WASHINGTONVILLE Several posts face vacancies

Write-in candidates must receive at least one vote to be elected.
By NANCY TULLIS
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
WASHINGTONVILLE -- There will be a bit of personnel shuffling in the next few weeks, but in the end, village council will appoint a mayor and three of its six-member panel, John Payne, Columbiana County Board of Elections director said.
Don Vos, commander of the Columbiana County unorganized militia, told village council and Mayor Charles Morrow he would like to be considered a candidate for village council.
Vos later said he considered running for mayor after Morrow said he would resign. Several people urged him to run for mayor, he said, but board of elections officials told him Morrow resigned too close to the election for the mayor's race to be on the November ballot.
Council must appoint a successor to Morrow, who resigned effective Nov. 1. The four-year term expires in 2003.
Gets complicated: Payne said by law the council president is the successor to the mayor. Roy Hartman, however, isn't certain he wants the job. Hartman said he would decide by council's next meeting, Oct. 16.
Payne said if Hartman declines the mayor's post, he would resign as council president. Council would then appoint a new council president and move the new council president into the mayor's seat.
At that point, council could vote to name Hartman council president again if they so choose, and if Hartman wants the job.
Four of six council members' terms expire Dec. 31, and come January, there will be at least three vacant seats.
Hartman, Larry Dickson and Norman Sommers did not file, nor did any challengers. The terms of Councilwomen Theresa Allison and Laura Trummer expire in 2003.
Incumbent Michael Donnalley is the only candidate on the Nov. 6 ballot, and that as a write-in.
Payne said by law votes for write-in candidates in Ohio don't count unless the candidate has previously filed as a write-in candidate and paid a fee. That deadline was Sept. 17.
Seeking interested citizens: He said anyone willing to be mayor or serve on council should notify incumbent council members of their interest.
Donnalley would appear to be a shoo-in to keep his seat, but Payne said his election is not automatic.
Write-in candidates must receive at least one vote to win, Donnalley said.
Payne said that during the 2000 presidential campaign, three Republican precinct committee members were not elected because they received no votes.
"They thought others would vote for them," Payne said. "They didn't even vote for themselves."