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Council members sworn in
YOUNGSTOWN
The swearing-in of two city council members was a family affair.
T.J. Rodgers and Nate Pinkard officially became part of city council, representing the 2nd and 3rd wards, respectively. Their spouses, Jasmine Rodgers and Camille Pinkard, held the Bible during the ceremony while Youngstown Municipal Clerk of Courts Sarah Brown administered the oath of office Tuesday morning.
“I’m going to work hard to serve my community, my ward and the city of Youngstown to the best of my ability,” Rodgers said, as his two daughters, Ashley, 5, and Taylor, 2, stood nearby.
Pinkard said Tuesday was an important day for his family, not just because of the ceremony, but because it also marked his wife Camille’s birthday and their 36th wedding anniversary. He said he will focus on continuing the work begun by former Mayor Jay Williams and council.
“I think Youngstown has a lot of things to be proud of,” he said. “... I look at the glass as half-full and think Youngstown’s headed in the right direction.”
Pinkard, the retired Mill Creek Park Police Department chief, was elected by Mahoning County Democratic Party precinct committee members from the 3rd Ward over Joe Louis Teague, Christine Vinion, Harold Adams and Hattie Wilkins on Aug. 10.
Pinkard replaces Jamael Tito Brown, who resigned Aug. 1 to become city council president, and will fill out Brown’s turn, which ends Dec. 31. He also replaces Brown as the Democratic nominee for the 3rd Ward on the Nov. 8 ballot.
Pinkard also serves on the Youngstown Metropolitan Housing Authority’s board. He said he’s still discussing retaining the YMHA position with legal counsel and the city law department.
Rodgers replaces DeMaine Kitchen, who became the administrative assistant to Mayor Charles Sammarone. Rodgers beat out Cecil Monroe, Mildred Delgado and two former 2nd Ward councilmen, Rufus Hudson and the Rev. Charles Ellis, during a Democratic Party precinct committee meeting vote Aug. 12.
The shake-up in city government began when Williams resigned Aug. 1 to join the President Barack Obama administration and Sammarone, who had been council president, became mayor, per the city’s charter.