Mahoning Dems firmly endorse Macejko

By Jordan Cohen

news@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

City Prosecutor Jay Macejko won a decisive endorsement for Mahoning County prosecutor Saturday over incumbent and longtime officeholder Paul Gains.

County Democrats met Satur-day at the Maronite Center to issue their endorsements for the March 6 primary election.

With 254 of 257 central committee members voting, Macejko won 57 percent of the vote to Gains’ nearly 43 percent.

Macejko, in a speech to the committee before the vote, criticized Gains for attempting to raise staff salaries “when people are facing unemployment.”

Gains countered by telling the committee he had “restored integrity to the office” and saved hundreds of thousands of dollars.

“It’s not personal; it’s about progress,” said Macejko after the vote totals were displayed, while Gains, county prosecutor since 1996, said he was disappointed. “It’s going to make [my campaign] more difficult,” the incumbent said.

Gains was not the only incumbent rejected for an endorsement.

Richard Marsico, county engineer for 15 years, was soundly rejected in favor of Patrick Ginnetti, who garnered an overwhelming 68 percent of the votes.

Ginnetti also criticized the incumbent for granting “pay raises to managers when union employees are laid off.”

He was accompanied by numerous campaign workers wearing lime-green sweat shirts who boisterously applauded when the results were flashed on a screen.

In the high-profile race for Mahoning County sheriff, Jerry Greene, director of support services at the county jail, won 79 percent of the committee votes for endorsement over Jimmy Hughes, who recently retired as chief of the Youngstown Police Department. Greene admitted he was surprised by his margin of victory. Greene and Hughes are campaigning to succeed retiring Sheriff Randall Wellington, as is Poland Township Police Chief Brian Goodin, who decided Friday not to seek the party endorsement.

David Ditzler, Austintown Township trustee, won the endorsement over four rivals for one of two county commissioner races in the general election. Current officeholder John McNally IV is not running for re-election. Four other candidates for the same position did not seek a party endorsement.

“Those people are cowards,” David Betras, Mahoning County Democratic Party chairman, said of candidates who scorned party endorsements.

“If you don’t have the guts to seek the endorsement, then you have no right to carry our banner,” he added.

In other races, Commissioner Anthony Traficanti, who is seeking re-election, won a 76 percent endorsement, and incumbent Treasurer Daniel Yemma won an overwhelming 92 percent endorsement. Charles Wilson, former 6th District congressman, also was endorsed in his bid to regain his seat.

Turning Technologies of Youngstown provided an electronic voting system in which committee members used remotes to vote from their seats. After all voting was completed, results were shown in percentages on a screen. It marked the first use of electronic voting by the party for its endorsement meetings.