In 3rd try for council in 6th Ward, Boles wins Dem nomination

The 7th Ward councilman lost his seat in the primary.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
VINDICATOR POLITICS WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- The third time may be the charm for Clarence Boles.
Boles failed in two previous attempts to capture the 6th Ward seat on Youngstown City Council, losing in 1995 and 1999 to Councilman James E. Fortune Sr.
But with Fortune unable to run because of term limits -- he is the unofficial winner of the Democratic primary for Youngstown council president -- Boles got his long-awaited victory, defeating Paul D. Pancoe in the Democratic primary, 58 percent to 42 percent.
Boles, a Youngstown Board of Education member, will meet Republican JoAnn Collier in the November general election. Boles said he plans to make an issue out of Collier's decision before the February filing deadline to withdraw as a Democratic candidate for the seat and run as a Republican.
"The first thing we're going to do is talk about her party flip-flop," Boles said.
But Boles' candidacy will also be under scrutiny.
Before the primary, Pancoe filed a complaint against Boles with the Mahoning County Board of Elections, which was forwarded to the Ohio Elections Commission.
The complaint alleges Boles violated state elections laws by failing to have the proper disclaimer on some of his political signs, raising and spending money before designating a campaign treasurer, having a negative cash balance on his campaign finance report, and not listing costs related to his campaign headquarters on his campaign reports.
Also winning the Democratic primary for an open seat on council was Carol Rimedio-Righetti, a retired board of elections official.
Rimedio-Righetti easily won a three-person primary for the 4th Ward seat being vacated by Ronald S. Sefcik, who couldn't run for re-election because of the city's term limits law. The term limits allow council members to serve no more than two four-year terms.
Rimedio-Righetti received 63 percent of the vote, compared with 33 percent for Ronald J. Warga and 4 percent for Richard J. Boyle.
She will face Sandra L. Holowatuk, an independent, in the Nov. 6 general election.
Councilman John Nittoli, who was appointed to the seat last year by Democratic precinct committee members in his ward, was no match for Mark S. Memmer, who beat him 54 percent to 46 percent for the Democratic nomination for the 7th Ward.
Memmer will face David J. Venerose Jr., a Republican, and Thomas Rovnak, an independent, in the November general election.
Fifth Ward Councilman Michael Rapovy turned back two challengers in the Democratic primary. He will face Republican Tyrone Peakes in the November election.
Incumbents in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd wards faced no primary opponents Tuesday.