Good, bad and ugly results of Youngstown council races

In addition to winners and losers, some decisively encouraging and some downright discouraging results emerge in the aftermath of the seven Democratic Party primary races for Youngstown City Council this week.

On the bright side, each of the winners — Julius T. Oliver in the 1st Ward, J.T. Rodgers in the 2nd Ward, Nate Pinkard in the 3rd Ward, Mike Ray in the 4th Ward, Lauren McNally in the 5th Ward, Anita Davis in the 6th Ward and Basia Adamczak in the 7th Ward — waged informative, positive and spirited campaigns. All of them except Adamczak won the endorsement of The Vindicator after a series of interviews and thorough analysis of their backgrounds, experience, platforms and records. Even in the 7th Ward, The Vindicator concluded that Adamczak would well represent the ward.

Barring successful challenges from Independent candidates in November, the makeup of city council for 2016 and 2017 looks promising indeed.

The high caliber of the winners also indicates that city voters as well took the time and effort to responsibly analyze the characteristics of each candidate thoroughly before casting their votes. That responsibility is driven home, for example, by the collective snubbing of such less-than-stellar candidates as tax scofflaw John Vivo in the 7th Ward. Yet despite the encouraging signs from Tuesday’s voting, the results hardly represent a mandate from all city residents for each of the winners. That’s because the overwhelming majority of Youngstown voters chose to sit out the primary election. According to the Mahoning County Board of Elections, only 17.8 percent of eligible voters cast ballots Tuesday or in the month of ample early-voting opportunities preceding Election Day.

Such dreadfully low turnout severely dilutes the potency of the participatory democracy that all of us value highly. It’s particularly distressing because the direct impact on voters of the choices they make carry much more influence over their daily lives than do their choices for governor, U.S. representative or president.

The lack of any Republican Party candidates in any ward race this spring also is discouraging. After all, our democracy thrives on a solid competitive two-party system.

General election campaign

As the six-month march toward the general election now begins, the winning ward Democrats and their Independent challengers have their work cut out for them. Independent candidates have filed to run in all city wards except the 3rd and 4th. That means the Independents and the Democrat nominees alike must take the campaign seriously by polishing their platforms to best gauge the pulse of ward wants and needs.

They must also do their homework. Before proposing massive alterations to city finances, for example, they must first do the legwork to access and analyze the municipal budget in its entirety — not just a watered-down summary of it. They must also work to forge creative specific proposals to better the quality of life in their neighborhoods and not rely on grandstanding and abstract platitudes to carry them successfully to the finish line.

We’re counting on lively, engaging and informed ward campaigns come fall. In so doing, the candidates could very well enhance their personal goals while reversing the shamefully high rate of voter apathy in the city.