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Races for mayor, council president in Youngstown would be riveting
On the side
U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, a Republican, landed the endorsement of the United Mine Workers of America’s National Council of Coal Miners Political Action Committee, the nation’s largest coal miners union and a group that has traditionally backed Democrats.
Among the Democrats the union has endorsed is ex-Gov. Ted Strickland, Portman’s challenger, during his 2006 and 2010 gubernatorial races. He won the first and lost the latter.
This doesn’t come as a shock as a UMWA spokesman criticized Strickland more than a year ago.
Portman’s statement on the endorsement focused on Strickland saying the Democrat “has a record of turning his back on ‘Coal Country,’” and “Ted worked on behalf of a liberal special interest group in Washington that is dedicated to ending coal jobs.”
Strickland’s campaign sent an email with quotes from two former elected officials and a current one who are from Southeast Ohio in response to the endorsement.
“The UMWA’s decision is deeply misguided,” said Doug Davis, former mayor of Trimble in Athens County.
Next year’s Youngstown mayoral and city council presidential races should be very interesting contests.
The city is heavily Democratic with independents – almost always a strategy used by Democrats to bypass the party’s primary – often running in the general election. The only “independent” candidate to succeed was Jay Williams when he was elected to his first term as mayor in 2005.
Republicans in Youngstown aren’t very common and the party has either not had candidates for those two positions or the ones who run lose.
The council president’s race should be wide open.
When I asked long-time President Charles Sammarone if he would seek re-election next year, he said, “I doubt I’ll run again. I’ll be 75 when I’m done. I don’t want to be around when I’m approaching 80.”
It’s very likely that Sammarone’s “doubt” means he won’t run again unless he strongly believes there isn’t anyone capable of serving as council president.
Some of the temporary council presidents replacements I’ve seen over the years make it look like it’s the most challenging job they’ve ever had.
The position itself is largely ceremonial with the primary duty being the person who runs city council meetings. While council president doesn’t even get a vote, the person in that seat is the successor to the mayor should the city’s top elected official leave before the term expires.
That’s happened only one time in the nearly 100 years since the city charter was adopted with that provision.
That was when Williams resigned Aug. 1, 2011, to join the administration of President Barack Obama and Sammarone was moved up to mayor from council president.
Sammarone’s departure opens the door for a lot of former and current city council members, among others, to consider running for the seat.
Also if Sammarone goes, it would be the ideal time to eliminate the position of council president from the city charter. The job pays $28,117 with full medical benefits.
Sammarone alluded to that when he said he would meet June 21 with the city charter review commission.
“The position could be gone if they can get it on the ballot and approved by voters,” Sammarone said. “I’ve got 30 years of [government] experience and I’ll give my opinion at the commission’s June 21 meeting.”
The seven-member charter review commission started to meet April 19 and expects to have recommendations to city council on July 26. It’s up to city council what proposed charter changes Youngstown voters will consider on the November ballot.
The 2012 charter review commission wanted to eliminate the position of council president, but the council members at the time refused to consider it.
This council won’t get an opportunity to consider putting such a proposal on the ballot as the existing commission has already decided not to change anything about the council president position, said Christopher Travers, commission chairman.
The commission will recommend a proposal requiring city council candidates to live at least a year before an election in the ward they’re seeking to represent, Travers said. There would be exemptions for redistricting if a candidate’s house is moved to another ward.
The commission also wants to make changes to the council redistricting language in the charter. However, so did the 2012 commission and city council watered it down and voters approved the changes.
As for the mayor’s race, incumbent Democrat John A. McNally is running for re-election.
Hanging over McNally’s head is the deal he cut to plead guilty to four misdemeanors for his involvement in the Oakhill Renaissance Place scandal when he was a Mahoning County commissioner.
A Cuyahoga County judge found him guilty of the four counts and placed him on probation for a year in which McNally has to report for two times.
As part of the plea deal McNally was not required to resign as mayor.
Even with those convictions and Mahoning County Democratic Party Chairman David Betras saying McNally shouldn’t run again, it’s going to be challenging to defeat the incumbent mayor in next year’s election.
There will be challengers including former Councilwoman Janet Tarpley, D-6th, and possibly opponents he defeated in 2013 before his May 2014 indictment.
But each will face an uphill climb to knock off McNally in the May 2017 Democratic primary. The same can be said for the November 2017 general election.