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Youngstown council gets chastised by its president for ‘playing politics’ at its first meeting
YOUNGSTOWN
The new Youngstown City Council got off to a shaky start during its first meeting, leading longtime council President Charles Sammarone to chastise members for “playing politics.”
At the heart of the conflict at Monday’s reorganization meeting was selecting four of its seven members to serve on what is called the “standing committee,” which recommends who serves on council’s 12 committees.
After council rejected the makeup of the standing committee three times, Sammarone, who also is a former mayor, became visibly angry.
“I don’t want to sit here until midnight playing politics, and that’s what you’re doing,” he said. “I’ve been here 32 years, and this is the first time we’ve had to go through standing committee votes three times. We’re all Democrats. I was here when there were Republicans, and it went easier than this.”
A few moments later, Sammarone, who doesn’t get a vote, said: “This is the worst meeting I’ve been to in 32 years to pick a standing committee.”
After that, four – returning members T.J. Rodgers, D-2nd; Nate Pinkard, D-3rd; and Mike Ray, D-4th; as well as newcomer Basia Adamczak, D-7th – were recommended, and that group was narrowly approved by a 4-3 vote.
Before the standing-committee issue, council unanimously chose Pinkard to serve as president pro tempore – a position Ray told The Vindicator last week he wanted. When it became obvious that Pinkard had more than enough votes to win, Ray didn’t bother to seek the nomination. The president pro tempore runs the meetings in the absence of the council president.
During the standing-committee meeting, which was relatively cordial and attended by all seven members, the best committee-head assignments went to the three veterans. Council unanimously approved the committee’s recommendations.
Rodgers was chosen as chairman of finance – council’s most-powerful committee – as well as housing community and economic development. Ray is chairman of the community- development agency committee and remained head of public utilities. He also was selected as vice chairman of finance. Pinkard retained his chairmanship of the safety committee, and will serve on four other committees including finance.
The new council members ended up with more assignments than the veterans, except Pinkard, but many of the committees rarely, if ever, meet.
New members Julius Oliver, D-1st; Lauren McNally, D-5th; and Adamczak were appointed to six committees each, while Councilwoman Anita Davis, D-6th, is on five. Rodgers and Ray are on four committees each.
Davis was selected as chairwoman of the general improvements committee, which hardly meets.
McNally was appointed to head the legislation committee, which hasn’t met in decades, as well as public health, which meets infrequently.
Oliver is the chairman of the off-street committee and buildings & grounds committee – neither meets much.
And Adamczak is the head of the education committee, which meets about once or twice a year.