WARREN KSU director to run for county seat

Robertson is the third Democratic challenger to enter the race.
By STEPHEN SIFF
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- John Robertson, the director of communications at Kent State University Trumbull Campus, has announced his intention to run against Trumbull County Commissioner Joseph J. Angelo Jr. in the March Democratic primary.
Robertson is the fourth person to join the race. Cortland Mayor Melissa Long and Niles Councilman Reginald F. Giancola Jr., D-3rd, have both filed petitions to run against the three-term incumbent.
"I, like many people, know we need to change government," said Robertson, 57. "We have to change the way it is perceived and the way it operates. We need to do a better job."
Robertson, who holds an doctorate in education, has worked for KSU in different administrative positions since 1982. He has never run for elected office.
If elected, Robertson said he would support hiring experts from KSU or Youngstown State University to study whether the county has the appropriate level of personnel.
If additional taxes are needed, the opinion of outside experts would help convince people to support them, he said.
Budget crunch
County officials expect a budget crunch in 2005, as a result of voters' overwhelming rejection of a 0.5 percent piggy-back sales tax in November.
Robertson said that as commissioner he would also be interested in exploring the consolidation of services like police and fire protection.
Robertson, of Atlantic Street, came to Warren in 1967 after serving in the Navy. He has used a wheelchair since his neck was broken in an automobile accident in 1972.
He is a widower, and his eldest son, Joseph, was killed in 2000 when his car was struck by a Ohio Highway Patrol cruiser. Robertson's younger son, Joshua, is a junior at Warren G. Harding High School.
A Republican, Mecca Trustee Michael Colello, has also filed petitions for the seat, board of elections officials say.