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5th Ward council candidate owes taxes
YOUNGSTOWN
Lauren McNally, the Mahoning County Democratic Party’s endorsed candidate for Youngstown’s 5th Ward, is living in the house of her father-in-law, who owes $12,675 in delinquent property taxes.
McNally said she and her husband, Breen, moved to the Wampum Drive home of her father-in-law, Jerome, a former city councilman, a few years ago “for financial reasons, but not to take over any of his bills.”
She said she and her husband are in the process of buying the house.
“We are planning on paying the remainder of the back taxes once the purchase is finalized,” she said.
The county auditor’s office said the last payment on that property was $1,659 on Jan. 11, 2012.
County Democratic Chairman David Betras defended McNally, saying, “She’s living in a house she doesn’t own, and you want to hold her responsible because the person who owns it isn’t paying his taxes. She doesn’t own the house. It’s not her fault the taxes aren’t being paid.”
Cynthia McWilson, who lost last week’s party endorsement to McNally 7-5, owes $1,258 in delinquent property taxes on three properties, all on Woodford Avenue, including her home. She is on a payment plan.
But when McWilson unsuccessfully ran for the 58th Ohio House District race last year, she owed $1,396 in late property taxes and said she was making payments, “but I don’t have enough to pay my taxes.” She also said at the time she thought her ex-husband was making payments on some of the properties when he wasn’t.
Meanwhile, there are now five candidates in the 5th Ward, which takes in the city’s lower West Side.
Jeff Limbian, a former city prosecutor, withdrew from the race, and is backing Michael Santisi.
“He has the best vision, besides me, for the city,” Limbian said. “He and I would cut up the thoughtful vote in what is sure to be a low turnout” race.
Limbian, who’s lost three judicial races, said last week’s party endorsement, in which 12 people voted, was “a travesty” and that the voters “had predetermined who they were going to support. That’s not an endorsement meeting. There was more thoughtfulness when I ran for senior class president.”
In response, McNally said she is “highly qualified for the position, and other people in the Democratic Party felt the same way when they endorsed me.”
Betras criticized Limbian for his “predetermined” remark.
“It was so rigged that it took seven votes,” Betras said. “Obviously, Jeff Limbian is practicing in the fine art of sour grapes. It usually doesn’t take seven votes when it’s predetermined.”
The first three rounds of voting were invalidated because Richard P. Clautti of Boardman, the party’s treasurer who oversaw that ward’s endorsement, improperly voted. That resulted in four other rounds of voting.
McWilson, the victor in the third round of voting, said she should have received the endorsement when she won 6-4 once Clautti’s vote for another candidate was removed.
Clautti’s vote in the previous round, however, skewed the results. The person with the lowest vote total is removed until someone captures a majority.
McNally was improperly removed after the second round because Clautti’s vote for Santisi helped Santisi move to the next round. Without Clautti’s vote, McNally and Santisi would have had three votes each, thus neither would have been removed as the lowest vote-getter.
McWilson filed a protest Monday at the county board of elections contending Jerome McNally doesn’t live at his Wampum address. He is listed as the property’s owner and is registered to vote there. He voted for his daughter-in-law during the party’s endorsement last week as he is a member of the party’s executive committee.
“I’d rather there not be a vote in the 5th Ward as there are too many issues and too much confusion,” McWilson said.
McWilson correctly pointed out no one was required to vote, and Betras told two people who didn’t raise their hands during the endorsement that everyone had to vote.