Fuda, Cantalamessa stand out for Trumbull Co. commissioner

Trumbull County voters have an easy and a not-so-easy choice in the Nov. 4 general election races for county commissioner.

The easy one is Democrat Frank Fuda, who has been a commissioner since 2007 and by all accounts is one of the hardest working elected officials in the Mahoning Valley.

We endorsed Fuda for the Democratic Party primary in May, and the voters unhesitatingly agreed with our assessment. The commissioner won by a landslide against long-time Hubbard Councilwoman Lisha Pompili-Baumiller.

Fuda now faces Republican Patricia Hale Paridon of McDonald, and once again we give the incumbent our unwavering support. We urge the residents of Trumbull County to do the same.

Fuda should be rewarded for his long service to the public. Prior to becoming commissioner, he was a member of Niles City Council for 18 years — 1989 to 2007.

Paridon did not respond to an invitation to meet with The Vindicator Editorial Board and, therefore, cannot be considered for endorsement.

But even if she had come in, we doubt she would have been able to convince us that the incumbent has not earned re-election.

There isn’t an issue of importance to residents — job creation, replacement of septic systems, stabilizing the Western Reserve Port Authority — in which the incumbent hasn’t been intimately involved.

He has a record of service that’s unmatched.

SECOND RACE

There’s another race for county commissioner that isn’t as clear-cut because the holder of the office has been on the job for only about two months.

Mauro Cantalamessa, owner of Enzo’s Restaurant and a former educator, was selected by the Democratic precinct committeemen and -women to fill the vacancy on the board of commissioners created by the death of Atty. Paul Heltzel, a well regarded public servant in the Mahoning Valley.

Cantalamessa had run unsuccessfully for commissioner in 2006, coming in second in the five-candidate field for the Democratic nomination. Fuda won the primary and went on to win the general election.

Today, the new commissioner has forged a close working relationship with his two colleagues, Fuda and Dan Polivka, which is of benefit to county residents. Infighting is never a good thing.

However, the Democrat cannot lay claim to the seat the way Fuda can. He hasn’t been on the job long enough to build a solid record of service.

Thus, voters should take a close look at the Republican challenger, J.D. Williams, who ran for 65th District state representative in the 2010 Republican primary and received 39 percent of the vote in the four-person race.

Williams, a pilot with United Airlines and a veteran Air Force reservist who retired with the rank of lieutenant colonel, says all the training he has received in his professional life, along with a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Ohio State University, has prepared him for public service.

He says his candidacy offers voters the chance to change the political landscape that has remained the same for decades.

“If we continue to hold on to the past, we will lose the future,” he wrote in The Vindicator survey form. “I am running for office because I believe in the future of Trumbull County.”

To be sure, a Republican running in a predominantly Democratic county has an uphill struggle, but there have been Republicans elected countywide in the past.

Resumes

Voters should carefully study Williams’ and Cantalamessa’s resumes before making a decision.

The Democratic nominee does have the advantage of incumbency — albeit brief — and he also has proven to be a quick study of the county’s finances, economic development challenges and one of the most intractable problems confronting the county: the septic systems that have been the bane of county officials’ existence for many years.

Cantalamessa is able to talk with some authority about the millions of dollars the county is spending on extending sewer lines to rural areas that are under federal and state environmental protection agencies’ edicts to replace the old, collapsing septic systems.

He has toured Trumbull County to find out from the people what they expect from government, and has talked to residents and officials from Washington and Columbus.

Thus, we endorse him with the thought that he should have the chance to continue his work.

As for Fuda, we once again give him our strong support because the region needs officeholders who have a clear understanding of what it means to be a public servant.