Ex-Warren Mayor Sferra wins bid for council seat

By Ed Runyan

Getting the most votes in Warren’s at-large race was incumbent Helen Rucker.

WARREN — Dan Sferra, longtime Warren mayor and councilman, will be back on the ballot in November after finishing in the top three among four candidates in the Democratic primary for council at large.

Sferra, 59, of Eastland Avenue, served as Warren’s mayor from 1980 to 1995 after being a councilman in the 1970s. He was also a state representative from 2000 to 2004.

In November, Sferra will face incumbents Helen Rucker and Bob Dean, plus incumbent Dan Crouse, who filed to run as an independent. The newcomer in the Democratic at-large race, Bill Kruppa, finished out of the running in fourth.

Rucker had the highest vote total of the four at 1,288, followed by Sferra at 1,214 and Dean at 1,181. Kruppa garnered 1,043. Rucker said she thinks Warren voters support her because she doesn’t just “talk the talk,” she also “walks the walk.”

She added, “I think voters like the message that taxes and fees are not something they want.”

She said as the city continues to battle financial problems, the residents also want to see a plan in place for how to move forward.

Meanwhile, incumbent Warren council member Sue Hartman has lost her seat in Warren’s 7th Ward.

Hartman, who served on council for 12 years, lost to Eddie Colbert, who had 60 percent of the votes.

Hartman, reached by telephone, said she thinks the economy played a part in her defeat, saying she thinks voters may want to see whether “someone else can do a better job.”

In the 3rd Ward, being vacated by Andy Barkley, who did not run this time, John Brown bested Manuel Michelakis with 60 percent of the votes.

Incumbent 5th-Ward Councilman Vincent Flask defeated challenger Bob Reed with 67 percent of the votes.

The city of Hubbard had one of the busiest primary elections in Trumbull County with races for council at large and in each of the city’s four wards.

Incumbent Bonnie Viele won with 52 percent of the vote over Marianne Hallapy for 1st-Ward council.

Another Hubbard incumbent, Dick Perry, who secured 24 percent of the vote, lost his race in the 2nd Ward to Timothy O’Hara, who got 55 percent. A third candidate, Ralph Ferguson III, got 22 percent.

Incumbents Lisha A. Pompili-Baumiller in the 3rd Ward and Edward Palestro Sr. in the 4th Ward secured more votes than their challengers, both getting 59 percent of the votes.

Challenger Jerome C. Crowe received the highest number of votes cast for Hubbard council at large with 32 percent, followed by fellow challenger Raymond L. Moffitt with 24 percent. Those two candidates and incumbent Patton M. Gilliland, who received 23 percent of the vote, will compete against independent Tony Pettola for three seats in the general election.

runyan@vindy.com