Fortune to vacate 6th Ward seat for council presidency

Voters elected three new council members.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
VINDICATOR POLITICS WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Not that he isn't thrilled to win the Youngstown council presidency, but James E. Fortune Sr. is a little disappointed that he won't be able to serve out the remaining weeks of his term as 6th Ward councilman.
Because the election was to fill an unexpired term, Fortune, a Democrat, will begin the two-year-plus term after Tuesday's results are finalized by the Mahoning County Board of Elections, sometime this month.
"I really wanted to be sworn in Jan. 1," he said. "It would have given me time to tie up the loose ends."
Fortune said he will vacate his ward seat when he is sworn in as council president.
Fortune had no trouble defeating Republican Tracey Winbush for the position, beating her by a margin of more than 2-to-1.
Ready to work
Clarence Boles, who was elected to the 6th Ward seat Tuesday, said he should be appointed by council to replace Fortune as soon as the council president-elect is sworn in.
"Technically, it's my seat, so why not let me start serving 50 days early?" he said. "Let's go to work."
Fortune said he will discuss the issue with city Law Director John McNally IV to see if council will choose to fill the ward seat before Boles would be sworn in for his four-year term Jan. 1.
Fortune's easy victory in Tuesday's election, as well as his tight Democratic primary win over outgoing council President John R. Swierz in May, has some local political observers touting him as a 2005 mayoral candidate.
Fortune didn't dismiss the possibility.
"When I rest up and get my thinking cap on, I'll be more able to give an assessment of that," he said. "Right now, I'm going to do the best job I can" as council president.
Among Fortune's priorities is to help Boles and two other new council members-elect -- Carol Rimedio-Righetti in the 4th Ward and Mark S. Memmer in the 7th Ward -- acclimate to the job. Three of the seven council members in January will be new to the body.
"It's a team, and I'm a team player," Fortune said. "I hope to bring the younger council people along and work as a team to make a difference. I'm pleased with the field we have. Hopefully, we can get going quickly."
Contender's comments
Winbush said the city is the big loser in Tuesday's election.
"I can guarantee that it will be the same-old, same-old," she said. "Nothing will change. If it does change, it won't be for the better."
Although Republicans fielded candidates for council president, four council seats, and supported two nonparty candidates, they failed to capture any seat except for Richard Atkinson, who ran unopposed for his 3rd Ward seat. The other Republican-backed candidates were handily beaten, with JoAnn Collier in the 6th Ward having the best showing. She received 35 percent of the vote.
The incoming council members said they are eager to work with the incumbents.
"We are going to work as a unified force," said Rimedio-Righetti, the first woman on council in 12 years. "The new members all have a positive feeling for the city, and we'll be able to work with the older councilmen."
Councilman Michael Rapovy, D-5th, said the new members will blend in nicely with the current councilmen.
"We'll take the newer members and break them in and teach them the ropes," he said.
skolnick@vindy.com