McNally should step aside while on trial in Cleveland

There is a reason the Youngstown Home Rule Charter specifies that the president of city council will serve as acting mayor when the mayor is absent. The people did not want unelected bureaucrats in charge of government.

But that’s what will happen under the plan being devised by Mayor John A. McNally, who is set to go on trial in March on a slew of state criminal charges stemming from his involvement in the Oakhill Renaissance Place conspiracy scandal.

McNally told The Vindicator’s broadcast partner, 21 WFMJ-TV, last week that he intends to hold on to the reins of power while spending his days at the defense table in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court.

The mayor, who was elected in 2013 despite being under indictment, refused to reveal details of his operational plan. However, it’s a safe bet it does not involve the president of city council, Charles Sammarone, a veteran city lawmaker.

Therefore, residents of Youngstown will have to accept the fact that unelected individuals will be at the helm of city government while McNally is preoccupied with saving his skin.

That is not what the voters bargained for when they made him the chief executive. Youngstown is a charter city with a strong mayoral form of government.

McNally earns more than $100,000 in the full-time position.

He will be hard-pressed to justify pocketing tax dollars while not meeting his obligations as mayor.

McNally, whose criminal charges stem from his tenure as a Mahoning County commissioner, would do well to remember that the median income of a family of four in Youngstown is $24,000.

The city charter is unambiguous when it comes to the governance of the city.

Here’s what Section 6.1 says: “When the Mayor is absent from the City, or is unable for any cause, to perform the Mayor’s duties, the President of Council shall be the acting Mayor. While the President of City Council is acting as Mayor, the President of Council shall not serve as President of Council.”

We aren’t surprised that McNally is relegating the best interest of the city to his personal financial well being. During the 2013 election, we asked him if he would resign if criminal charges pertaining to the Oakhill Renaissance Place scandal or any other government corruption case were filed against him. He responded with an unequivocal “no.”

SCIORTINO’S SCENARIO

In 2014, when then-county Auditor Michael Sciortino sought re-election while charged with 16 felony counts stemming from his participation in the Oakhill Renaissance criminal enterprise, we said this:

“ … he should not be allowed to continue performing his duties as county auditor. As his state criminal case progresses, he will find himself spending an increasing amount of time preparing his defense and less time on his public duties.”

Fortunately, the voters decided they had had enough of the Democratic Party insider and elected a political newcomer, Republican Ralph Meacham.

In addition to McNally and Sciortino, the third defendant in the March trial is Youngstown attorney Martin Yavorcik.

Their trial on a total of 80 criminal charges, including racketeering, bribery and corruption, is expected to last several weeks. Later this month, the judge will set out the trial schedule.

But whether there will be four days a week of long hours, or five days a week of shorter time periods, the fact remains that McNally will not be in his office in City Hall. He will be in Cleveland and will be unavailable to talk to his staff while court is in session.

But won’t he have the time at the end of each day to attend to city business? No, he won’t.

As any lawyer who has handled a complicated, government corruption case will tell you, the end of court session each day leads to the start of trial preparation for the next day.

How then will McNally attend to his duties as mayor? He won’t. As the trial progresses, the pressure on him will undoubtedly increase.

Not only will the prospect of a guilty verdict and prison time weigh heavily on him, but McNally will also have to deal with the reality that he could be separated from his family.

The mayor should take a step back and consider the damage he will be doing to the residents by not being on the job overseeing a troubled city.