to declare a fiscal emergency. Crime, especially the homicide rate, was plaguing Youngstown to such an extent that neighborhoods had become war zones, job-creation efforts were undermined and working people were moving to the suburbs.
During the campaign of 1997, McKelvey promised to run city government like a business and made it clear that he would seek the advice of his many friends in the business community as he strove to resurrect the city.
Budget: He chose as his first priority the budget, and working closely with city council he developed a recovery plan that included clamping down on overtime, all but ending travel by department heads and controlling departmental spending.
The fiscal diet worked. In May 1999, Petro declared the city of Youngstown's recovery a miracle, saying: "[City officials] have been stalwart in keeping spending down. I think it's pretty miraculous."
As for crime, there were 31 homicides in the city last year, half that of just four years earlier.
McKelvey is quick to acknowledge council's role in Youngstown's recovery. And in council, the guiding force has been the president, Charles Sammarone.
Sammarone, who became council president in 1990 after having served as 5th Ward councilman for three two-year terms, has the experience, the insight and the commitment to move the city forward. He is being challenged for the Democratic nomination by Patrick E. Lowry, who ran for the position in 1997 as an independent.
While Lowry, a high school counselor, is sincere about wanting to help the city progress, he was unable to provide specific solutions to the problems he identified when he was interviewed by members of The Vindicator's editorial board.
Downtown development: Sammarone's deep involvement in the redevelopment of the city's central business district and his familiarity with the inner workings of city government make him an indispensable adviser to the mayor. These two long-time public servants share the belief that the city's finances must still be managed carefully and that a scatter-gun approach to the revitalization of neighborhoods is not feasible.
McKelvey, whose primary election opponent is a write-in, Donald Connelly, exudes an optimism about the city that may seem misplaced, considering all the hurdles that have yet to be cleared. But as he puts it, "If you don't display a sense of optimism, you take away a sense of hope."
Sammarone also is optimistic, but he is determined to see to it that the residents get the services they deserve. In that regard, he intends to keep pushing for a reinstatement of the community policing system in which a police officer is assigned to a specific area and walks the beat.
It is clear to us that McKelvey and Sammarone have much more to offer the citizens of the city of Youngstown. We urge their nomination on May 8.