Hearings will be Monday for three potential Trumbull candidates

Staff report

WARREN

The Trumbull County Board of Elections will have hearings Monday regarding the candidacies of three people wanting to run for county office: David Cook at 1 p.m., Syreana Harris at 2 p.m. and Joseph O’Grady at 3 p.m.

O’Grady was ruled ineligible to run in the March 15 Democratic primary for sheriff, and Cook was ruled ineligible to run in the Democratic primary for county commissioner.

Two other Democrats were ruled eligible to run in the Democratic primary for sheriff: incumbent Thomas Altiere and Howland Police Chief Paul Monroe.

Cook was hoping to run against incumbent county Commissioner Dan Polivka, who also is Democratic Party chairman.

Harris was ruled eligible to run in the Republican primary for treasurer, but the current treasurer, Democrat Sam Lamancusa, is challenging that.

O’Grady was ruled ineligible because evidence that he met the minimum qualifications to be sheriff arrived at the elections board one day too late.

O’Grady filed a letter with the board Monday saying the board should reconsider its decision because his mistake was the result of his inexperience as a candidate and the inexperience of board of elections employees who gave him a handout that caused him confusion.

Cook’s appeal letter said the reason he was ruled ineligible was nothing more than “poor penmanship,” and not a “mistake on my part.”

Lamanusa said his opponent should have been ruled ineligible because her petitions indicated the start date for the job is in January 2017 instead of September 2017.