Wednesday, February 27, 2008
The challenger wants to
focus on reducing alcohol and drug abuse.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
VINDICATOR POLITICS WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN — Twelve years after he was overwhelmingly defeated for Mahoning County coroner, Anil Choudary Nalluri is making another bid for the office.
As he did in 1996, Nalluri will face Coroner David Kennedy in Tuesday’s Democratic primary. The last time, Kennedy received more than 87 percent of the vote.
Nalluri, of Canfield, a 60-year-old psychiatrist, said he is a more suitable candidate for coroner than Kennedy, who’s held the job since 1995.
Nalluri specifically points to training in forensic pathology he received at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology and his experience as chief deputy coroner, supervising 80 physicians, from 1993 to 1995.
Kennedy, of Youngstown, who has a private internal medicine practice, said his experience as coroner makes him the best candidate.
Kennedy, 44, plans to make improvements to the coroner’s office including a new cooler for body storage and an upgrade to the county morgue.
“We’re improving a lot of things and I want to continue to do so,” he said.
Among Kennedy’s priorities is upgrading the use of forensic science in the county, which includes hiring a forensic pathologist. The county lost its pathologist in December and the county has had to send most bodies for autopsies to the Cuyahoga County coroner’s office, he said.
If elected, Nalluri wants to focus on educating people about drug and alcohol abuse, which he says is statistically the No. 1 cause of violent crimes throughout the country.
He wants to implement more programs in the school systems specializing in reducing drug and alcohol use.
Nalluri said the amount of violence in the county will not improve unless aggressive change is made.
No Republican has filed to challenge the winner of the Democratic primary for coroner.
skolnick@vindy.com