TRUMBULL COMMISSIONERS Challengers set sights on recently filled seat

The commissioners' office has been guilty of neglect, Gwen Logan says.
By STEPHEN SIFF
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- Freshly appointed Trumbull County Commissioner Dan Polivka will face two challengers In the March Democratic primary, both hailing from the northern townships.
Polivka, of Warren, won the Democratic party's appointment to the seat last month with promises to bring more openness to the office and work to foster economic development. After a month in the job, he says he is still studying the budget and learning about issues involving township water and sewer service.
In a candidate questionnaire, Polivka said he is running "to restore integrity and accountability to the commissioners office and help change our image."
But in an interview, he said he did not see the problems in the commissioners' office suggested by others.
"I don't think it is such disarray," he said.
Setting priorities
Challenger Donald Barzak, a Johnson Township trustee, also said he was in the race "to restore credibility and accountability to county government," but that he was opposed to "negativity" toward other candidates or elected officials.
Among his priorities is the extension of waterlines and sewer lines throughout the county, as a precursor to further development. He said he would be open to the possibility of privatizing new additions to the county water system, as Consumers Ohio Water Co. has proposed in the past.
"If you cannot provide a service to the people and they want a service, you look in any form possible to provide the service," he said.
Gwen Logan, the wife of Common Pleas Judge Andrew Logan, of Kinsman, was forthright in her criticism of the commissioners office.
"Those people have been misspending money for a long time," she said, referring to the county purchasing scandal that has resulted in several indictments and a guilty plea from one county vendor. "It is only of late that we caught up with them."
Logan said she believed commissioners have been guilty of "neglect."
No overpaying
"I think we are not showing up and we don't understand what we are looking at when we are looking at it," she said of the board. "I don't believe they are corrupt, but if I was running the ship, I would make sure the county isn't paying $8 for a bottle of Windex."
As commissioner, she said she would aggressively pursue building waterlines and sewer lines, even when some residents are reluctant to pay for them.
"People may be upset, but it needs to be done," she said.
Another candidate on the Democratic ballot, James A. MacKenzie, did not submit a questionnaire or editorial board invitation.
siff@vindy.com