Donna Polivka resigns post on Democratic committee

Commissioner Dan Polivka said his mom would be an asset to the county.
By ED RUNYAN
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- Donna Polivka, mother of Trumbull County Commissioner Dan Polivka, has resigned as Democratic Party precinct committeewoman.
The position appeared to be in conflict with her recent hiring to a receptionist job with the county Job and Family Services Department.
Her resignation was confirmed by her son Thursday night and by a party official.
Donna Polivka, who was first employed by the agency in June to serve as a summer intern in the senior citizen division, was hired in late September to a permanent position paying about $10.50 an hour.
Though commissioners Paul Heltzel and Jim Tsagaris voted 2-0 to approve her hiring for the internship, commissioners did not take a vote on her hiring in September.
County officials said no vote was necessary in September since commissioners had already voted for her hiring in June.
Dan Polivka abstained from voting in June.
Son defends mother
When questioned about the hiring this week, Polivka said his mother would be an asset to the county, so he saw nothing wrong with her having a county job. He added that in 22 years of government service, this is the first time he has had a relative get a government job.
Mrs. Polivka could not be reached to comment Thursday night.
"Should she be treated any less just because she's my mom?" Commissioner Polivka asked when questioned about the hiring Thursday. "I know what kind of work my family would do. I could understand if she got a job where she did not have the credentials, but this was a job where no one bid on it, so she got it."
He said his mother is "very good with people," having "raised four kids on her own" and "worked two jobs most of her life," raising her family and jobs as secretary and courier.
"She's been working her whole life pretty much," he said.
Similar case
Prosecutor Dennis Watkins was asked whether Mrs. Polivka could hold a county job and also serve as a Democratic precinct committeewoman. He said there was a case similar to hers in which a county maintenance worker was fired from his county job because he was also a Niles councilman.
But Watkins said his office would need to receive a formal request from a county official -- because the county is her employer -- before researching the issue and giving a legal opinion.
Commissioner Paul Heltzel worked on the case involving Richard Marino, a Niles councilman and county maintenance worker, when Heltzel was an assistant county prosecutor in May 1984. Heltzel said that unless the law has changed since that case, he believes it is "clear cut" that Mrs. Polivka can't have both positions.
Watkins said the Marino case is similar to Donna Polivka's situation in that it involved a county employee involved in partisan political activity. He said it is uncertain whether the cases would have the same outcome, however, because he does not know whether her position is classified.
Mrs. Polivka was appointed in September to a position as central committee member representing precinct 3M in Warren.
runyan@vindy.com