Polivka has earned bid for Trumbull commissioner

Count Daniel E. Polivka of Warren among a small group of Mahoning Valley government leaders who have accumulated a long tenure of public service and a tall order of accomplishments.

For the past 12 years, Polivka has served capably on the Trumbull County Board of Commissioners and has amassed a record of which he and his 206,000 constituents can be proud.

Working harmoniously with his two peers on the county executive board, Polivka can recite a laundry list of advances. From countywide consolidation of 911 emergency telephone service to a massive $50 million update of Trumbull’s sanitary-sewer network to balancing the operating budget without layoffs to rising as a strong advocate for senior citizens and veterans, his record illustrates that he is an officeholder who has learned the importance of responsive constituent service.

As such, Polivka has earned renomination by Trumbull County Democrats in the March 15 primary to a fourth four-year term on the commissioners board.

Polivka is being challenged in the Democratic primary by David Cook of Warren. Cook has run unsuccessfully for a commissioner seat four times before and also lost in his bid for the 64th State House District seat in 2012.

Though Cook seems well-intentioned, particularly in his call for stronger action to curb the skyrocketing heroin epidemic, his decision to seek one of the top jobs in county government while not having served in any elected office before seems ill-advised. That inexperience was evident in his recent appearance before The Vindicator Editorial Board.

Cook cited problems and delays surrounding ongoing sewer improvements in Kinsman and Vienna and vowed to watch over contractors more closely when problems crop up. The candidate, however, lacked details to indicate that the problems rose to a level where they would threaten the improvements or that Polivka bears direct blame.

no specifics

He, too, lacked specifics in his call for more aggressive efforts to attract new businesses to the county. “I would do anything I can to get jobs in here,” he said. Such empty platitudes ring hollow.

Cook, who has been unemployed and on disability for many years, also alluded to other problems he has against the incumbent. “Some things he’s doing aren’t striking me as right,” he said, again failing to be specific.

Every elected official seeking another term is vulnerable, but a challenger must be able to clearly articulate why he or she is more qualified, more experienced and more prepared for the job than the incumbent. In short, Cook failed to do so on any of those fronts.

In stark contrast, Polivka provided a hodgepodge of specific achievements and plans. For example, Polivka said he has worked to develop the county’s scenic 15-mile bike trail and aims to complete the last link between Warren and Niles. He’s also working with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources to improve campgrounds and restrooms at Mosquito Lake State Park.

Polivka, chairman of the Trumbull Democratic Party, also has worked to build and promote a Buy Local campaign encouraging county residents to make purchases within the county to boost needed sales tax revenue without resorting to an increase in that tax. In the early stages of that campaign, the county has witnessed a 2 percent increase in sales-tax receipts, he said.

He considers one of his proudest accomplishments as “turning the county around to become more business friendly.” He said the commissioners and their staff have made it a priority to work with businesses to solve problems before those problems escalate to threaten business solvency.

Polivka also has cultivated a strong working relationship with the county’s other two commissioners – Frank Fuda and Mauro Cantalamessa – that has enabled the board to spend little time on internal conflicts and much time on responding to constituent needs. He also professes strong cooperative relationships with state and federal lawmakers representing Trumbull County. In an era when state and federal support for sagging county coffers looms large, such friends in higher places are critically important.

The winner of the Democratic primary will face Republican Mary E. Williams of Cortland, who is running unopposed in the GOP primary for commissioner.