Newcomers talked about their campaigns and about what’s to come now.

Newcomers talked about their campaigns and about what’s to come now.

By JEANNE STARMACK

and JOHN GOODWIN

VINDICATOR STAFF WRITERS

A handful of political newcomers are getting ready to take the reins at government posts throughout the Mahoning Valley after Tuesday’s election.

In Boardman, Poland, Canfield, Youngstown, Austintown and Liberty, they looked back at their campaigns Wednesday to determine why they connected with voters. They also talked about what they’re going to do once they get settled in.

Poland mayor

Poland has a new mayor after the June resignation of Ruth Wilkes, which left the village with an interim, Christine Yash, who will now resume her position on the village council.

Tim Sicafuse, who ran as an independent, easily won his race against two other newcomers — a Republican and another independent.

He guessed that maybe Democrats were attracted by his independent status, but he doesn’t know why he beat the other independent.

He and the other candidates, he said, are all lifelong or longtime village residents.

“I worked really hard. All three of us did. I don’t know the magic formula,” he said.

When he takes office, he said, he plans to concern himself with storm-water runoff that affects “all corners of the village.”

He will also consider ways to seek grants, he said, because Poland does not have a lot of industry and its tax base isn’t growing.

Boardman trustee

In Boardman, trustee-elect Larry Moliterno said the biggest issue for him is restoring residents’ confidence in their elected officials.

A 4.1-mill, five-year additional levy for operating expenses failed at the polls after township employees worked hard to pass it, he said. He said he believes that once residents’ confidence is restored, that levy stands a better chance of passing.

He said he’s looking forward to working with the other two trustees.

“As long as we keep the best interests of the community in mind, we’ll get along fine,” he said.

Moliterno said he’ll bring up having a comprehensive strategic plan for all township departments.

Canfield school board

Canfield’s school board has newcomer Renee Gessner, who beat incumbent David Moore by 52 votes.

She surmised that distributing a résumé letter “to say who I was” helped. The letter detailed her volunteerism within the schools.

She also credited word-of-mouth for her win — “people who know me and can vouch for my character,” she said.

She said her priorities include streamlining group fundraisers to make raising money more efficient, and to explore ways of getting equitable funding for the district from the state.

“They say [Superintendent Dante] Zambrini is stretching the dollar,” she said. “We want to make sure we get the most for our money, but also make sure we’re adequately funded.”

Austintown school board

In Austintown, Louis Chine Jr. bested three other newcomers running and will take a seat on the school board. Incumbent Michael Creatore did not run again.

Chine reasoned that exposure — “We worked our butts off” — and his lifelong Austintown residency contributed to his win.

Chine said that as soon as signs were allowed, his campaign had 250 of them up in three days. He said he and supporters manned the biggest voting precincts Tuesday.

He said his reputation in the community is solid because he has coached at the schools and volunteered for school events — “painting their football field and spaghetti dinners.”

For him, contract negotiations are a priority, provided contracts are still unsettled by the time he takes his post. The teachers union, the Austintown Education Association, may vote to ratify a pact next week, but the nonteachers union, the Ohio Association of Public School Employees, is still negotiating.

Chine said he wonders if “a lot of spending” is necessary at the district, quickly clarifying he didn’t mean for contracts.

“I hear a lot of things, but I need to get in there and talk to people,” he said.

Youngstown council

Annie Gillam of Kimmel Street, newly elected to Youngstown City Council, said she is not surprised by the support she received from the community. She said the support is a direct result of her and her husband’s constant efforts to address people’s concerns. She replaces her husband, Artis, on council.

“We really do try to help as much as we can, and I would hope people remember that,” she said.

Gillam attributes the success of her campaign to working daily with people in the community, being positive and addressing those issues that are most pressing to voters.

Gillam said she would like to address crime in her area as a first step in taking office. She would also like to address problems in street paving and any blight caused by neighborhood stores. She said that the neighborhood or corner stores that pepper the Youngstown area are sometimes not well-maintained and that people want the businesses cleaned up.

Youngstown school board

Anthony Catale of Bears Den Road, who has been elected to the Youngstown school board, said his nod of approval from voters came as no surprise. He attributes the success of his campaign to those who worked on his “grass-roots” effort to get his message out.

Catale said his primary goal upon taking office will be to work on fiscal responsibility. He said fiscal responsibility had always been needed, but the failure of the levy Tuesday makes it even more important.

“We have got a long road ahead of us. The biggest room in our district is room for improvement,” he said. “Fiscal responsibility is something we have to work on, especially with the failure of the levy. We have to work on this immediately.”

Liberty school board

Diana De Vito of Sampson Drive, Liberty, was very surprised at her election to the township school board.

“I was just hoping not to get trounced, but I am going to work very hard,” she said.

De Vito attributes the success of her campaign largely to a candidates forum a few weeks ago. She said it was during the forum that many residents gained insight into what she wanted to do as a member of the school board.

De Vito also said her door-to-door and word-of-mouth efforts among her supporters were very successful.

De Vito said she is looking forward to making an effort to get those pupils back who have recently left the school district to attend other schools. She is hoping to make Liberty schools attractive enough to those pupils, as well as others, to stay in the district.

De Vito said it is also important for school officials to understand the reasons pupils leave the school system.

“I really want to get to the bottom of that,” she said.