43
Tito Brown will be Youngstown council leader
7-0 vote clears way for 3rd Ward rep
YOUNGSTOWN
The next president of city council will be Jamael Tito Brown, who’s represented the 3rd Ward for 31/2 years.
On Wednesday, council took the necessary step to have Brown succeed Charles Sammarone as its president.
Council voted 7-0 to have Brown serve as council president pro tem. It’s a position he’ll hold for less than two weeks.
Under the city charter, the pro tem automatically becomes council president upon the resignation of the latter.
The musical chairs offi-cially will occur Aug. 1 when Jay Williams resigns as mayor to become the executive director of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Recovery for Auto Communities and Workers in the Obama administration.
The city charter calls for the council president — Sammarone — to automatically become mayor if the mayor resigns. It also calls for the president pro tem to automatically be elevated to council president.
Sammarone and Brown will fill unexpired terms that end Dec. 31, 2013, in their new positions.
Councilman John R. Swierz, D-7th, resigned as president pro tem because he’s not interested in being president, a position he’s previously held.
Brown, D-3rd, served as chairman of two of council’s most powerful committees: finance and community development.
Councilman DeMaine Kitchen, D-2nd, who serves as vice chairman of both committees, will be chairman of the two once Brown becomes council president.
Brown is running unopposed in November for the 3rd Ward seat.
Mahoning County Democratic precinct committee members from the 3rd Ward, an area consisting of most of the city’s North Side, will meet to appoint someone to replace Brown on the November ballot.
A replacement must be decided no later than Aug. 25, said county Democratic Chairman David Betras.
After Brown officially withdraws from the 3rd Ward race, Betras said he’ll accept applications for the spot and schedule a meeting with that ward’s precinct committee members to make the appointment.
As for council’s next president pro tem — the position’s main responsibility is to formally introduce legislation on behalf of council to the president — no one seems terribly interested in the job.
Swierz said he doesn’t want to return to the position at this time.
Kitchen said he’d take it if no one else wants it but prefers Swierz take the post.
At Williams’ last meeting as mayor, he thanked city council members for working with him and supporting his proposals during his more than 61/2 years as the city’s top elected official.
Council members responded in kind, praising Williams.
Council voted Wednesday to put a charter amendment on the November ballot to provide bonus points on entry-level civil-service tests to residents of the city. If approved by voters, city residents would receive an additional credit of 15 percent of their total grade on those tests.
Council also approved legislation permitting the city to borrow money for one year to pay the interest on all but $275,000 of the $11.9 million it borrowed in 2005 to help fund the construction of the Covelli Centre.
The city must make its first principal payment, in the amount of $275,000, by Sept. 2 under state law.