AUSTINTOWN General election Candidate information

Three candidates are running for one trustee seat, and three candidates are running for two school board positions. An * denotes an incumbent.

TRUSTEE

RICK STAUFFER*

Age: 50.

Address: 3675 Meander Creek Circle, Austintown.

Employment: Senior pastor of Tabernacle Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Austintown.

Education: Graduate of Geneva College with a bachelor’s degree in communication; graduate of Reformed Theological Seminary with a master’s in divinity; graduate of Pine-Richland High School.

Family: Wife, Daneen; two children.

Priority: To see and believe that we can be an even stronger leader in economic development in this Valley than we already are. We have to also think about our tax rate. This is not an empty promise of lowering taxes, but it is a commitment to make sure that we continue to run efficiently and effectively as a township without unnecessary excess that cost our residents valuable dollars.

BRUCE SHEPAS

Age: 42.

Address: 1278 Victory Lane Hill, Austintown.

Employment: U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons; co-owner of Austintown Bounce Inc.

Education: Graduate of Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy; graduate of Austintown Fitch High School.

Family: Wife, Lisa; two children.

Priority: Bring new business and job growth to our township. Ensure our infrastructure is up to date with all the recent development. Support our safety forces with the equipment they need to protect our community. Upgrade and utilize our parks to facilitate more family oriented activities throughout the year.

ANDREA PAVENTI

Age: 42.

Address: 4814 Westchester Drive, Austintown.

Employment: Treatment Alternatives to Safer Communities, a division of Meridian Healthcare.

Education: Graduate of Youngstown State University with a bachelor’s degree in applied science (criminal justice) with minors in english and psychology; Graduate of Youngstown State University with a master’s degree in applied science (criminal justice).

Family: Husband, Michael; one child.

Priority: Economic development of key properties in Austintown that have sat vacant for years is a must. These business deals need to be pursued aggressively to increase a property tax base to prevent any further strain on our senior citizens.

BOARD OF EDUCATION

DAVID RITCHIE*

Age: no response.

Address: 332 Rutland Ave., Austintown.

Employment: retired podiatrist.

Education: Graduate of Ohio College of Podiatric Medicine; graduate of New Castle High School.

Family: Wife, L. Elaine; three children.

Priority: Continue quality education for all students. Work with the legislators to have an equal playing field for everyone. Need to keep the public informed about their schools. The more the public is informed about their schools, the stronger the school will become and the more pride we will all share in our schools.

HAROLD PORTER*

Age: 45.

Address: 5220 North Beacon Drive, Austintown.

Employment: Austintown Bounce Inc.

Education: Graduate of Austintown Fitch High School; Graduate of Youngstown State University Paramedic program St. Elizabeth’s School of Nursing.

Family: Wife, Michelle; five children.

Priority: Continue to ensure we get our proper funding and more importantly to supervise its usage. I also want to figure out how to reduce the dependency on open enrollment because it is so how of hand. My first year on the board we had 425 open enrolled kids and had 134 of our residential kids open enroll to other districts. This year we have 798 OE and we have an alarming 306 residential kids attending neighboring schools.

NICK COCCA

Age: 20.

Address: 3919 Elmwood Ave., Austintown.

Employment: Manager at Austintown DQOJ [Dairy Queen].

Education: Graduate of Austintown Fitch High School; enrolled at Youngstown State University as an education major.

Family: Single.

Priority: I will work tirelessly to lobby the Ohio General Assembly to eliminate Common Core in its entirety. At the local level, we must fight to minimize the negative effects of Common Core without risking the loss of state funding. ... The school board must also make sure that the district is not accepting more open-enrollment students than our school infrastructure can handle.