Several promising candidates fill 5th Ward city council field

Residents of the lower West Side of Youngstown are indeed fortunate this spring to have five civic-minded candidates step forward to seek the Democratic nomination for City Council’s 5th Ward seat.

Because term-limit law requires incumbent Paul Drennen to step down at the end of 2015, the ward is one of four in the city that is guaranteed to have fresh leadership come January. The five candidates in the race are Cynthia McWilson, Michael Rapovy, Kevin E. J. Salata, Michael Santisi and Lauren McNally.

McWilson, 52, a registered nurse at ARA Boardman Dialysis, has a record of community engagement, serving on the boards of the Mahoning-Youngstown Community Action Partnership and Mercy Health’s Breast Health Care Board. She’s also invested in the youth through her work with Boys and Girls Scouts troops and mentoring activities.

Her priorities, if elected, would be developing a strategic plan for neighborhood redevelopment, reducing blight, establishing community policing and working with city school district officials to improve the academically beleaguered system. All are admirable goals, but McWilson seemed to lack the passion in articulating her ideas and details in achieving them that she had demonstrated before the editorial board in previous interviews for other offices.

Rapovy, 57, a business representative for the Indiana/Kentucky/Ohio Regional Council of Carpenters, is the only candidate in the race with experience as 5th Ward councilman, having served in that office from 2000 to 2008. He views as his top priority working to increase economic development and grow jobs in the city to establish a stronger financial base to support such services as reducing blight, fighting crime and enhancing quality of life. He also said he believes that some workers are not paying city income taxes and that some tax abatement programs are operated irresponsibly — to the city’s detriment. “We’re losing too much tax money. We can’t give away the store,” he said.

Rapovy, however, failed to present clear and convincing evidence to support such charges.

THREE STANDOUTS

The remaining three candidates in the race stand out as viable replacements for Drennen. Residents of the 5th Ward would not be ill served should they elect Santisi, Salata or McNally to represent them in City Hall.

Santisi, 52, owner of Santisi Wholesale Foods on Mahoning Avenue, is a lifelong 5th Ward resident who “loves the West Side.” He offers a solid platform of attracting new and supporting existing businesses in the city, enhancing community policing and eliminating neighborhood blight. On the latter issue, he suggests exploring cost-efficient moves other communities have made to enlist the help of the military in assisting with demolitions and community cleanups.

Santisi’s down-to-earth demeanor impressed the board as well. “I make decisions based on fact,” he emphasized.

Salata, 50, a logistics employee with a local manufacturer, offers one of the most robust campaign platforms in the crowded 5th Ward field. One particularly interesting plank in that platform is his proposed “Partner Connection,” a program that would connect city residents seeking to start a business with local entrepreneurs who would invest $1,000 to $100,000 for part ownership. In fighting crime, he proposes more aggressive outreach to Bureau of Justice Assistance Grants to fund programs such as police substations. He also advocates reducing the number of city wards to cut costs.

MCNALLY GETS NOD

Despite the strong suits of Santisi and Salata, The Vindicator gives an edge — and its endorsement — in this race to McNally because of her unbridled enthusiasm, her strong front-line engagement in a wide variety of community groups and activities and her impressive bucket list of initiatives she plans to pursue if elected.

Among them are working harder to acquire state and federal grant money to use for everything from street signs to technology upgrades, leaning more heavily on groups such as the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp. to improve services without additional cost burdens, hosting formal quarterly open-door ward meetings, establishing stronger partnerships with such civic groups as the The Regional Chamber, and drafting and adopting a strategic plan for the ward’s growth and development over the next 20 years. Her focus on the promise of the future — rather than the failures of the past — is refreshing indeed.

More than any other candidate in the race, McNally also emphasizes the importance of ensuring accountability and transparency in municipal government finances and operations to her constituents. At a time when public faith in government openness has sunk to new lows, that priority takes on added value and lustre.

In addition, McNally has a strong record of community involvement and a sincere enthusiasm to carry her public service to the next level. The Vindicator believes she has earned that promotion and endorses her without reservations for the Democrat nominee for 5th Ward council member.