Mancini stands out in Boardman race

In making a decision on the race for Boardman Township trustee, voters need to ask themselves the following question: How do the two challengers stack up against the three-term incumbent, Elaine Mancini?
We believe that after an objective evaluation of each candidate's qualifications and experience, residents of the township will reach the same conclusion we have: Mrs. Mancini has earned re-election.
But what about the torrential rains that caused flooding in residential and commercial areas of the township? Shouldn't the trustee who is on the Nov. 4 general election ballot bear responsibility for the suffering visited upon numerous families? No, she should not.
Because the flood is the main issue in this election, fairness demands a close look at what occurred and how much of the problem can be laid at the feet of township government. First of all, it is important to keep in mind the phrase "100-year rain." Why? Because it explains why the storm sewers weren't able to take in all that water. The amount of rain that fell within that concentrated period of time is not the norm. It happens once every 100 years.
There isn't any way for communities to prepare for such an occurrence. Thus, they are forced to react the best way they can. It wasn't only Boardman that was hard hit.
Indeed, one of Mrs. Mancini's challengers, Paul Shovlin, served as a trustee from January 1986 through December 1991, which could raise a question about his responsibility for the flooding. But it would be just as ridiculous to point the finger at Shovlin as it would the incumbent.
The third candidate is Linda Kovachik, a former staff representative for Congressman James A. Traficant Jr., D-Poland. Would it be fair to ask what, if anything, she did while on the congressional payroll to funnel federal dollars to Boardman to address long-standing flooding problems? No, it wouldn't.
Improvement projects
On the other hand, if the challengers can show that Mrs. Mancini ignored the problem or voted against any funding for upgrading the storm sewer system, then voters would have reason to point the finger of blame at her. But that just isn't the case.
Since 1992, Boardman trustees have allocated $2.1 million for 13 projects relating to storm water management, retention system upgrades and planning.
"If we had not had exceptional rain, Best Buy (an electronics store) would not have flooded," the incumbent told Vindicator writers. She pointed out that the developers were required to put in a retention pond capable of holding a 50-year rain, which is reasonable. "I don't see Boardman as being a massive sinkhole."
And neither do we.
A lot of the problems being faced by the township today are the result of poor governance in the past, which means that the current board of trustees must find ways to cope with them.
Shovlin and Kovachik aren't persuasive in their contention that Mrs. Mancini has been AWOL as a trustee. She deserves another term to continue the projects that have been launched to address issues such as police and fire protection and rundown neighborhoods.