Board accepts resignation of Stabile Harwood

By Ed Runyan | December 20, 2011 at 12:00a.m.

WARREN

The Trumbull County Board of Elections has accepted the resignation of Sandra Stabile Harwood as a board member.

By law, Stabile Harwood had to step down when her candidacy for Trumbull County Domestic and Family Court judge was certified Thursday by the elections board, said Jodi Fiorenzo Dibble, deputy elections board director.

Stabile Harwood was appointed to the board in March, replacing Ralph Infante, who had to step down to run for re-election as Niles mayor.

A former state representative from Niles, she is running against incumbent Trumbull County Family Court Judge Richard L. James, a Republican from Warren.

The executive committee of the Trumbull County Democratic Party will meet at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at the Democratic Party Headquarters, 3200 Ridge Road Suite 17, to select a replacement.

Meanwhile, a campaign finance report filed by the committee that promoted the 0.5-mill, five-year countywide transit levy on the ballot Nov. 8 reports the committee used $37,167 in contributions in its effort to gain approval.

Of that amount, all but $215 came from the company hoping to provide rides for the service and from the marketing company that promoted the levy.

The levy failed 64 percent to 36 percent. It would have raised $1.6 million annually to fund the transportation service now run by Niles Trumbull Transit.

Niles officials announced early this year it would no longer run the service as of Jan. 1. A board formed by the county commissioners plans to continue the service next year.

In the campaign finance report the Friends of Niles Trumbull Transit turned in before the Nov. 8 election, $14,001 in contributions were reported, including $11,591 worth of in-kind contributions from Community Bus Services of Youngstown and $2,500 from V.L. Rubenstein Associates of Youngstown.

The finance report from Thursday listed $23,231 worth of in-kind contributions — another $2,182 from Community Bus Services, another $2,500 from Rubenstein Associates and $18,549 from NE Commercial Properties, 4097 Youngstown Road SE.

CBS is the busing company that provides the rides for Niles Trumbull Transit. Its owner, Terry Thomas, told The Vindicator last month the company would attempt to secure the contract to provide the rides for the new service.

Rubenstein Associates of Liberty handled the levy’s marketing.