Trustees: Gender will not be factor

When Elaine Mancini was elected in 1992, she was the township's first woman trustee.
By DENISE DICK
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
BOARDMAN -- For the first time in its 200-year history, the township will have three women at its helm starting next year.
Voters gave the nod last week to incumbent Kathy Miller and Robyn Gallitto for the two available seats, ousting Trustee Tom Costello.
Miller and Gallitto will join Trustee Elaine Mancini as trustees next year.
According to the township's Web site, in 1992 Mancini became the first woman elected as a Boardman trustee.
"I don't think it's going to make any difference at all," Miller said of the board's gender composition.
She said she's worked with many women and never encountered problems because of their sex.
"As long as they were women who were very secure in what they were doing and confident in their abilities, I've always respected women who were competent in what they were doing," Miller said.
Gallitto agreed, saying she doesn't anticipate gender being a factor.
"I've always said that it should be more issue oriented than personality oriented," she said.
Gallitto, an attorney, said there were many situations where she has been the only woman in a room and she doesn't believe it put her at either an advantage or disadvantage.
Mancini, now in her fourth term as trustee, doesn't expect it to be a factor, either.
"I don't think it will be any different," Mancini said. "They'll all be judged on how involved they are in the community and what they do for the community, just like a man would be."
She said she would continue to operate as she has in her 22 years in public office. Mancini served on the school board before being elected a trustee.
"I'll just continue to do what's best for the community the way that I see it," she said.
Similar situation
Although the Ohio Township Association doesn't maintain records of the male-female makeup of trustee boards across the state, there's at least one other Mahoning Valley township with three women as trustees.
Warren Township, Trumbull County, is run by Kay Anderson, Terry Ambrose and Cheryl Ranttila Zaben. Anderson and Ranttila Zaben were re-elected last week, fending off three male challengers.
"I wouldn't say it's any different," said Anderson, who will begin her third term next year. "Actually, Debbie D'Orio is our clerk so we have a four-woman group."
Ranttila Zaben's election four years ago created the female dominance. Ambrose is serving her third term.
"Gender just doesn't really play into this because we still work with all of the department heads and all of the department heads are men," Anderson said.
After Ranttila Zaben's election, the board was recognized at a state township meeting in Columbus as the only all-female township representatives, Anderson said.