7th District seat vacated by DeGenaro is hot ticket in May

YOUNGSTOWN

There are four positions on the ballot in Mahoning County without incumbents with a seat on the 7th District Court of Appeals attracting the most candidates.

There are four Democrats and two Republicans vying for the nomination of their respective parties on the May 8 primary ballot for the appeals court spot.

They’re seeking to succeed Mary DeGenaro, a Republican who resigned two weeks ago after the governor appointed her to fill a vacancy on the Ohio Supreme Court.

The appellate seat initially attracted the interest of some of Mahoning County’s most prominent elected officials, including Common Pleas Court Judges R. Scott Krichbaum and Maureen Sweeney on the Republican side and Prosecutor Paul J. Gains as a Democrat. All of them, however, opted not to run for the position.

The other open judicial seat is on the common pleas bench. Lou D’Apolito cannot run for re-election because of the state’s age-limit law on judges.

State Sen. Joe Schiavoni, a Democrat, is term-limited in the 33rd District and is running for governor.

The only candidates who filed to succeed him are state Rep. John Boccieri, D-59th, who used to serve in that position before Schiavoni, and Republican Michael Rulli, director of operations for Rulli Bros.

Read more about the races in Thursday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.