TRUMBULL COUNTY Critics will circulate petitions to remove two commissioners

Removing a commissioner would require a judge's ruling.
By STEPHEN SIFF
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
HOWLAND -- Two outspoken critics of Trumbull County politics say they will circulate petitions in an attempt to have at least two commissioners thrown out of office.
Robert R. Carr, who founded Trumbull County Citizens Action League about a year ago to pursue accountability in politics, said that so far, only two commissioners are targeted.
Carr announced his plans at a Howland meeting called by Bill Jobe, a candidate for township trustee, to discuss flooding.
Jobe, whose aggressive questioning of Sheriff Thomas Altiere's campaign finances some time ago led to hearings at the state elections commission, said he would be active in the effort to remove Commissioners Joseph J. Angelo Jr. and James G. Tsagaris.
Carr said Commissioner Michael O'Brien's voting record will be reviewed.
Actions angered them
Both Carr and Jobe said they were angered by the county purchasing scandal and those two commissioners' refusal to fire Tony Delmont, the maintenance department chief who prosecutors say was responsible for the theft of some $400,000 from the county through the purchasing scheme over a four-year period.
Commissioners, prompted by Prosecutor Dennis Watkins, will conduct a predisciplinary hearing for Delmont in the next few weeks.
Commissioner O'Brien has been in favor of firing Delmont, who has pleaded innocent to criminal charges and is on unpaid suspension from his job.
Jobe said he also was troubled by Tsagaris' recent remarks that the commissioner knew what was going on but didn't know who to tell.
"He openly admits he knew what was going on and didn't know what to do about it," Jobe said. "If that's not grounds for removal from office, I don't want to be in this county."
In Ohio, elected officials are removed through the courts.
Signatures needed
To do so, Carr's group will need 10,754 valid signatures, or at least 15 percent of the number of county residents who voted in the last gubernatorial election. After that, those seeking the recall must convince a common pleas judge the commissioner is guilty of malfeasance, misfeasance or dereliction of duty, elections officials say.
In the event of a recall, the commissioner's political party -- in this case, the Democrats -- would appoint a replacement.
Volunteers will be out collecting signatures by next week, Carr said.
"I don't think having people sign petitions will be a problem," he said.
"I haven't talked to anybody about the petitions who didn't want to remove the commissioners from office."
siff@vindy.com