McNally defeats Oliver for commissioners chair
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YOUNGSTOWN -- Mahoning County Commissioner Carol Rimedio-Righetti's successor has been chosen, retaining the political balance of power on the county's governing board.
Republican Geno DiFabio is still outnumbered 2-1 after Democratic Ohio State Rep. Lauren McNally defeated her Republican challenger, Canfield City Council President Christine Oliver to claim the seat, joining fellow Democrat Anthony Traficanti.
Unofficial results from the Mahoning County Board of Elections show McNally won by a 56% to 44% margin.
Rimedio-Righetti personally tapped McNally to run for the seat and she ran unopposed in the Democratic primary in May.
McNally could not be reached for comment Tuesday night.
A two-term state representative and former Youngstown city councilwoman, she campaigned on a platform emphasizing economic development, affordable housing and long-term infrastructure investment.
McNally proposed creating a five- or 10-year countywide strategic plan to coordinate land use, housing, utilities and economic development, including a centralized resource to help prospective developers identify available properties and infrastructure.
She also advocated expanding housing opportunities through state and federal programs and incentives for private developers. She said the Mahoning Valley needs to attract thousands of additional residents to meet workforce demands, but aging housing stock and limited new construction have hindered those efforts.
She emphasized using relationships established during her four years in the Ohio House to secure state and federal resources for Mahoning County. McNally has criticized state lawmakers for failing to provide meaningful property tax relief without shifting the financial burden to schools and local governments.
McNally represented Youngstown’s 5th Ward on city council from 2016 to 2022 before winning election to the Ohio House, where she has served since January 2023. She sought Rimedio-Righetti's chair rather than running for a third house term. Her current term in Columbus ends Dec. 31.
After defeating Austintown Township Trustee Bruce Shepas in the Republican Primary, Oliver continued to campaign on property tax relief, government transparency, public safety and economic development.
The Canfield City Council president advocated protecting seniors and other homeowners from rising tax burdens, redeveloping former industrial sites to attract employers, improving access to mental health services and establishing a county ombudsman to assist vulnerable residents.
A U.S. Navy veteran with nearly 30 years of experience in insurance and financial services, Oliver works in management for MassMutual and operates two Boardman businesses with her husband. She also co-founded Back the Blue Ohio, a nonprofit that raises money for children of fallen law enforcement officers.
Oliver supports expanding the homestead exemption and owner-occupancy credit, particularly for seniors on fixed incomes.
County commissioners over the summer voted to double the owner-occupied tax credit. Ohio counties already receive reimbursement from Columbus for the standard homestead and owner-occupied exemptions. Mahoning County Auditor Ralph Meacham said that to double both exemptions would cost Mahoning County about $12 million a year, mostly on the backs of school districts and local governments.
Meacham, a Republican, also won reelection to his office Tuesday night, defeating Democratic challenger Dalton Bosze by a 54% to 46% margin.
Meacham ran on his experience both as an established county auditor, elected in 2014, and as a financial professional. He said his efficient manner of running the office and his understanding of the county's finances makes him the more qualified choice to deal with current struggles like unreconciled accounts in the Mahoning County Clerk of Courts office and more than $835,000 in excess funds that should be returned to taxpayers but have not yet been processed by the Mahoning County Treasurer's office> He also cited property tax increase woes and the challenges the county's budget commission faces in evaluating local governments' budgets and potentially lowering the millage of active levies to compensate for reserve overages.