Proposal worries law officials

The city law department won't draft legislation on the issue.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
CITY HALL REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- A councilman's proposal to require those seeking city elected positions to undergo criminal-history checks would "cause a chilling effect" on people's right to seek public office, two city law officials say.
For close to a year, Councilman Paul D. Pancoe, D-6th, has sought legislation making the background checks mandatory for those running for city elected offices before they file as candidates.
Pancoe, appointed councilman after a convicted felon resigned the post, wants legislation to make it illegal for felons to run for office. The legislation would require the checks before someone files to run for a city elected position.
"This is a no-brainer," he said. "People say they want to change things. We need to start with something important like this."
State law doesn't forbid felons from running for elected office, but they can't hold the job unless they get their criminal record sealed or get a presidential pardon, says the Ohio secretary of state's office.
Pancoe discussed the issue Feb. 24 with Margaret Koval, an assistant city law director; Kathleen M. Slavens, a deputy city law director; Kelsey Codner, a city legislative aide; Thomas McCabe, Mahoning County Board of Elections director; and Capt. Jim Lewandowski of the county sheriff's department.
The sheriff's department can conduct criminal history checks through the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation and the FBI.
Response
In a May 1 letter to Pancoe, who requested an update on his request, Koval and Slavens wrote they thought the councilman understood the law department wasn't drafting legislation because his proposal can't be enforced.
The two also wrote Pancoe's proposal would discourage some from running for office because the background checks would include arrests, and not just convictions, of potential candidates.
"These records, which would be public, would as likely include misdemeanor alcohol offenses of a valuable and viable current candidate who would rather not run for public office than expose his youthful indiscretions," they wrote. "This would cause a chilling effect upon one's right to run for public office that would expose the city [to] extensive and costly litigation."
Voters would be less concerned with someone convicted of driving under the influence 20 years ago and other misdemeanors compared to someone convicted of a felony, Pancoe said.
Private companies conduct background checks of potential employees, he said, though those results are confidential. Those running for political office "should be held to a higher standard," the councilman said, adding that he sees no problem with criminal checks of potential candidates' being released to the public.
"If you have these skeletons in your closet, you should be held accountable," he said.
Since 2004, The Vindicator has asked candidates whether they've ever been convicted of a crime.
What happened
Without a charter amendment, the elections board couldn't keep felons off the ballot in Youngstown, McCabe said. Also, a charter amendment wouldn't stop someone from having his or her criminal record expunged in order to run, he said.
"I completely understand why [Pancoe] would want this and I agree with his proposal, but I can't do anything about it," McCabe said.
Pancoe lost the May 2003 Democratic primary for the 6th-Ward seat to Clarence Boles, who went on to win the general election that year.
Boles resigned Sept. 1, 2004, after The Vindicator disclosed he pleaded guilty in June 1982 to aggravated assault and endangering children, both felonies. Boles served about three months in a state prison before a judge granted a motion for shock probation.
Boles said he believed his criminal record was erased, and he strongly denied committing the crimes. Pancoe was appointed to fill the rest of Boles' term.
skolnick@vindy.com