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2 seek seat on Campbell council
By Jeanne Starmack
CAMPBELL
The city’s 4th Ward is the only one that will feature a race this November.
Robert Yankle, who previously spent 10 years as a councilman and six years as council president, has decided to get back into the political scene.
Anthony Matash, who has never been in politics, is making his first run.
The incumbent, Lew Jackson, is not running for the seat again. Instead, he’s in a three-way race for mayor.
Yankle said he believes he can help the city as it struggles to get out of state financial oversight. He said he helped the city through state receivership once before, in the 1980s.
Yankle also said he believes the city needs businesses to attract working families as residents.
“God bless the retirees. They did their job,” he said. It’s critical, he said, to promote the city and make it attractive to younger people.
“Campbell’s not as bad a city as people think,” he continued. “We’ve got a bad section, but we’ve also got many good sections.”
In the 4th Ward, he said, houses need to be torn down or fixed up. Paving roads should also be a priority, he said.
He said the city’s gateway area along Wilson Avenue should be spruced up.
“At least clean up the streets and weeds,” he said.
Yankle, who is retired from the Mahoning County Engineer’s Office, said that during his tenure on council, the McCartney Road area where Burger King is located became commercial property.
Matash said that one of the deciding factors in his run is Sherman International’s announcement about putting a steel mill in the brownfields.
“I said, ‘Is this for real?’” he said. “‘If it is, I’ll be glad to run for council.’”
Matash, who is retired from Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co., said he knows a lot about the type of cold strip mill that Sherman International said it’s planning.
“Really, the city does need some kind of factories or businesses,” he said. “We lost a lot of jobs when Sheet & Tube went down.”
“The only people left in Campbell now are senior citizens,” he continued.
“We need someone to attract younger people. If I am elected, I will sit down with council and submit my ideas to them.”
Matash said he has been involved at St. Lucy’s Church as president of its Men’s Society and a member of its finance committee. He is a member of the Catholic Diocese of Youngstown’s transition team for combining churches in Campbell. He is a member of Campbell’s Civil Service Commission.