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A winning 7th District Court of Appeals candidate gave $173,804 to her campaign
YOUNGSTOWN
Carol Ann Robb gave $173,804 to her campaign for the 7th District Court of Appeals while Susan Maruca lent $95,100 of her own money and put $16,523 in campaign expenses on a credit card in her bid to be Mahoning County Probate Court judge.
Robb, a Columbiana County Municipal Court judge, was successful, winning an open seat by about 6 percentage points, while Maruca lost by about 4 percentage points.
The two, by far, spent more of their own money — $285,427 — than any other candidates running for office in the Mahoning Valley in last month’s election.
Add in the $78,153 Maruca spent in her failed 2008 run for probate court, that hasn’t been paid back, and her campaign is carrying $189,776 in unpaid loans and debt owed to the candidate.
Maruca raised $47,478 from contributors between June 7 and Dec. 15, according to campaign finance reports filed Friday.
In comparison, Judge Robert N. Rusu, her opponent, raised $89,405 from contributors and gave nothing to his campaign.
Gov. John Kasich, a Republican, appointed Rusu, an independent, to the seat effective July 8. He succeeded Mark Belinky, the Democratic incumbent who resigned before the primary and was convicted May 8 of tampering with records.
Judicial candidates in Ohio do not run in general elections with political-party affiliations but Maruca is a Democrat.
Rusu was endorsed by the Mahoning County Republican Party in his campaign, and the local party was his top contributor, giving him $10,750.
In an open seat on the 7th District Court of Appeals, Anthony Donofrio received $77,495 between June 7 and Dec. 15 from donors compared to $51,743 for Judge Robb.
However, Judge Robb gave $173,804 to her campaign between June 7 and Dec. 15, compared with $15,508 that Donofrio and his wife, Cheri, gave to his campaign in contributions and a loan.
Of the money Judge Robb provided to her campaign, $72,000 was paid Oct. 19 and 22 to Communications Counsel Inc., a Columbus firm, for advertising expenses during the final two weeks of October, according to her report.
Judge Robb will succeed retiring Judge Joseph Vukovich on the appeals court. She is a Republican, while Donofrio and Judge Vukovich are Democrats.
In the Mahoning County auditor’s race, Republican Ralph T. Meacham raised $63,885 between Aug. 10 — he got into the race late, replacing Bill Reese as the GOP candidate — and Dec. 15, and loaned $2,000 to his campaign on Oct. 29. As of Dec. 15, he had $3,444 in his campaign fund.
Democratic incumbent Michael T. Sciortino, auditor since September 2005, raised $44,813 between June 7 and Dec. 15, and didn’t provide any of his own money to his campaign.
While Meacham spent nearly all the money he raised — he had $3,444 in his fund as of Dec. 15 — Sciortino, who lost the general election race by about 3 percentage points, had $19,069 in his fund as of Dec. 15.
Sciortino was indicted May 14 on 22 political corruption charges and has pleaded not guilty.