Palermo deserves party’s nomination for recorder

In the only contested race for a Mahoning County government office in this month’s primary, voters are indeed fortunate to have a clear-cut and well-experienced choice for county recorder.

In her more than four decades of service in the county Recorder’s Office and in her tenure of capably operating the critically important office, Democrat Noralynn Palermo warrants re-election to a third term. She rises head and shoulders above her far less-experienced Democrat opponent who also comes with some troubling baggage from his years in public service in the Mahoning Valley.

IMPORTANT BUT LOW-VISIBILITY OFFICE

Although the recorder ranks as one of the least-visible public offices in county government, its host of duties makes it one of the most important.

Among the many responsibilities that fall into the lap of the recorder are the accurate maintenance of records dealing with land, such as property transfers and mortgages, and ensuring that such records are easily accessible to the public. Among other functions, the recorder also serves on the county records commission, which authorizes retention and disposal of county records.

Palermo, who has worked in some capacity in the office since 1974, knows the inner workings of the office inside-out. That depth of experience has served her well over the past nine years as its leader. Unlike some other offices, no serious questions have been raised about any irregularities in the operation of her office.

What’s more, evidence affirms Palermo’s contention that she runs the office efficiently. For example, recognizing the need to respond to declining county revenue, Palermo did not need any pushing or prodding. She voluntarily chose not to replace an administrative assistant as well as two retiring employees. In what many view as a rarity in the public sector, she has adjusted work routines to achieve more with less.

She also places a priority on customer service and has been particularly pleased that hers was one of the first county recorder’s offices in Ohio to lend a helping hand to military veterans.

In addition to maintaining records of military discharges, Palermo has issued more than 1,600 ID cards that can be used by veterans to prove their eligibility for a host of benefits and discounts on goods and services. “ I was honored to do that for them,” she said.

Palermo’s challenger in the race is Struthers Tax Commissioner Jim Bertrando. A focal point of his campaign rests on his call to modernize the office through greater digitalization of records.

In that area, Bertrando is correct in arguing that Mahoning County lags many others in online access to land-related documents. But Palermo reasonably explained to the Editorial Board that time and budget constraints have hampered such efforts. She noted, however, that she is working toward implementing electronic filing of documents and expansion of online availability of records.

Bertrando also is running on a platform of expanding communications with other county officeholders and working to better educate the community about the recorder’s office operations.

DEFICIENCY OF CHALLENGER

Those are laudable aims, but the Editorial Board saw no clear deficiencies of the incumbent in those areas. Truth to tell, the largest deficiency in this race falls on the challenger’s history of a less- than-professional demeanor in his working relationships. As The Vindicator reported Saturday, Bertrando has a checkered past in that domain.

He was fired in 2004 from his post as human resources director for the Mahoning County Engineer’s Office for what then-Engineer Richard Marsico called insubordination.

Struthers Mayor Terry P. Stocker suspended Bertrando last March for three days without pay and ordered him to undergo an anger-management assessment after a kerfuffle with a clerk over a meeting agenda.

In 2014, Bertrando admitted to a police detective that he had lost his temper at a clerk. The clerk told the detective Bertrando had accused her of stealing $100, only to find out the discrepancy was due to a bank’s error.

Though never charged in any of the incidents, collectively they project a demeanor unbecoming of a county leader. Yet even if Bertrando did not have such a disconcerting past, the record and experience of Palermo would make it hard for any newcomer to the office to compete.

We therefore recommend that Democrat voters cast their ballots for Palermo’s re-nomination. The winner of the primary will face Republican Steven Carter for the post in November.