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Jay Macejko will run safe
On the side
Romney backers: In addition to a lot of money, Mitt Romney, the leading Republican candidate for the 2012 presidency, also picked up several endorsements during his Wednesday visit to Ohio. The locals on the list of 35 Republicans endorsing Romney for president are: state Rep. Craig Newbold of Columbiana, R-1st, and Columbiana County GOP Chairman Dave Johnson.
Criticism: Paul Sracic, chairman of Youngstown State University’s political science department, is facing criticism again about an opinion piece he wrote for CNN.com.
Hendrik Hertzberg, senior editor for The New Yorker, wrote an article Tuesday criticizing what Sracic wrote last Friday about changing the presidential election from the electoral-college system to a popular vote.
“It will not surprise you to hear that I think his arguments are as fallacious as his conclusion,” Hertzberg wrote about Sracic.
Several people complained about Sracic’s June 24 CNN.com article calling for U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords to resign because her injuries, sustained when a gunman shot her, make her unable to represent her constituents in Congress.
Jay Macejko doesn’t need to worry about job security during his run for Mahoning County prosecutor.
Incoming Youngstown Mayor Charles Sammarone said he will retain Macejko as city prosecutor during the latter’s countywide campaign.
That is, as long as Macejko doesn’t campaign while on the clock as city prosecutor, Sammarone said.
Sammarone said, “It would be a double standard” for him to require Macejko to leave the city prosecutor’s office.
The reference is about Sammarone, who continued serving as the city’s water commissioner while successfully running in 2005 for council president.
“It was fine for me to do it” so it won’t be an issue for Macejko, Sammarone said.
It’s also one less cabinet position for Sammarone to fill shortly after he becomes Youngstown mayor on Monday.
Sammarone needs to replace Police Chief Jimmy Hughes, who is retiring Aug. 31, and Law Director Iris Torres Guglucello, who will retire around the same time. Sammarone is likely to fill both positions internally.
Also, Sammarone should have a decision by next week as to who will be his chief of staff/secretary to the mayor.
Jason Whitehead, who served in that position since January 2006 for outgoing Mayor Jay Williams, offered to resign if Sammarone wanted someone else for that job. Sammarone does, and Whitehead will be gone when he returns Aug. 8 from vacation.
All of the positions mentioned above as well as others are filled at the sole discretion of the mayor.
As for Macejko, retaining his job as city prosecutor is not only good for a salary — he makes $68,375.06 in annual base pay salary along with about $800 a year in longevity and education bonuses — but gives him a power base as he takes on county Prosecutor Paul J. Gains in the May 2012 Democratic primary.
Macejko served as an assistant prosecutor under Gains from 1999 to 2006. In January 2006, Macejko quit after Williams appointed him city prosecutor.
Gains, county prosecutor since 1997, will be running for his fifth four-year term next year, and has repeatedly shown he is popular with the electorate.
However, when it comes to those who’ve challenged Gains for re-election, Macejko is the prosecutor’s most credible and toughest opponent.
Oakhill case
Also in play is potential fallout from the recent dismissal of all defendants — including current and former county elected officials and a retired influential businessman — in the high-profile Oakhill Renaissance Place case.
Special prosecutors requested and received the dismissal because there are about 2,000 hours of tapes that could be relevant to the Oakhill case in the possession of the FBI, which won’t provide the evidence to those in the local case. While the state cases were dismissed, it’s obvious federal prosecutors are investigating the accusations.
Gains sought and received special prosecutors he said were independent of his office because he has a conflict of interest. Attorneys for some of the former defendants accused Gains of prosecutorial misconduct. In response, Gains said his office did not investigate the case.