43
Former mayor George Vukovich dies
By JOE GORMAN
YOUNGSTOWN
Pat Ungaro says that his predecessor was one of the most important mayors in the city’s history.
That mayor, George Vukovich, died Monday at age 87.
Ungaro, who served the most terms as mayor in the city’s history at four, said Vukovich’s tenure is so important because when he held the city’s highest office from 1979 to 1983, the city and entire region was grappling with the massive loss of jobs in the steel industry.
Vukovich was able to hold the city together even though he had to make a lot of tough decisions, Ungaro said.
“We went from the top of the world to the bottom, and he [Vukovich] had to deal with all of it. And he did,” said Ungaro, now the administrator for Liberty Township.
“He was very important,” Ungaro said.
Former Mayor Charles Sammarone, who began his first term on city council as Vukovich left office, said he was saddened to hear of his passing. Sammarone said he had known Vukovich for years.
“He was a great guy. Great to be around,” Sammarone said. “I had a lot of laughs with him.”
Vukovich, a Woodrow Wilson High School graduate, worked at Republic Steel and served in the Army during the Korean War. His first foray into politics was in 1959, when he was elected 7th Ward councilman. He was re-elected to council in 1961 and then ran for clerk of the city’s municipal court in 1963, winning the first of his two terms.
In 1975, he ran for mayor the first time but lost to Republican Jack Hunter in the general election. He decided to run for mayor in 1977 but withdrew from that race, then ran in 1979 after incumbent J. Phillip Richley chose not to run for re-election. Vukovich won the 1979 race.
That was the first of two terms for Vukovich, who was re-elected in 1981 as mayor. He decided in 1983 not to run for a third term.
The times were tough economically in the city then, and Vindicator files are filled with headlines of Vukovich and council clashing over the budget, the impending layoffs of city employees and a strike by public employees who worked for the city in 1980.
At one point during his second term in 1982, police and firefighters started an effort to recall Vukovich, and police also rang their sirens on his street for two days straight in 1983 to protest layoffs in the department. His daughter told reporters the racket didn’t bother him; he slept right through it.
Files also show that Vukovich was chasing after other businesses and economic-development deals to try to bring jobs to the city and also asked for help repeatedly from state and federal officials.
Ungaro, who was president of council when Vukovich was mayor, said his predecessor’s efforts to lure jobs here and create an industrial park were a model for his adminstration. He credited Vukovich with helping him to find ways to create those projects.
Joe DeAngelo, who worked in the Vukovich administration, said the mayor was a good person to work for because he made it clear what he wanted done.
“He was easygoing,” DeAngelo said. “Times were tough, but he got things done. He’s going to be missed by those who knew him.”
Tom Carney, who was a Mahoning County commissioner at the time Vukovich was mayor, said he was a good person to work with on joint projects.
“George was very cooperative,” Carney said.
Hank Vukovich, the former mayor’s brother, said his brother had an easygoing personality and was fun to be around.
“He was a good guy,” Hank Vukovich said.