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Trevena to earn $90K as port authority economic development director
By Ed Runyan
YOUNGSTOWN
Anthony Trevena, the newly hired director of economic development for the Western Reserve Port Authority, has enjoyed his first few days back in Youngstown getting started at his new job.
“It’s exciting to see what’s going on downtown,” he said Friday. “My jaw just dropped at the great things that are going on in the city.”
“There’s a lot that’s going on that I had something to do with,” he said of projects he worked on from 2001 to 2006 as district field representative for Ted Strickland when Strickland represented the area in Congress.
Trevena, who will be paid $90,000 per year, also was vice president of sales and marketing for the Better Business Bureau in Youngstown from 1994 to 2000.
He also served as chief of staff for John Boccieri when Boccieri was in Congress from 2008 to 2010. And he ran a restaurant in Ormond Beach, Fla., from 2013 until this year.
Trevena will serve in essentially the same role as Rose Ann DeLeon, the former port authority executive director, said John Moliterno, current port authority executive director.
Her title suggested she handled economic development and supervised the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport, but she was not very involved in the airport, and Trevena also will not be, Moliterno said.
“Part of what I do is economic development, but mine is the overall supervision of the operation,” Moliterno said. “Anthony’s [role] is specific to economic development.” His job description is essentially the same as the one DeLeon had, Moliterno said.
DeLeon was hired in 2009 to launch the port authority’s economic-development division. Formerly with the Cleveland Cuyahoga County Port Authority, she was selected after a national search and paid a base rate of $155,000 per year during her first three years on the job.
When her contract expired, her pay was reduced to $95,000 per year. She was relieved of her duties in 2014 after she became ill and unable to work. She died several months later.
Moliterno’s contract pays him $110,000 per year.
Moliterno said he hired Trevena in consultation with port authority board members. But Trevena’s contract, when it is finalized, will not have to go before the eight-member port authority board for approval, Moliterno said.
“I think it’s obvious the board was impressed with Anthony,” Moliterno said of Trevena, who was a finalist with Moliterno for the executive director’s job. Both men interviewed with six board members June 24 before the board announced that Moliterno would be executive director. Eight candidates surfaced after the port authority advertised the job in a trade publication and other national media.
Moliterno said he concluded shortly after becoming interim executive director in September 2014 that the authority needed additional economic-development staffing.
Sarah Lown, senior manager for economic development, came on board in 2011 to assist DeLeon and focus on brownfield redevelopment and grant writing. She earns $65,000 per year.
“Since [DeLeon] left, it really had been Sarah” handling DeLeon’s work and her own, Moliterno said. “Sarah Lown was basically trying to do two jobs.”
Moliterno said he sees Lown focusing on helping businesses secure grants and access development capital. “We want to be able to expand her role in this and other areas. Anthony will be concentrating on extending the reach of WRPA – making new and existing companies aware of the advantages of building their business here, and ultimately create jobs.”
The port authority board completed a strategic plan this spring to guide it in terms of staffing decisions and mission and concluded that additional economic-development staffing was needed.
Attempts to reach Mahoning County Commissioners Carol Rimedio-Righetti and Anthony Traficanti and Trumbull County Commissioners Dan Polivka and Mauro Cantalamessa for comment about the hiring were unsuccessful.
Port authority Chairman Ron Klingle, when reached by telephone, said he was not aware that Moliterno had finalized the hiring of Trevena, but he said he supports it.
“Anthony Trevena is just an incredible person, very capable,” Klingle said. “If we’re fortunate enough to have him, he will be a great asset to the port authority.”
When Martin Loney, another port authority board member, was asked about Trevena, he said: “I would caution my comment because I don’t know much about it.”
Board members Dave Detec and David Mosure did not return calls seeking comment.
Tom Humphries, president and chief executive officer of the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber, said he recalls Trevena “represented Congressman Strickland well” but says he’s unclear yet what his role will be.
“I’m sure John [Moliterno] will bring him around and introduce him and tell us what his job is,” Humphries said.