Who’s in, who’s out of running for office

Girard voters will choose all five
positions on the city’s school board this November.

By DAVID SKOLNICK

and ED RUNYAN

VINDICATOR STAFF WRITERS

After four years on the Austintown school board, Michael Creatore is calling it quits.

But he may run for elected office again.

Creatore, the school board’s president, said his decision to not seek re-election Nov. 6 is twofold.

Creatore said his business, Creatore Wealth Management Group, is growing and he needs to focus more attention on it. Also, Creatore says he is frustrated with what he sees as the district’s unions having too much control over the school system.

In an attempt to avoid a projected deficit, the school board has made cuts in areas such as transportation and supplies. The district’s two unions are working under the language of expired contracts.

Creatore said he is contemplating a run for Mahoning County treasurer next year but hasn’t made a final decision.

If Creatore runs and wins the county position, he said he’d strongly consider selling his business.

The county Democratic Party appointed Lisa Antonini, the party’s chairman, as county treasurer earlier this year after John Reardon resigned the post to take a job in the Gov. Ted Strickland administration. Antonini, who is expected to run next year for the seat, had served as the treasurer office’s No. 2 administrator when she received the appointment.

Though Creatore is leaving after four years, David W. Ritchie, who butted heads with Creatore at times, is seeking his 11th four-year term on the school board.

Five other candidates are also running for the two Austintown school board seats including Fire Chief Andy Frost.

Former Austintown Trustee Rich Edwards turned in petitions by Thursday’s filing deadline to run for the township’s fiscal officer position, held by Michael J. Kurish, who is seeking re-election. Trustee Lisa L. Oles is unopposed.

Youngstown board

Outgoing Youngstown Councilman Richard Atkinson is among seven candidates seeking four seats on Youngstown’s board of education on the Nov. 6 ballot.

Two of the four incumbents — Shelley Murray and Mike Write — are running for a second four-year term on the school board. Write lost the Democratic primary in May for the 1st Ward seat on city council.

Jamael Tito Brown and Kathryn Hawks Haney are not seeking re-election to the board. Brown is the Democratic nominee for council’s 3rd Ward, a seat currently held by Atkinson.

After 16 years as a Boardman trustee, Elaine Mancini has opted not to seek re-election.

Three candidates are running to replace her. They are Larry Moliterno, the chief executive officer of Meridian Services who unsuccessfully ran for a trustee seat two years ago; Brad Calhoun, who is president of the Boardman school district’s teachers union; and Rich Slaina, who works for the county engineer’s office.

Boardman Township and the Youngstown School District are seeking approval from voters on new tax issues, while the Springfield school district has an issue on the ballot for new school construction.

Trumbull County

In Trumbull County, Girard voters will have the unusual task of voting for all five positions on the city’s school board this November. Because of the resignation of Ed Semple and the removal of Jane Harris, board members Paul A. Rich and Thomas A. Grumley were appointed to the positions.

Rich filed with the Trumbull County Board of Elections to retain the seat for the two remaining years of the term, but Grumley did not. John Moliterno filed to fill the other position.

Unless someone files to run as a write-in candidate for the two positions, Rich and Moliterno will be elected as long as their petitions are valid, said Rokey Suleman, elections board deputy director.

Five people filed to run for the three four-year terms up for election this November. They are Diane H. Alejars, William R. Bell, Phillip C. Fisher, Deborah R. McNicholas, and Richard D. Rees. Only Fisher is an incumbent.

Choosing not to run again for the four-year seats were Jamie R. Devore and Myron A. Esposito.

Meanwhile, Rhonda L. Bonekovic, a member of the Brookfield Board of Education, chose not to run for that seat again but instead decided to run for Brookfield Township trustee.

However, when Bonekovic turned in her petitions on Thursday at the board of elections, officials there advised her that she had failed to fill out the top of the petitions correctly, which would have made them invalid.

Bonekovic decided at that point to run for the trustee position as a write-in, Suleman said. Two others are running for the job whose names will appear on the ballot, George Economides and Ronald E. Haun.

skolnick@vindy.com
runyan@vindy.com