The Boardman Civic Association hosted a candidates and issues forum on Monday night at the Lariccia Family Community Center in Boardman Park. About 50 persons attended the forum where Democratic Party candidate for Ohio Governor, Boardman-native State Sen. Joe Schiavoni delivered opening remarks.
      Schiavoni will be on the May primary ballot in the Dem camp along with former federal consumer watchdog Richard Cordray, former U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich and former Ohio Supreme Court Justice William O’Neill.
      Cordray, Kucinich and O’Neill were not invited to the forum.
      In brief remarks, Schiavoni, who has served in the Ohio Senate for a decade, said the state needs a governor who will go down to Columbus “and work.”
      He said that education issues, including “proper funding” need particular attention, noting that more often than not, charter school’s are for-profit enterprises where the goal is to make money.
      “Their is not education, and I’ve seen a lot of that with charter schools,” Schiavoni said.
      The candidate said Democrats “need someone to make a change for the better. If we don’t [put someone on the ballot] who is different, we will lose to [Republicans] Mike DeWine and John Husted in November.”
      Schiavoni, seen by many as a long-shot to win the governorship, said he has been traveling about the state “talking to communities like human beings...That is grassroots.”
      School & Township Levies
      The loss of some $1 million in property taxes due to St. Elizabeth Hospital at McClurg Rd. and Market St. was called “the spark” that ignited Boardman Local Schools big, 5.8-mil additional tax levy on the May ballot, Supt. Tim Saxton told the Civic Association forum.
      The hospital went to court and won a declaration as a non-profit enterprise, therefore eliminating a duty to pay property taxes
      Saxton also said the local school district has lost some $25 million since 2012 in state subsidies.
      “Despite this, we have stayed lean and went for six years without an increase in the base salary,” the school chieftan said, adding the teaching staff has been reduced by four positions due to attrition. [Note: Last year the school board approved a three year wage pact with its certificated and non-certificated staff. The agreements provide pay increase over the next three years].
      Saxton said persons attending a State of the Schools assembly would learn what could happen if the 5.8-mil levy fails in May.
      Speaking in behalf of the Boardman Township 2.9-mil levy was Administrator Jason Loree.
      He noted the measure on the ballot will replace 3.2-mil levy that generated $1.2 million a year.
      If approved in May, the 2.9-mil issue will raise about $2.7 million annually for current expenses.
      “We have done a pretty good job with the taxpayer’s money,” Loree said.
      59th District State Representative
      Two Democrats seeking the state representative seat being vacated by Rep. John Boccieri spoke at the forum. They were Boardman Trustee Larry Moliterno and Poland Township Trustee Eric Ungaro.
      Moliterno noted that Boardman Township has taken the lead in “community collaboration,” saying “How do we take these successes to the next level? We have to come together.”
      He stressed that “we can do better, we have to come together” on issues like education, senior abuse and the opioid problem.
      “If we come together, we can make positive changes,” Moliterno said.
      Ungaro told those at the forum he is a special education teacher and has been a football coach for 28 years and a union member for 28 years, noting he was “sick of unions getting beat up.”
      “I am who I am,” Ungaro said.
      Other Races
      Also speaking on Monday night were Republican Kathleen Bartlett and Democrat Dave D’Apolito, candidates for the Seventh District Court of Appeals.
      Bartlett said she has served as a magistrate in Columbiana County for 12 years.
      D’Apolito said he has served ‘on the bench for 20 years, beginning in 1997 as a magistrate and since 2000 as a county court judge.
      Two candidates for judge in the Mahoning County Common Pleas Court spoke, Dan Dascenzo and Anthony Donofrio.
      Dascenzo said he has served the common pleas court as a magistrate since 2008 and has presided over some 10,000 cases, both civil and criminal.
      “I am aware of the profound impact our decisions have on people,” Dascenzo said.
      Donofrio, who has been an attorney for 27 years, said he served as an in-house counsel for B.J. Alan for six and a half years, and also served as a deputy law director for the city of Youngstown.
      Dascenzo said he favored prevention focused programs to address the opioid crisis, while Donofrio said that “treatment can be used to solve the drug crisis.”
      In The Republican Camp
      Introduced to the forum were David Johnson, incumbent Republican state committeeman and current Columbiana County GOP chairman; and Monica Robb Blasdel, seeking to unseat Tracey Winbush on the Republican state central committee.
      Blasdel’s appearance on the ballot to unseat Winbush has drawn comment from inside the local Republican party.
      Her opponents say there are a host of issues swirling around Winbush.
      Critics say she is operating a talk radio show out of the same address as the local Republican party, at 8381 Market St.; and she abandoned her former broadcasting headquarters in downtown Youngstown, leaving a trail of unpaid bills.
      While she had been vociferous in support of building a wall on the southern border of the United States, selling ‘bricks’ and campaign materials at last year’s Canfield Fair, Winbush appeared to ‘flip’ on that stance by offering support to Amer Ali in his failed efforts to prevent his deportation from Youngstown back to his homeland of Jordan earlier this year.
      Blasdel is the daughter of recently-elected Seventh District Court of Appeals Judge Carol Robb, and is supported in her efforts to unseat Winbush by Mr. Johnson.
      With Johnson supporting Blasdel, Mahoning County Republican Chairman Mark Munroe is now running against Johnson for the GOP state committeeman seat.