43
Three get head-start in race for Poland post
POLAND
Although the deadline for candidates to file for the November general election is more than a month away, three people already have entered the race for Poland Township trustee.
Incumbent trustee Annette Jeswald-DiVito will face challengers Eric C. Ungaro and Anthony Sferra on Nov. 8. Other potential candidates have until Aug. 10 to file with the Mahoning County Board of Elections.
DiVito was appointed trustee in 1999 to replace the retiring Jim Scharville, who now is the township administrator. She has been a trustee ever since, winning elections over the past 10 years.
“I enjoy doing the job,” she said. “It’s a challenge, with all the financial cuts, to maintain our excellent services considering the economy.”
DiVito said she works well with her fellow trustees, Robert Lidle and Mark Naples.
“We have a well-rounded board,” she said. “...We’ve accomplished a lot with the township park, water projects, building a salt bin and installing a car port” for township service vehicles.
Ungaro and Sferra both said they feel the township government needs change.
“I feel that the township needs to be moving in a different direction,” Sferra said. “There’s too much micro-management. ...There are issues that need to be addressed, like the traffic patterns at the park they have. It’s a disaster up there.”
Sferra is the bailiff at Struthers Municipal Court and an assistant chief with the Western Reserve Joint Fire District, which covers Poland Township and village. He was a detective sergeant for the Poland Township police department.
“I do understand public spending with my experience with the fire and police departments,” he said. “I’ve been in public service the majority of my life, and I wanted to try one more step further.”
Ungaro, son of former Youngstown Mayor Patrick Ungaro, has lived in Poland for nine years and run for political office twice, losing both times. In 2007, he ran for Mahoning County commissioner and in 1999, he ran for the 3rd Ward seat of Youngstown City Council. Most recently, he served as vice-chairman of Citizens For Poland Schools, which supported the school levy.
“I lost two races, and I have to work harder than I did in those two,” Ungaro said. “...I’ve been walking the streets of Poland for the last month talking to people.”
Ungaro said he would like a township police officer back in the school district as a resource officer and to set up more neighborhood associations and block watches. He said he wants to take steps to prevent the township from a decline.
“It happened in Youngstown and happens in Boardman and Austintown a little bit. You have 150 foreclosures in the Poland area right now, regardless of if you want to believe it or not.”