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12 people apply for volunteer position on port authority
By Ed Runyan
WARREN
The Trumbull County commissioners have 12 candidates to consider for the open volunteer position on the Western Reserve Port Authority.
The port authority runs Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport and encourages economic development through financing and tax-savings programs.
Among the candidates are Gary Crandall of Howland Township, owner of GLI Pool Products on Cinter Court near the 711 Connector in Youngstown; Dennis Blank, a former Time Inc. executive who ran for Warren mayor in 2015; and real estate executive Scott Lewis of Liberty, who has asked to be appointed to a third four-year term.
Others include Sterling Williams of Howland Township, owner of funeral homes in Mahoning and Trumbull counties and a tax and accounting practice; Atty. Phillip Arbie; Warren building owner, United Airlines retiree and former Warren councilman James Cichillo of Bristolville; YNGAir Partners president Dennis Gartland of Cortland; Niles real estate broker Carmen Mazza; employment specialist John Spivey Jr. of Youngstown; activist James Walker of Warren; human-resources manager Gina Angle of Warren; and Michael R. Rapovy.
In his application, Crandall said he is a Champion native who has lived in Trumbull County 52 of his 58 years and served 28 years as president of Cantar/Polyair Corp. until last year.
The company, which manufactures products for the swimming pool and protective packaging industries, grew from a $9 million business to a $220 million business with 1,400 employees and 11 factories in North America, he said.
Last year, he became owner of GLI, which manufactures several products for the swimming pool industry and employs 280 people in two buildings that total 210,000 square feet. He is also a pilot.
Blank was marketing director for Fortune magazine from 1988 to 1990, overseeing an annual research study of more than 5,000 “C-level” executives in Fortune 1,000 companies to gain an understanding of their decision-making when selecting a new development site, he said in his application.
He lost in a contentious race for Warren mayor, running as an independent candidate against incumbent Doug Franklin in November 2015.
Williams, who is originally from Youngstown, has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in business administration and has served on numerous boards for many years.
Lewis, vice president of Edward J. Lewis Inc. real estate, did not provide commissioners with a resume or biography, only a letter asking to be reappointed.
In July 2014, the county commissioners asked Lewis in a letter to resign. The letter was signed by Commissioners Frank Fuda and Dan Polivka. The third commissioner, Paul Heltzel, was in the hospital at the time and died soon afterward.
They asked Lewis to resign after the Ohio Ethics Commission issued Lewis a public reprimand in April 2014 for not abstaining from participation in port authority discussions involving a real-estate deal he brokered that earned his company $97,366 in 2009.
Mazza is a Niles McKinley High School graduate and has worked in real estate 40 years.
Spivey of Outlook Avenue, which is just south of the Trumbull County line in Youngstown, works as an employment specialist for Coleman Behavioral Health. He works with clients with disabilities in Trumbull and Mahoning counties, he said in his application.
Cichillo worked 33 years for United Airlines, “involved in every aspect of airline operations and the airline industry,” he said.
Gartland was a high school teacher and vice president of Adelphia Mortgage Co. and was an Army military combat helicopter pilot. YNGAir partners has assisted the airport with efforts to attract daily air service.
Walker was event organizer for ACTION in 2010, helping organize a citizens movement that “procured the establishment of bricks and mortar campuses for Eastern Gateway Community College,” he said.
Arbie said he has “been interested in civic affairs since my graduation from Youngstown State University and University of Akron Law School.”
Angle worked in 2015 and 2016 as human resources director for Goodwill Industries in Youngstown. Rapovy didn’t say where he lives or give any of his background.