Election shows true winners, losers

Just as he was last Sunday, Warren’s mayor, Michael O’Brien, is the opening act for this column — this time because of what he accomplished in Tuesday’s election.

A week ago, it was suggested that O’Brien had staked his political future on a very risky proposition: that voters of the city would approve his proposal to make the 0.5 percent income tax permanent. The tax has been in effect for three years and is set to expire in December.

It was also pointed out that while expressing confidence that the income tax issue in Warren would pass, the mayor, in a commercial touting the services residents have received because of the tax, offered a “God bless you” to viewers. Nice touch.

When the votes were counted Tuesday night, 3,261 said yes to making the tax permanent; 2,990 said no. And in a clear demonstration of O’Brien’s political strength, the mayor garnered 5,069 votes, even though he was unopposed. By contrast, Robert Marchese, who also was unopposed for city council president, received 4,296 votes. City Auditor David Griffing and Law Director Gregory Hicks, both without opposition, got 4,354 and 4,304 votes, respectively.

Soccer moms

In the weeks leading up to the election, the mayor sent friend-to-friend cards to city voters, letters to soccer moms and personal notes to precinct committeemen and women. He combined his campaign for re-election with his appeal for passage of the income tax issue.

His efforts paid off handsomely, both personally and for the city.

But while Mayor O’Brien is celebrating Tuesday’s good news, his counterpart in Youngstown must come to terms with the fact that his very public endorsement of the 9.5-mill levy for the Youngstown City School District was of little consequence.

(In the interest of full disclosure, it should be pointed out that The Vindicator also strongly endorsed the levy.)

However, it was Youngstown Mayor Jay Williams’ appeal to the voters — it can be summarized as, pay now to educate the children of the city, or pay later to keep uneducated, social misfits behind bars, that drew the most interest.

While Williams was persuasive in arguing that a well educated populace is essential to the economic and social well-being of the city, he failed to understand what the opposition was about. No one is against educating the city’s young, but a question that the school board has failed to adequately answer is this: How much money does it take to educate an inner city child?

The question is prompted by the contention of some critics that it now costs an average of $14,000 to pay for the education of some Youngstown students, whereas the state average is about $5,000.

The school board and Superintendent Wendy Webb have announced they will return to the ballot box next March with the 9.5-mill levy — the state commission overseeing the district’s finances is requiring them to do so. They should be prepared to respond to criticism that despite the large amount of money being spent per student, the Youngstown district is still in state academic watch.

Joining Williams in the losers column are Boardman Township’s three trustees, Elaine Mancini, Kathy Miller and Robyn Gallitto, who went all out for the 4.1-mill levy for operating expenses.

Voters in Boardman said no — loudly and clearly.

Trustee Mancini will be vacating her seat at the end of the year, which means she does not have to worry about the fallout from the voter revolt. But Miller and Gallitto do, given that they will be on the board next year — along with the new trustee, Larry Moliterno — and will have to deal with the consequences of not having the $4 million a year the levy would have generated.

La-la land

Why did Boardman residents say no? Because they believe that individuals who are on the public payroll are living in la-la land when it comes to what they expect in wages, benefits and the scrumptious retirement packages.

The level of tone deafness on this issue was evident after Tuesday’s results were announced. No one in township government used the words “concessions” or “givebacks” in talking about how to address the budget shortfall.