AUSTINTOWN No clear favorite in race for trustee

The firefighters and police unions chose not to endorse the incumbent.
By IAN HILL
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
AUSTINTOWN -- Township resident Carol Reese hasn't been impressed by what she's heard from the candidates vying to be township trustee.
"A couple we just don't trust, a couple didn't have very good answers," Reese said after hearing from the four trustee candidates at Wednesday's "Meet the Candidates" event. A fifth candidate did not attend.
Several township residents have echoed Reese's comments in recent weeks, and there appears to be no clear favorite in the race for trustee.
Residents had a chance to learn more about the race at Wednesday's event, which featured candidates discussing their positions on the issues and answering questions from the audience.
Edwards
Afterward, some residents said they expected to vote for incumbent Richard Edwards.
"I think Edwards is the only one that answered any questions. The rest of them didn't answer any questions at all," said resident Dale Rair.
Edwards, who has served since 2001, said he will continue to work to attract businesses to the township and address the township's budget woes. He said the township will be $700,000 in debt by the end of this year without budget cuts or additional revenue.
Edwards, however, could be hurt in his re-election bid by his lack of support from the township's police union. The union recently agreed to a new contract after months of contentious negotiations with trustees, and has voted to endorse candidate Lisa Oles, considered the main challenger to Edwards.
It is the first time the union has endorsed a candidate in an election.
Oles
Oles said she also will work to attract businesses to the township and bring back laid-off firefighters and police, and she stressed that she wants to get the community more involved in government. She also said she felt that this election is about "change, leadership and trust," and she criticized current trustees for "back-room dealings" and for leading the township into debt.
"Our leadership should have had a fiscal cushion to fall back on," she said.
Oles has been criticized by some residents for focusing her campaign on what's wrong with the current trustees rather than on what she would do if elected. On Wednesday Edwards responded to Oles' comments about the budget by quipping, "There you go again" -- a comment made famous when Ronald Reagan used it in a debate with then-President Carter in 1980.
Others
Voters who might have supported Oles, only to be turned off by her campaign, seem to have lined up behind candidate Samuel Swoger III, even though little was known about his position on the issues before Wednesday's event. Swoger, a retired GM employee who bills himself as the "workers' candidate," said he'll practice fiscal discipline and work to get more money from the state.
He also said he was concerned that the township was losing money in lawsuits that should be settled quickly.
Swoger may prove to be a surprise and a spoiler if he earns the support of the township's many blue-collar workers. He's also a pee-wee football coach and he could receive a number of votes from the parents of his players.
Swoger received chuckles and applause from the audience Wednesday when he suggested that one of the priorities of the school district should be ensuring that the Fitch football team makes the playoffs.
Then there's the two candidates who are unknowns, Donna Buzulencia and Linda Marie Roca. Neither has done much campaigning, and Roca didn't show for Wednesday's event.
Oles has said she believes Roca and Buzulencia entered the race to try and take votes away from her and ensure a victory for Edwards.
hill@vindy.com