MAYORAL RACE Board of elections refusing to place Fontes on the ballot
The Campbell man is running as a write-in candidate for mayor.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
VINDICATOR POLITICS WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- The Mahoning County Board of Elections denied a plea from a Campbell mayoral candidate to return his name to the ballot.
F. Anthony Fontes of Creed Circle withdrew his name from the ballot on June 28 because election board employees told him his nominating petition had a "fatal flaw" that would disqualify him as a candidate.
The date on Fontes' declaration of candidacy on his nominating petitions is later than the days several of his petitions were circulated.
Election board Chairman Mark Munroe told Fontes at a Monday meeting that the board has no discretion in this matter, and had no choice but to disqualify him because of the problem with the dates.
Munroe also said the petition language is quite clear that the declaration date must be listed on petitions before the days candidates can circulate them.
Incorrect date
Fontes told election board members that board employees had checked his petitions and pointed out a number of mistakes before he filed. However, they didn't detect the declaration date mistake until he had turned in the petitions, he said. At that point, the petitions cannot be returned to a candidate.
Fontes is running in the Sept. 27 primary runoff as a write-in candidate.
Problems with the nominating petition of Frank D. Tofil of Tenney Avenue led him to withdraw as a Campbell mayoral candidate on June 30 rather than be disqualified by the board. Tofil is also running as a write-in.
Those whose names will appear on the mayoral primary runoff are Mayor John E. Dill, council president Robert P. Yankle and former councilwoman Juanita Rich.
The city's charter calls for the top two finishers in the primary to face each other in the Nov. 8 general election.
skolnick@vindy.com