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Deadline approaches to apply for three city council positions
YOUNGSTOWN
Monday is the deadline to apply to be a candidate for two city council seats in Youngstown and one in Struthers.
Mahoning County Democratic Party precinct committee members in Youngstown’s 2nd and 3rd Wards and all of Struthers will meet at 7 p.m. Wednesday at party headquarters, 3325 Mahoning Ave., Youngstown, to vote on who’ll fill those positions.
Councilman DeMaine Kitchen, D-2nd, is resigning Monday to be administrative assistant/secretary to Youngstown Mayor Charles Sammarone.
Councilman Jamael Tito Brown, D-3rd, resigned last Monday to become council president.
Those selected by the precinct committee members — there are 10 in each ward — will serve the remainder of those terms, which expire Dec. 31.
The two selected also will be the Democratic nominees for the seats in the Nov. 8 general election.
There are no Republican or independent candidates on the November ballot for those spots. The write-in deadline is Aug. 29.
Under state law, a political party must wait five days after a city council member resigns to fill that vacancy.
The vote for the 2nd Ward will come only two days after Kitchen’s official resignation.
When told about this, Mahoning Democratic Chairman David Betras said he’s attempted to call Kitchen numerous times and hasn’t heard back from the outgoing councilman.
“I’m going to hold the election” Wednesday, Betras said. “Let [people who object] challenge it.”
The party has until Aug. 25 to replace candidates on the ballot.
Betras said those who’ve applied officially as of Friday afternoon to replace Kitchen in the 2nd Ward, which includes most of the city’s East Side, are:
Mildred Delgado, a 2nd Ward precinct committee member and manager of International Towers, a downtown Youngstown high-rise complex for low-income senior citizens.
Former Councilman Rufus Hudson, who served from January 2000 to December 2007. Hudson didn’t run in the 2007 election because the city’s term-limits law requires those elected to two consecutive four-year terms to wait four years to run again.
But the charter doesn’t address appointments to unexpired terms, making Hudson eligible for the appointment, Betras said.
Jackie Adair, a community activist who’s worked for the post office and U.S. Census Bureau.
TJ Rogers and Truman Green had expressed interest in the appoint- ment, Kitchen said. But they hadn’t applied as of Friday afternoon, Betras said.
The chairman said those who’ve applied as of Friday afternoon to replace Brown in the 3rd Ward, which includes most of the city’s North Side, are:
Pat Lowry, U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan’s director of outreach/special projects and a 3rd Ward precinct committeeman.
L. Nathaniel Pinkard, chairman of the Youngstown Metropolitan Housing Authority, and a retired 28-year Mill Creek Park Police Department officer, who served 17 of those years as chief.
Christine Vinion, a staff accountant for a local manufacturing company.
Byron L. Armour, an associate minister at Holy Trinity Missionary Baptist Church.
Joe Louis Teague, Joseph Palermo and Mike McNair are interested in the seat, but hadn’t applied as of Friday afternoon.
Also at Wednesday’s meeting, Struthers precinct committee members — there are 15 — will vote on who will replace former Councilman Dan Yemma, now county treasurer, on the November ballot.
The committee members voted in June to appoint Carol Crytzer to Yemma’s unexpired term.
As of Friday afternoon, no one had applied to replace Yemma on the ballot, Betras said.
Those wanting the appointments must send a letter a letter of interest to Betras by Monday.
The letters can be sent by email to dbetras@bhlaws.com or by mail to 6630 Seville Drive, Canfield, OH 44406.