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Ray chosen as 4th Ward councilman
YOUNGSTOWN
Michael Ray, a marketing and customer-service coordinator for an electric utilities company, is the city’s new 4th Ward councilman.
Ray received all 11 votes Tuesday from the Mahoning County Democratic Party precinct committee members from the 4th Ward who were in charge of selecting a new council representative.
Two precinct committee members didn’t attend the vote at party headquarters on Mahoning Avenue.
“I have no political experience in that I’ve never run for office,” said Ray, 33, of Division Street, who works for United Sciences Testing Inc. “However, my work and life experiences have served to prepare me for the challenges that lie ahead for representing the interest of the residents of the 4th Ward on city council.”
The two other candidates, neither of whom received any votes, were George Doward, 57, of Wilkinson Avenue, and Howard J. Edwards, 50, of Glacier Avenue.
Along with Milan Zordich, 71, of South Hazelwood Avenue, Doward and Edwards said they plan to run in the Democratic primary in May for the seat.
Zordich withdrew because he said he was positive the committee members would support Ray.
The seat was vacated last week by Carol Rimedio-Righetti, county commissioner-elect. She publicly supported Ray for the position.
The term on city council expires Dec. 31, 2011.
Feb. 2 is the deadline to file nominating petitions with the county board of elections for the primary ballot for city council. The winner of the November 2011 election will serve a full four-year term beginning Jan. 1, 2012.
The job pays $27,817.24 annually with full medical benefits, according to the city’s payroll office.
The 4th is the city’s most-populated ward and includes the upper portion of the West Side.
Sparks flew before the candidates had a chance to speak between party Chairman David Betras and Kenneth Carano, the party’s executive vice president and parliamentarian.
Betras urged an open-voice vote for this seat, which was the first such vote to replace an officeholder in the party’s history. Carano said the party always has done secret-ballot voting, and there shouldn’t be a change in the long-standing policy.
The committee members voted 7-4 to have an open-voice vote.