Infante resigns from Trumbull elections board

Staff report

WARREN

Ralph Infante has resigned from the Trumbull County Board of Elections effective Monday to run for re-election as Niles mayor.

Infante, a Democrat who has served on the board since March 1, 2008, will be leaving with one year left on his term in office.

“My reason for resigning is that I will be seeking another term as mayor of the city of Niles as the economy has gone for the worst in the past couple of years,” Infante wrote in his resignation letter. “I don’t want to turn my back on the citizens of Niles.”

Infante was required to decide between running for mayor or stepping down from the elections board because elections law does not allow a person to do both at the same time, said Kellly Pallante, elections board director.

The Trumbull County Democratic Party must meet within 15 days of the vacancy on the elections board to recommend a replacement to the Ohio Secretary of State’s Office, Pallante said.

The secretary of state will then either confirm or refuse the recommendation. Infante’s replacement will serve until the end of February 2012.