43
Youngstown’s races draw a crowd
On the side
Political diversity: Three openly gay people are running for seats on Youngstown City Council in the Democratic primary.
They make up 13 percent of the candidates seeking council seats in the May primary.
Of course they should be judged on their merits as candidates and not their sexual orientation. But it’s historic.
They are:
Retired Youngstown Detective Sgt. Anita Davis and Dario Hunter, who used to practice international environmental law in Israel and became a rabbi a few years ago through an online program, in the 6th Ward.
John Vivo, a precinct committee member and former county Democratic Party secretary, in the 7th Ward.
The sheer number of candidates running for seats on Youngstown City Council is impressive.
It’s been at least three decades since candidates filed for all seven council seats in the Democratic primary. Unless candidates withdraw or are disqualified by the Mahoning County Board of Elections for nominating petition problems, there will be 23 candidates running for seven seats on the Democratic primary ballot this spring.
Term limits made the positions in the 1st, 5th, 6th and 7th Wards open. That means if all the three remaining incumbents win and ex-Councilman Michael Rapovy is elected, three of the seven members will have council experience.
If the election goes badly for the incumbents and Rapovy, Youngstown could start 2016 with seven new council members.
Experience isn’t the only quality that makes a good council member — in my 10 years of covering the city and nearly 15 years on the politics beat, I have had to deal with some veteran council members who couldn’t count to three if I spotted them the one and the two.
Next year promises to be Youngstown’s worst financial year in at least a decade.
The city will feel the full impact in 2016 of various business relocations and job reductions that are going to occur later this year.
The income tax and business profit tax dropped in 2014 from 2013, and it’s supposed to be worse this year and likely decline further in 2016.
Also, the $2.9 million annual payments that Vallourec Star has made to the city in 2013, 2014 and 2015 drops to $100,000 in 2016. On top of that, the news from Vallourec that a downturn in the oil and gas market has resulted in a planned three-week shutdown is damaging to the city’s financial bottom line as the company is one of Youngstown’s largest employers.
And here’s a few other concerns.
Mayor John A. McNally is under criminal indictment for a slew of charges related to his time as Mahoning County commissioner. He’s focused on his job as mayor, but there is the possibility he could be found guilty and no longer run the city.
Finance Director David Bozanich officially retired Dec. 28, 2012, and was subsequently rehired for what was to be until the end of 2013. He’s planned to leave the city job two other times and who knows how much longer he’s going to stay there.
He has his share of critics, but Bozanich knows the city’s budget.
So for new city council members to step into this mess on their first day on the job is a daunting task.
A well-informed council is vital to the survival of the city.
Do not read this as my endorsement for the incumbents and Rapovy.
The ability of city council to work with the administration on likely layoffs and other cuts with a clear understanding of the process is asking a lot of new council members. But that’s exactly what will be asked of them.
To those running, be careful what you wish for because you might get it.