TRUMBULL COUNTY 14 seek seat in state Senate

Five officeholders in Trumbull County applied for the soon-to-be-vacant seat.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
VINDICATOR POLITICS WRITER
WARREN -- Fourteen Trumbull County residents, some with political experience and others with none, are interested in replacing Timothy J. Ryan in the Ohio Senate.
They submitted r & eacute;sum & eacute;s by Monday's deadline to Trumbull County Democratic Chairman Christ Michelakis for the 32nd Senate District seat. Trumbull Democratic precinct committee members will meet Nov. 26 at DiVieste Banquet Center on North River Road in Warren to vote on three finalists for the position.
Those three names, in order of finish, will then be forwarded to the Ohio Senate Democratic Caucus, which will make the final decision on an appointment. Although the caucus asked for three recommendations, the Ashtabula County Democratic Party decided to submit four, three from their county and one from Trumbull. Trumbull County makes up 75 percent of the population in the 32nd Senate District.
Ryan, a Niles Democrat, is resigning from the state Senate at the end of December to go to the U.S. House of Representatives. The appointee will fill Ryan's unexpired term through December 2004.
Submissions
Those submitting their names to Michelakis for consideration are:
Warren Councilman at large Dan Polivka.
Marc Dann, a Liberty Board of Education member who ran in 2000 for the Democratic nomination for the Senate seat. He lost to Ryan.
John Moliterno, a Girard city councilman and former head of the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber.
George Freeman, who ran for this seat in the 2000 Democratic primary.
John Kubilis, president of the United Steelworkers of America Local 2243, which represents laid-off CSC Ltd. employees.
John McClosky II, who owns Glass by JAC and is a former General Motors worker. His father is a former Trumbull County commissioner.
Joseph Mintus, who works at the Trumbull County Department of Job and Family Services.
Rokey Suleman, Trumbull County coordinator for Mary Boyle's unsuccessful race for state treasurer; he also worked on state Sen. Robert F. Hagan's campaigns.
Robert Faulkner, a Warren Board of Education member, vice president of training, education and work force development for the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber, and executive director of the Mahoning Valley Labor Management Council.
Martin Hume, who ran for a seat on the 11th District Court of Appeals in 1998.
John Hunter, a former Warren councilman.
Michael Lastic, a Niles councilman and Niles McKinley High School principal.
Thomas J. Hannon, a former McDonald mayor and councilman.
Thomas B. J. Letson, head of the Trumbull County Bar Association.
Ashtabula County
Unlike Trumbull Democrats, who are letting precinct committee members make recommendations, Ashtabula Democrats had their executive committee recommend four candidates.
The top choice of Ashtabula Democrats is Joseph Verckette, a former Ashtabula city manager. The second choice is state Rep. L. George Distel; third choice is Ashtabula County Commissioner Robert Boggs, a former state representative and state senator. The fourth choice is Dann.
Ashtabula Democratic Chairman Art Zensel said Ashtabula Democrats realize Trumbull has a significant advantage in the selection process because of its larger population. Because of that, Zensel said Ashtabula Democrats decided to support a Trumbull County resident as its fourth choice.
"It's a popularity contest," Zensel said. "If it comes to Trumbull County, we'll back Dann. He seems like an aggressive man with good credentials. He wants the job."
skolnick@vindy.com