Controversy rises in Mahoning County auditor's race

YOUNGSTOWN — If he’s elected on Nov. 4 as Mahoning County auditor, Ralph Meacham said he looks forward to building partnerships with other county officials, and he said he has no intention to “clean house” in the auditor’s office.

Meacham, a certified public accountant, is the Republican challenger to county Auditor Michael V. Sciortino, who is a Democratic lawyer.

“My goal in the short- and long-term is the development of a partnership” with each county official, Meacham said at a news conference this morning at the DeYor Performing Arts Center.

Saying his first priority is to restore confidence in the auditor’s office, Meacham expressed his belief that Sciortino’s employees “kept the office running smoothly during long absences of the current auditor.”

Sciortino is running for re-election under the cloud of an indictment that alleges he conspired with others to impede the move of the county’s Department of Job and Family Services from rented quarters to Oakhill Renaissance Place, which the county bought in 2006.

He and the other defendants have pleaded innocent.

During Meacham’s news conference, a fax came into The Vindicator newsroom on county commissioners’ office letterhead from David Ditzler, chairman of the county commissioners, complaining that he and other county employees received Monday an email seeking donations to Meacham’s campaign on county government email addresses that was received on county-owned computers.

Ditzler says this apparently violates state law prohibiting solicitation of contributions from county employees during their work hours or in their offices.

“I personally am not sending any emails out to any county employees,” Meacham said. “I have not directly solicited any county employee over the phone or Internet,” or by email.

If any of his supporters are engaged in the behavior Ditzler complained about, Meacham said: “They’re not doing it with my permission.”

For the complete story, read Wednesday's Vindicator and Vindy.com