Saturday, May 28, 2005
The candidate says there is no question about his eligibility.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
VINDICATOR POLITICS WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- The Mahoning County Board of Elections chairman questions whether Charles Sammarone is eligible to run for president of Youngstown City Council in the November general election.
Chairman Mark Munroe sent a letter to Youngstown Law Director Iris Guglucello questioning Sammarone's eligibility.
Munroe sent the letter after a Vindicator reporter asked Guglucello and county election board officials the same question earlier this week.
Section 6 of the Youngstown city charter reads: "The president of council shall be elected by the people for a maximum of two complete consecutive terms of four years each. He will be eligible for election after an intervening term."
The city charter was amended Nov. 5, 1996, to add that provision.
"I note that Mr. Sammarone was elected to two complete, or full terms, one in 1997, and another in 2001," Munroe wrote. "While Sammarone resigned before the end of his second term, there is no question that he was elected to two complete terms."
Guglucello said she is researching the issue and should have an answer shortly.
Sammarone resigned in February 2002 as council president to become water commissioner at the request of Mayor George M. McKelvey. If Sammarone had not resigned, his second term would have expired Dec. 31.
Munroe wrote that "an intervening term has not passed since Mr. Sammarone left office after being elected for the second term in 2001."
Wanting to resume
With McKelvey leaving the mayoral post at the end of the year because of the city's term limits law, Sammarone said he wanted to resume his former position as council president.
He won a three-man Democratic primary earlier this month, and is to face Councilman Richard Atkinson of the 3rd Ward, the Republican nominee, in the November election.
Munroe, also a Republican, said the question first raised by the newspaper to Guglucello is legitimate.
"There are questions about his eligibility," Munroe said. "He was elected to two complete terms. The language doesn't say that he has to complete two terms. It just says if he's elected to two complete terms, he can't run for a third consecutive term."
When told about Munroe's request, Sammarone said the election board chairman doesn't understand the charter.
"I wouldn't have filed if I thought I wasn't eligible," Sammarone said.
Word games
Munroe said elected is the key word in the charter, and Sammarone contends complete is the key word.
"Complete terms means four years, and I didn't complete the term," Sammarone said.
When asked if resigning days before a second four-year term expires would permit someone to be eligible for a third term, Sammarone said it would.
"If it means you didn't complete the term, then you're eligible," he said. "That's something the charter review committee should look at."
Because this matter is addressed in the Youngstown city charter, the county election board will rely heavily on the opinion of the city law director, Munroe said.
But the county board has the authority to take action against Sammarone, Munroe said.
The election chairman said his interpretation of the charter is Sammarone isn't eligible to run.
"It's a question that needs an answer," he said. "The law director's interpretation will carry weight, and it would be very difficult to remove him if the law director agrees he's eligible. I can't predict what action the board would take."
If Sammarone is disqualified, Munroe said he believes Democrats wouldn't be permitted to put a replacement in the race. But Munroe said he needs to investigate the matter further.
After Sammarone resigned as council president, then-Councilman John Swierz of the 7th Ward was selected to replace him. Swierz lost the 2003 Democratic primary for the job to then-6th Ward Councilman James Fortune Sr., who won the general election for the seat that year. Fortune's term expires Dec. 31. He opted not to seek re-election, and instead ran for mayor in the Democratic primary earlier this month. Fortune finished in fifth place in a seven-man race.