Anita Davis has what it takes to represent Y’town’s 6th Ward

By any measure, the 6th Ward in Youngstown needs more help from government than any other part of the city. The consistently high crime rates, the deteriorating neighborhoods because of the large number of dilapidated houses, the lack of businesses and the decline in population all point to the challenges confronting the person representing the ward in City Council.

As past and current lawmakers will attest, when you’re one of seven council members competing for the limited resources, the job of stabilizing the 6th Ward, let alone improving it, is made all the more difficult.

Thus, the first order of business — from the standpoint of the residents — is to get the right person to succeed Janet Tarpley, who is term limited and, therefore, could not seek re-election this year.

There are three candidates vying for the Democratic nomination in the May 5 election: Anita Davis, Dario Hunter and Christine Silvestri. Although each spoke passionately about wanting to be a part of Youngstown’s rebirth and to guide the revival of the 6th Ward when they appeared before The Vindicator’s editorial board, Davis presented the most compelling case for election — and she can hit the ground running.

As a 36-year veteran of the Youngstown Police Department — she retired last year at the rank of detective sergeant — Davis has been on the front lines of the city’s crackdown on crime, and by extension, the war on drugs. The drug gangs have held neighborhoods on the South Side, in particular, hostage. Elderly residents have been virtual prisoners in their homes because of the gunbattles over turf that have raged on the streets.

Thus, when Davis talks about the need to establish police substations in the ward as part of the community policing initiative that will go into high gear in the near future, she has first-hand knowledge about the manpower in the police department, has analyzed the crime statistics and knows where the substations should be located.

Beyond the issue of crime, Davis also wants to increase demolitions in the ward, while saving houses that are inhabitable and “putting good people in” those houses.

“You can do more with vacant lots than use them for gardens,” she says. “You can make them into chess parks or have jazz performances on Sundays.”

And she believes that strengthening the corridors leading into the ward would support existing businesses and promote business growth.

HUNTER AND SILVESTRI

But while we believe that Davis has what it takes to represent the 6th Ward, we are far from dismissive of the other candidates, Hunter and Silvestri.

Silvestri, an office manager for a local dentist, lived in the 7th Ward until citywide redistricting moved her into the 6th. She strongly believes in the effectiveness of neighborhood citizens groups and says the two that now exist in the 6th are not enough. She says the city needs to do a better job with code enforcement, and wants a quality-of-life ordinance to be passed by the city as it will help stop the number of people moving out of Youngstown.

The city should work closely with the Youngstown Business Incubator and Youngstown State University to help create more small business and manufacturing jobs, she says.

Hunter, an online university paralegal instructor who practiced law in Israel and Canada, sees the need for adult education, job training classes and computer literacy and says these and other programs can be offered through Eastern Gateway Community College.

While Hunter brings a different perspective to the 6th Ward race, we were disappointed that he had not analyzed city government’s budget because one of the main planks of his platform is to “trim the fat out of the budget.”

After a careful evaluation of each candidate’s resume, the answers contained in survey forms and the record of community involvement and service, The Vindicator throws its support to Davis — without reservation.