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McNally leaves race for council
YOUNGSTOWN
Another candidate in Youngstown City Council’s 5th Ward Democratic primary is out of the race.
Ex-councilman Jerome McNally of Wampum Drive went to the Mahoning County Board of Elections on Wednesday to withdraw officially from the race.
McNally couldn’t be reached Wednesday by The Vindicator to comment.
Moses H. Mahdee of Hudson Avenue withdrew from the race last week saying he couldn’t raise enough money to run his campaign.
Even with McNally and Mahdee no longer candidates, Youngstown’s 5th Ward Democratic primary still is the most crowded race for one seat in the Mahoning Valley.
There are six Democrats remaining in the May 3 primary.
They are incumbent Councilman Paul Drennen, ex-councilman Michael R. Rapovy, school-board member Anthony J. Catale, ex-state Rep. Sylvester D. Patton Jr., Kevin E.J. Salata and William Dallas.
Republican Plato Kalfas is running unopposed in his party’s primary for the 5th Ward nomination.
The ward includes the southwest side of the city and Cornersburg.
McNally served as 1st Ward councilman from 1971 to 1975. Instead of seeking re-election in 1975, he ran for mayor and lost. He also lost the county sheriff’s race in 1976.
McNally moved to the 5th Ward and was elected to council in 1993, holding on to that position until losing in 1999 to Rapovy.
McNally tried another political comeback in 2002 but lost the Democratic primary for the 60th Ohio House District.
McNally filed to run for that position in 2004.
McNally tried to withdraw from the 2004 primary, but because he didn’t do it in a timely fashion, his name appeared on the ballot. He lost that race, too.