Gains to decide on possible resignations for candidates

Gains said Democrats asked him to supply a candidate for the judge's seat.
By DEBORA SHAULIS
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Mahoning County Prosecutor Paul J. Gains says he'll decide on a case-by-case basis whether assistant prosecutors must resign their jobs when they want to run for public office.
Assistant County Prosecutor Timothy Franken is one of two candidates in the Democratic primary for a seat on the 7th District Court of Appeals. Either Franken or Atty. Christopher Sammarone will face Judge Mary DeGenaro, the incumbent Republican, in the general election.
"He would never have run without my permission," Gains said Wednesday of Franken, who is chief assistant of the prosecutor's criminal division.
Franken also kept his job when he ran unsuccessfully for a common pleas court judgeship in 2002. Gains changed department policy after that, requiring employees seeking political office to resign, he told The Vindicator in December 2003. That's what former assistant prosecutor Wade W. Smith Jr. did in order to challenge incumbent Judge Theresa Dellick of Mahoning County Juvenile Court in 2004.
Not the same situation
These are different circumstances, Gains said. Smith had been assigned to represent the county Children Services Board, which meant he worked closely with juvenile court. As a trial lawyer, Franken rarely appears before appellate judges, who are represented in legal matters by the state attorney general's office rather than the prosecutor, he said.
Also, this time, "I was asked by my party to provide a candidate and I did," said Gains, a Democrat.
Lisa Antonini, chairwoman of the county Democratic Party, said she and other party leaders in the court district had recruited Gains to run against Judge DeGenaro. With his strong name recognition, experience and knowledge of law, "We thought he would be an outstanding candidate," she said.
Gains ultimately decided not to run, and other candidates filed their petitions, she added. Gains declined to say why he didn't enter the race.
Franken won't be permitted to campaign on county time nor use county vehicles when he's campaigning, Gains said.
The 7th District Court of Appeals covers Belmont, Carroll, Columbiana, Harrison, Jefferson, Mahoning, Monroe and Noble counties. The judge's term begins Feb. 9, 2007.
shaulis@vindy.com