Two Youngstown council candidates out

YOUNGSTOWN — Two independent candidates for Youngstown City Council seats won’t be on the ballot, and Mahoning County Board of Elections officials are questioning the eligibility of a third.

The elections board voted Tuesday to disqualify Steven Robert Hinz and Cecil Monroe as candidates for the 3rd and 4th Wards, respectively, on the November general election ballot.

The elections board also wants to question Frank Bellamy, a 1st Ward independent candidate, about his eligibility, said Thomas McCabe, the elections board director.

The board recently mailed a letter to Bellamy at his Breaden Street house with an Ohio Ethics Commission disclosure form, and it was returned stamped “vacant house” by the postal service, McCabe said.

An elections employee drove to the house and said it “looked vacant,” according to McCabe. When The Vindicator checked the house Tuesday, the electricity was on, the grass was mowed, numerous vehicle tires were stacked in the side yard and Bellamy’s wife, Michelle, was home.