Trumbull Dems outlaw secret ballots

WARREN

The Trumbull County Democratic Party Central Committee approved new bylaws tonight that outlaw secret balloting as a method of making candidate endorsements or filling vacancies for public office.

It puts in place a caucus-style selection process that attorney Gil Blair says is “kind of modeled after” the system used by the Cuyahoga County Democratic Party.

The new bylaws also have the blessing of Tim Burke, Hamilton County Democratic Party chairman, one of the three people the Ohio Democratic Party appointed to work with the Trumbull County Democrats as they rewrote their bylaws.

Blair said he expects the new bylaws will be acceptable to the Ohio Democratic Party, which said the secret balloting used this summer to select Enzo Cantalamessa to fill the unexpired term of Trumbull County Commissioner Paul Heltzel violated Democratic National Committee and Ohio Democratic Party bylaws.

Ohio Democratic Party Chairman Chris Redfern

initially demanded that Trumbull Democrats re-vote in public for Heltzel’s replacement. Burke later said the vote would be allowed to stand as long as the county party revised its bylaws.

Read more about the changes in Friday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.