Banker and longtime Warren council member compete for Democratic nomination for Trumbull County recorder

By Ed Runyan

runyan@vindy.com

WARREN

A banker whose name is well known because of relatives who have held public office and a well-known, longtime Warren councilwoman are competing in the March 15 Democratic primary to replace Diane Marchese as Trumbull County recorder.

One candidate is Tod Latell, 39, of Girard, the son of Tony Latell, who served as county commissioner and state senator. John Latell, former county engineer, is his uncle.

Tod Latell, an assistant vice president, branch manager and investment representative with Huntington National Bank, has never held political office.

But he told The Vindicator during a recent interview that he believes his 10 years in the banking business have prepared him for the recorder’s job.

“We both have to maintain accurate and secure records,” he said of people working in banking and those maintaining county records in the recorder’s office.

“I’m sure you wouldn’t want your personal information to get out there. We have to be very careful about the information we put out there. It’s all very sensitive,” he said of banking.

The other Democratic candidate is Helen Rucker, 64, of Warren, who has served on Warren City Council almost continuously for 20 years. She said she views herself as “the council person who drives home the common-sense issues,” adding, “I work on things that affect the quality of life.” She said examples are the One-Stop building the city proposed building, the skate park near Packard Park and bike trail through the city.

She said she gives high marks to county Recorder Diana Marchese for “right-sizing” the recorder’s office by reducing the number of employees in the department without the public noticing. Marchese, 71, of Johnston Township, first elected recorder in 1992, is not seeking re-election, retiring after 24 years in office.

“She did it the right way,” Rucker said.

According to the Ohio Recorder’s Association, a county recorder is responsible for making “a complete, accurate and permanent record of every document” related to land transfers. The recorder’s office maintains land records, enforces more than 1,000 sections of Ohio law and performs all accounting functions related to the office’s operation, the association says.

In recent years, the Trumbull recorder’s office has encountered challenges related to historical records dating back to 1795. The county has records that old because of its unique position as the first capital of the land area from the Pennsylvania line to near Sandusky called the Connecticut Western Reserve. That area is now divided into 14 northern Ohio counties.

Flooding in the basement of the county-owned Stone Building in 2013 required restoration of some of the records.

The winner of the primary for recorder faces Republican Debra Roth of Warren in the general election.