Austintown trustees hear pitch to quit Chamber

Austintown

The board of trustees is on the fence about continuing its membership with the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber.

David Betras, Mahoning County Democratic Party chairman, stopped by the trustees’ Monday meeting and urged the board to reconsider its membership with the chamber, which has endorsed Senate Bill 5.

The trustees voted in February to oppose the bill, which limits the collective-bargaining rights for public employees.

Betras said the trustees should take into account the chamber’s decision to take a political side.

“I don’t want to hear the business that they’re a private non-profit ... They’re assigned the role of primary economic development agency,” he said. “How about some simple understanding, and stay neutral.”

Trustee Lisa Oles said she felt the board should have withdrawn its membership years ago, when the chamber proposed a Joint Economic Development District with Youngstown.

“It is what it is,” she said. “I wish in the future, the chamber will stay better focused.”

Read more in Tuesday’s Vindicator and Vindy.com