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23 apply for Trumbull elections board director
By Jordan Cohen
WARREN
The Trumbull County Board of Elections will choose from 23 candidates for its director and deputy director positions.
The deadline for applications was 4:30 p.m. Friday.
The candidates include 15 Democrats, five Republicans, two independents and a Warren resident who is not registered to vote in Trumbull County.
Four of the candidates did not submit their applications until shortly before the deadline.
The director’s position became vacant when Jodi Fiorenzo Dibble, a Democrat who had been appointed last February, resigned for medical reasons.
The current deputy director, Stephanie Penrose, a Republican, is a candidate for the director’s post. Penrose said she was advised by the board that she did not have to file an application.
The director and deputy director positions pay the same annual salary of $57,093.
In addition to Penrose, Republican candidates are Cara McIntosh of Bristolville, Lorna Patrick of Howland, Anna Marie Musson of Bloomfield and Jacob Schaefer of Howland. The two independents are Brian Kochunas of Champion and Werner Lange of Newton Falls.
One of the 13 requirements listed on the board’s website for the two positions is for candidates to “be a resident elector of Trumbull County,” which would appear to automatically disqualify two of the names.
Penrose said one of the two, Gina Angle of Warren, is not registered to vote in the county. The other, Ronald Massullo, lists his address as Poland, Mahoning County, and is not a registered Trumbull voter.
Penrose said the board of two Republicans and two Democrats could make a decision at its special meeting Sept. 15. “That would be the earliest they could decide as far as I know,” Penrose said.
Board rules state the director cannot have the same party affiliation as either the deputy director or the board chairman. Penrose and current chairman Kathi Creed are Republicans.
If the director position were to be awarded to Penrose, one of the board’s two Democrats would have to replace Creed as chairman. The new deputy director also would have to be a Democrat.
The board has a special meeting scheduled for Monday, but Penrose said its purpose is to determine whether a Newton Falls issue is to be placed on the November ballot.
The registration deadline for people to vote in the November general election is 9 p.m. Oct. 5.