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Trumbull Democrat-Republican cooperation improved in primary
By Ed Runyan
WARREN
After some prodding, Trumbull County Democrats and Republicans cooperated more May 7 with regard to a rule requiring them to ride together to return election results to the elections board.
On Monday, the board reviewed the performance of poll workers in the May 7 primary, giving almost all a passing grade.
That is in contrast to a report in March indicating that in 41 of 210 polling precincts in the Nov. 6 election, only one of four poll workers for each precinct brought the election results back to be counted at the elections board.
The rules — which exist to reduce the chances of vote tampering — require that one Democrat and one Republican ride together to bring voting results and equipment back.
Kelly Pallante, elections board director, said at the time the problem seemed to be that some Democrats and Republicans “don’t get along,” don’t like each other’s driving or don’t like the other’s smoking.
Trumbull’s performance Nov. 6 triggered a response from Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted, who recommended that the Trumbull elections board designate before the election who the driver and rider will be for each precinct.
The board adopted that policy and indicated that poll workers who fail to follow the policy will be fired.
Jodi Fiorenzo Dibble, deputy director, said the new policy achieved compliance in all of the 135 polling precincts that were open May 7 except one. In that case, the parties indicated there was a “miscommunication,” so the poll workers involved are being given one more chance, Fiorenzo Dibble said.
Meanwhile, an overpayment of $30.31 per month for each of the four members of the elections board dating back to March 2011 will require each member to repay the money.
Fiorenzo Dibble said the results of the 2010 census became official March 9, 2011, indicating a reduction in the population of Trumbull County, which also triggered a reduction in the pay of board members.
But Fiorenzo Dibble and Pallante were not director or deputy director at the time of the previous census and didn’t realize how the wages were determined, Fiorenzo Dibble said.
The four current board members, Democrats Mark Alberini and Ralph Infante and Republicans Ron Knight and Kathi Creed, each will have money deducted from their pay through the end of the year.
Creed owes $873, Alberini $662, Infante $572 and Knight $512. Their numbers are different because each has been on the board a different amount of time.
Two former members, Republican Craig Bonar and Democrat Sandra Stabile Harwood, will be asked to repay their overpayments — $362 for Bonar and $271 for Stabile-Harwood.
Each board member was paid $14,316 annually before the census results. Each is paid $13,954 now.
The board also certified the list of candidates and issues for the Nov. 5 election. In the process, it eliminated three candidates and one liquor option.
Liberty Board of Education, which has three seats open in November’s election, now has two write-in candidates on the ballot: Calvin Jones and Gloria Lang.
On Monday, the board disqualified James Jones Jr. as a candidate because he had an insufficient number of signatures on nominating petitions he turned in earlier this month.
Jones isn’t allowed to file as a write-in because Ohio law prevents someone from attempting to run more than once for the same position.
The elections board also disqualified Diane Shiley from running for the Newton Falls Board of Education and Arnie Brom III from running for the Joseph Badger Board of Education, also for having insufficient signatures on their petitions.
Two write-ins have filed to run for the McDonald Board of Education: Robert Jones Jr. and Joseph Krumpak Jr., after no candidate filed petitions seeking to be named on the ballot.
The deadline to run as a write-in is 4 p.m. Monday.
The liquor option eliminated because it had an insufficient number of signatures was for Dority’s Pub, 1434 W. Market Street, Warren.