Who won race for president of council? It's too close to call

Race apparently figured in the Democratic primary for Youngstown council president.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
VINDICATOR POLITICS WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- It was one of the most confusing elections in recent Mahoning Valley politics, and it won't be cleared up for at least two weeks.
It initially looked like Youngstown council President John R. Swierz had eked out a victory in Tuesday's Democratic primary by 30 votes over Councilman James E. Fortune Sr., D-6th, his challenger.
Swierz even gave a victory speech at the Mahoning County Board of Elections saying he expected to hold on to the win even after provisional votes were counted and an automatic recount was completed.
But Swierz left the elections board before the results of one machine at Precinct 5-H at the Cleveland School on West Princeton Avenue were reported because workers had problems reading the results from one computer.
When the results from that one machine were counted, Fortune picked up 50 additional votes and Swierz got 4. That made Fortune the unofficial winner by 16 votes.
"It looked bad for a while, but I came back," a jubilant Fortune said.
Swierz didn't see it that way.
"It was a high to just my jaw dropping; it's complete disbelief," Swierz said. "You leave with 30 votes and you think it will hold up. I'm consulting with a lawyer to protect my interests. It's far from over."
Swierz is correct about that.
Provisional votes
By state law, the county elections board won't open and count provisional votes -- those cast by people who moved into the city 30 days before the election -- until May 15. Between now and then, elections board officials will make sure those who voted by provisional ballot actually live in the city.
Elections officials say 31 people voted by provisional ballot at the elections board Tuesday. They won't know how many people voted by provisional ballot at polling places until today or Thursday.
The 16-vote lead in the unofficial count is a victory of 0.2 of 1 percent for Fortune. After the provisional votes are counted May 15, if the margin of victory is 0.5 of 1 percent or less, an automatic recount is held. The elections board could conduct a recount later that week.
"It's just not fair; who am I going to run against?" asked Tracey S. Monroe-Winbush, the Republican candidate for council president. "It doesn't matter, but it affects my strategy. I need all the time I can get."
Results from the Democratic primary show that race played a large factor in the election.
Here's why
Fortune, who is black, did exceptionally well in wards and precincts with large black populations, and Swierz, who is white, led the way in wards and precincts with large white populations.
Fortune didn't lose one precinct in the 1st, 2nd or 3rd Wards, which are predominantly black areas.
For example, he beat Swierz 83-3 in Precinct 1G, which votes at the Mill Creek Community Center on Glenwood Avenue; 104-8 in Precinct 2G, which votes at the McGuffey Centre on Jacobs Road; and 45-5 in Precinct 3D, which votes at the Black Knights Police Association on Oakland Avenue.
Swierz didn't lose any precincts in the 4th and 7th Wards, which are predominantly white.
For example, Swierz won 145-29 in Precinct 4H, which votes at the Franciscan Fathers Friary on South Belle Vista Avenue, and 127-23 in Precinct 7K, which votes at the St. Nicholas Byzantine Catholic Church Activity Center on Shady Run Road.
Fortune won the black precincts in the 5th and 6th wards, which are a mix of blacks and whites, and Swierz won the white precincts in those two wards. For example, Swierz won in precincts on and near South Schenley Avenue, and Fortune won in precincts on and near West Princeton Avenue.
Neither candidate used race as an issue, and each says he worked hard to attract support from voters of the opposite race.
But the results show Fortune's efforts to "keep it close in the 4th Ward" failed; he received 25 percent of that ward's vote.
And Swierz's belief that he "had a lot of support in the 2nd Ward" were misplaced; he received 16 percent of that ward's vote.
Close in 5th Ward
Although the election was one of the closest major races in the Valley in years, the 5th Ward was the only competitive ward for Swierz and Fortune. Swierz received 52 percent of the vote in the 5th Ward, compared with 48 percent for Fortune.
The next closest ward was Fortune's 6th Ward, which he easily won 63 percent to 37 percent.
The 31 provisional votes cast at the elections board will probably not affect the outcome because 17 of them came from residents of precincts that voted for Fortune.
That means Swierz will probably have to count on the unknown total of provisional votes cast at the polls if he has a chance to hold onto his seat.
Swierz was appointed to the council presidency in March 2002 by Democratic city precinct committee members to fill a vacancy left by the resignation of Charles P. Sammarone.
Fortune was going to assume the position, but Swierz pointed out that the city charter called for the precinct committee members to elect a replacement. Fortune didn't seek that appointment, and Swierz was easily elected.
The two had experienced problems before that matter. Swierz filed a police report in February 2002 accusing Fortune of threatening harm and wanting to fight him. Fortune, who denied the allegation, threatened to file a civil suit against Swierz but never did.
skolnick@vindy.com