Silence not golden for office seekers

The Vindicator editorial board finished its interviews a couple of days ago. Invited to seek the newspaper’s endorsements were the 22 candidates running for the seven seats on Youngstown City Council, and the two mayoral candidates in both Struthers and Niles.

Of the 26 candidates, 23 came to speak with the board and me. [I participate in the interview process, but don’t vote on endorsements.]

Of the three who didn’t come in, Jose Rivera, a Youngstown 1st Ward Democratic candidate, said his work schedule didn’t permit it. He was given the opportunity to fill out the newspaper’s online form, but never did.

The other two no-shows had more interesting reasons for not coming to answer our questions.

The first is Ronald Carcelli, who’s running in the Democratic primary for Struthers mayor.

Carcelli was indicted in June 2002 on felony charges of theft in office, bribery and theft related to his time as Struthers’ street department foreman.

He was found guilty three years later of a misdemeanor count of unlawful interest in a public contract. He paid $5,000 restitution to the city and a $1,000 fine. An indictment alleged Carcelli got about $5,000 in bribes and Struthers was improperly billed for about $8,000 for asphalt that wasn’t used. His record was sealed in September 2012 by Judge Lou D’Apolito of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court.

Because Carcelli ducked questions about the incident in the weeks before the filing deadline, I was surprised he submitted a candidate questionnaire to the newspaper.

In response to a question on the form about his experience and qualifications for being mayor, Carcelli wrote the 30 years he was employed by the city, including 16 years as head of the street department.

When asked about major issues in the race, Carcelli wrote: “I do not see any relevant issues in the city of Struthers.”

He later called me to say he was looking forward to coming here to “set the record straight.” However, the numerous calls I made to him leaving the time and date of his endorsement interview weren’t returned.

At least Carcelli filled out a form.

The same can’t be said for John Vivo, a Youngstown 7th Ward Democratic candidate.

Vivo won the county Democratic Party’s endorsement on Feb. 25. He gave me his cell phone number that evening and said he’d always be accessible.

A day later, I spoke to him after learning he owed $14,176 to the county in unpaid property taxes and penalties, and hadn’t paid property taxes in seven years. He also has a dozen cases filed against him for failing to pay state sales taxes, state tax liens, state workers’ compensation fees, and certificates of judgment related to other unpaid bills including a medical facility and banks.

Vivo answered my questions and said if he was elected to council he would use “a majority” of his $27,817 annual salary as a council member to pay what he owes.

It was also the last time I spoke to Vivo despite several attempts to contact him about the race.

There is no way he would be endorsed by the newspaper as it’s the editorial board’s policy to not back those for public office who are delinquent with their taxes. But Vivo could have filled out the questionnaire and returned at least one call.

Should they be elected, I wonder how Carcelli and Vivo will deal with their constituents.