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A Mahoning County judge raised $30,951 during the first eight weeks of the year
and Ed Runyan
YOUNGSTOWN
Judge Shirley J. Christian of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court, who isn’t facing a primary-election opponent, raised $30,951 during the first eight weeks of the year.
That’s not only more than Anthony M. D’Apolito, her Democratic challenger, but more than any candidate in Mahoning County between Jan. 1 and Feb. 24.
Candidates running in the March 15 primary had until Thursday to file campaign-finance reports for money raised and spent between those two dates.
Judge Christian, a Republican from New Springfield, raised $9,290 in all of 2015 and lent $25,000 to her campaign Nov. 16.
D’Apolito, of Poland, the county juvenile court’s administrator, raised $5,300 between Jan. 1 and Feb. 24.
But he received $36,650 in campaign contributions last year and lent $2,710 to his campaign – $1,000 last year and $1,710 in 2014.
Between contributions and loans, Judge Christian has collected $65,241, compared with $44,660 for D’Apolito.
It’s the only common pleas court judicial race on this year’s Mahoning County ballot.
In the only contested primary in Mahoning County, incumbent Recorder Noralynn Palermo of Youngstown raised $180 between Jan. 1 and Feb. 24, compared with $1,130 for Jim Bertrando of Struthers, her challenger in the Democratic primary.
In 2015, Palermo raised $11,890 to $8,630 for Bertrando, who also lent $900 to his campaign.
Backers of an additional countywide levy for senior-citizen services raised $20,500 during the pre-primary period, with the major donor being ex-county Commissioner Edward J. Reese, who gave $12,000.
In Trumbull County, a hotly contested Democratic race for sheriff saw Howland Police Chief Paul Monroe raise $17,660 between Jan. 1 and Feb. 24. Incumbent Tom Altiere raised none.
Monroe also raised more in the second half of 2015 – $37,965, compared with Altiere’s $10,300. Monroe outspent Altiere $47,669 to $2,651 during the Jan. 1 to Feb. 24 period.
Added together with the numbers from 2015, Monroe’s spending was $58,817 to Altiere’s $19,651 so far. Monroe has $6,245 left, and Altiere has $8,249 left.
Two well-known Warren-area businessmen contributed large sums to Monroe’s campaign. Sam Covelli, owner of Covelli Enterprises, donated $3,500, while Anthony Payiavlas, president of AVI, donated $4,000.
In the race for county recorder, being vacated by the retirement of longtime Recorder Diana Marchese, Tod Latell raised $1,375 in contributions, but also received a $20,000 loan from his father, Anthony Latell. The other Democrat running for recorder, Helen Rucker, raised $3,269.
County commissioner and county Democratic Party chairman Dan Polivka is opposed in the primary by David Cook, who did not file a campaign-finance report. Polivka spent $8,631 during the January-February period but still has $63,572.