Select veteran councilman Patrick for Struthers mayor

Effective governance at the federal, state or local levels cannot operate in a vacuum. Knowledge of long-standing policies, practices and procedures is essential to move forward.

Voters in the city of Struthers should keep that truism in mind when casting their votes for mayor now through May 7.

First, the city will have a new mayor next year because Terry Stocker, the city’s chief executive officer over the past 12 years, chose not to seek re-election in the Democratic Party primary. (Of course, he could still surprise voters with an independent or write-in bid as he did in 2015.)

Second, the city will have at least two and perhaps more new members on its chief lawmaking body, city council.

In bringing in the new, however, it is critical that knowledge and expertise gleaned from the past are not diluted. It’s also important that continuity in city government is not broken once a collection of fresh faces take their seats on council.

In the highly competitive race for Struthers mayor, voters will be forced to decide between two credible candidates: 12-year veteran Struthers Councilman-at-large Michael Patrick, who also has served 27 years as a volunteer firefighter for the city, and Catherine Cercone-Miller, secretary to the Struthers law director who’s active in many civic causes throughout the city.

In this important race, we give the edge to Patrick for the greater breadth and depth of his service to the city by virtue of his membership on council and service to the fire department. His direct hands-on knowledge of legislative and administrative operations will prove particularly beneficial should a significant slice of city council become newcomers in 2020.

We endorse Patrick in spite of one deep blemish on his record of service to the city. Many will recall about one year ago when Patrick was accused of bullying the clerk of council through loud and demeaning language after a regular council meeting.

City council initially had ordered Patrick to issue a public apology to the clerk and to attend anger-management classes. It later rescinded those actions, however. Patrick reportedly apologized publicly and privately to the clerk and to the residents of Struthers.

We trust he learned from that unfortunate incident that behavior perceived as bullying is unbecoming of any individual, let alone a city leader who should stand proudly as a role model to others. What’s more, any mayor worth his or her salt must be easily approachable to council members, city workers and residents alike.

PATRICK’S PLANS

In addition to Patrick’s three decades of valuable experience, he also brings future-focused commitments to improve the quality of life in the city as its chief executive.

Among his top priorities is construction of a new main fire station to replace the outdated and problem-plagued 76-year-old facility on Elm Street.

He also wants to follow through on work as a councilman to clean up the city, in part through establishment of a landlord registry to better monitor housing-code violations and other problems with the large quantity of rental housing stock in the city of 10,200 people.

He also plans to use the mayor’s office to do all possible to capitalize on work to further develop the Mahoning River into a stronger recreational asset for residents of Struthers and the entire Mahoning Valley.

As for Cercone-Miller, the proud self-described “Struthers girl” has laid out a platform of thoughtful and viable goals. Some of it mirrors that of Patrick’s.

She, too, seeks to more vigorously enforce housing codes, further develop the Mahoning River corridor, and build a new main fire station. She also proposes creation of a joint police-fire safety service building to house both departments.

Cercone-Miller also places a strong emphasis on attracting new businesses to the city and more aggressively seeking grants to help compensate for tight city finances.

Her experience in the law director’s office no doubt has educated her well on some of the pressing issues of the city, particularly its judicial branch. But the breadth and depth of her knowledge of current and past legislative and administrative operations pale in comparison to the experience of Patrick.

Yes, experience matters, and that’s why we recommend voters nominate Patrick for mayor of Struthers in this Democratic primary election. No Republican has filed so his nomination is likely tantamount to election in November.