Voters return Tsagaris to Trumbull commission

Tsagaris said he worked hard for his victory.
By STEPHEN SIFF
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- A Republican opponent's assaults on the integrity of Trumbull County Commissioner James Tsagaris held little sway over voters, who returned Tsagaris to office Tuesday with more than 56 percent of the vote.
"They didn't believe him; they didn't believe what the newspapers wrote," said Tsagaris, who will now serve a second term. "The voters know I did what I promised I would do. That is real integrity."
Tsagaris, of Warren, won the election by nearly 9,000 votes.
He said voters were responding to his record over the past four years, which included filling a campaign promise to repeal a quarter-percent county sales tax and working to build a new county building for farm-related agencies.
He said voters also responded to his dedication to improving the way Trumbull County buys its supplies.
"I'm just going to work for the people, just like I did for the last four years," he said.
Purchasing scandal
Over the course of the campaign, Don Manning, a Cortland Republican, raised questions about Tsagaris' involvement in a county purchasing scandal, going as far as to feature overpriced cans of air freshener in television advertisements on cable TV.
An internal investigation has concluded that the county maintenance department bought excessive amounts of overpriced supplies.
Manning also said the commissioner offered him a county job if he agreed to drop out of the race, and that he believes Tsagaris is the subject of an FBI investigation.
"I've got a firm belief that we need better people in office," said Manning, an account manager at Rentway in Sharon. "It is unfortunate that the voters did not see it that way."
Manning said he'll run for public office again.
Tsagaris said he campaigned hard for Tuesday's election after a relatively unknown opponent with a $300 war chest won 46 percent of the vote against him in the Democratic primary.
That strong May showing by Warren resident David C. Cook served as a wake-up call.
"I took it for granted," Tsagaris said.