Committee: The sign must go


Photo

Don L. Hanni III, who is running in the May 4 Democratic primary for the 60th Ohio House District seat against incumbent Robert F. Hagan, is in a dispute with the city regarding a sign painted on his family's downtown Youngstown building.

By DAVID SKOLNICK

skolnick@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

Ohio House candidate Don L. Hanni III’s campaign headquarter’s painted sign on his father’s former law office violates city code and has to go, a committee with authority over exterior work to downtown buildings ruled.

The city’s Design Review Committee voted Tuesday to give Hanni 10 days to paint over the sign.

If Hanni doesn’t, he’ll be charged with violating city code and could be fined up to $100 a day if found guil-ty by a Youngstown Municipal Court judge, said Bill D’Avignon, the committee’s chairman and the city’s community development agency director.

Hanni had the sign painted March 24 on the northwest corner of the building at 219 W. Boardman St. The sign is about 8 feet by 5 feet and reads: “Elect Hanni Headquarters” with an arrow pointing to the rear of the building.

“It certainly gets the ugly vote,” quipped John DeFrance, a committee member.

Hanni didn’t attend the meeting and couldn’t be reached Tuesday by The Vindicator to comment.

Hanni previously said it’s “ridiculous” that he can’t paint a campaign sign on a building his family owns.

The Design Review Committee has control over exterior work done to downtown buildings including a paint job, putting up awnings and landscaping, D’Avignon said.

Hanni, of Youngstown, is challenging state Rep. Robert F. Hagan of Youngstown, D-60th, in the Democratic primary May 4.

This is the third time since 2007 that the Hanni family has been in trouble with the committee over that building. Each time exterior work was done without prior approval from the committee.

The first was when Hanni’s father, Don L. Hanni Jr., had the building painted red in 2007.

Then the family placed a 4-foot-by-30-foot banner on the building promoting Heidi A. Hanni’s candidacy for Mahoning County prosecutor in the March 2008 Democratic primary.

The family closed the law office in September 2009. Don L. Hanni Jr. died in July 2008.

Also Tuesday, the committee approved a 3,253-square-foot addition to MS Consultants Inc.’s building at 333 E. Federal St.

The work will begin in June and take about nine months to complete.

The committee also voted in favor of the exterior work that will be done to 22 W. Wood St. to turn half of the first floor into Our Family Restaurant, which will specialize in Puerto Rican cuisine. The restaurant, about 1,200 square feet in size, is expected to open in June or July.

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