NILES — Five Democrats are running for three at-Large seats, including four current members of Niles City Council.

Michael Lastic and Jimmy Julian are both running as incumbent at-Large members. The other current at-Large member, Steve Papalas, was appointed by council last year after the death of Jimmy DePasquale. Papalas previously served on council, and has decided to step away once again.

Council members Doug Sollitto of the 1st Ward and Linda Marchese of the 3rd Ward also are taking their shot at an at-Large seat. Newcomer Lori Vlosich Hudzik is the fifth candidate.

While most council meetings are without incident, there have been some contentious sessions in the past year, particularly about bike lanes that were added on Hartzell Avenue in an attempt to reduce speeding, and the procedure for getting into the city administration building.

In an effort to curb speeding and to begin a complete streets program in Niles, bike lanes were installed on Hartzell Avenue on May 31, 2022. Last fall, many residents of the street attended council meetings to express their discontent with the no parking signs.

On Sept. 7 last year, council voted to keep the bike lanes as-is, with Sollitto and Mindy Devorich of the 4th Ward voting against the measure. About a month later, the no parking signs were removed, but the bike lanes remain today.

Some residents have said more recently that they still do not think the bike lanes have helped to curb speeding.

To get into the city building at 34 W. State St. during normal business hours, residents must ring a buzzer. Residents have complained that they should be able to walk into the building because it is taxpayer funded. Those who are unhappy have been saying that the city building is closed.

The mayor has said the building is open, but times have changed, and the buzzer system is a security check.

Residents enter the building through the side door off the parking lot, which is the handicap accessible entrance. A security study completed last year by a captain at the Niles Police Department states that the current procedure is the safest way to allow access into the building.

LORI HUDZIK

Hudzik, 56, said she was born in Niles. She has owned the Hudzik Insurance Agency since 2007 and was formerly the Niles City Schools treasurer. She is a 1985 graduate of Niles McKinley High School and graduated from Youngstown State University with a bachelor’s degree in secondary education, integrated mathematics.

She said she decided to jump into the race because she is not happy with the direction the city is going, and how it looks.

Hudzik said she has heard a lot of complaints about the city from residents, so she wants to be their voice.

She said she’s seeking an at-Large seat because she wants to serve all city residents, rather than just those in a certain ward. Hudzik lives in the 2nd Ward.

“I’ve been in service my whole life, servicing customers and everything. I listen to people and I try to help people. I think that would be huge because I think sometimes, maybe our residents are being listened to, but nothing is happening after that,” she said.

She said she will bring fresh ideas to council and is a team worker.

One of Hudzik’s top priorities would be to “open the city building” so residents could come in the front door. Hudzik said she would support adding a security guard or police officer to sit in the building to monitor who comes and goes.

“Having that front door access, they could come in, do their business, and not have to wait for people to answer the door,” Hudzik said. “I’ve heard complaints that people have been sitting there waiting for someone to let them in.”

Another priority is the city’s parks. She said she has seen graffiti in the parks and thinks they should be better maintained.

“You go there, and the playgrounds are filled with graffiti,” Hudzik said. “I was raised in those parks at Waddell Pool. You go through there now, and it’s just not a nice sight.”

Hudzik also said she would be open to putting the pool back at Waddell Park. She said getting a full-time grant writer in the city would help get these big projects accomplished.

Another thing Hudzik said she has heard complaints from residents about is that their utility bills are getting too high. The city operates electric, water and sewer utilities.

She said she has a strong financial background, so she wants to help ensure appropriations are being budgeted correctly and that there is strong financial accountability.

Hudzik said she would like the city to look at street resurfacing and the storm drains. She said during the meet the candidates night last week that the city should look at replacing all storm drains.

Hudzik also said that as the wife of a Niles fire captain, she would work to make sure the safety services always have what they need.

In 2021, Hudzik ran for a seat on the Niles Board of Education and lost. Before that, she was the school district treasurer for 18 months.

On Dec. 30, 2019, the school board accepted Hudzik’s “voluntary resignation from employment via abandonment of position.” The Financial Planning and Supervision Commission was providing direction to the school board because of the district’s financial emergency status.

“There were accusations made about me, but I did nothing wrong,” Hudzik said. “I’m sure the public is smart enough to recognize the same players who attacked the teachers during negotiations are also the ones I was involved with. True colors eventually come out, and that’s exactly what happened.”

Hudzik was put on “unrequested leave” on July 1, 2019. The commission did not approve of a leave that the board had already approved through Nov. 18, nor did it approve of a leave extension Hudzik requested from Nov. 8 to Dec. 23.

Hudzik was directed to return to work no later than Dec. 27 and that the failure to do so could be grounds for dismissal. She requested an extension of her leave of absence from Dec. 23 to Jan. 27, 2020, and did not return to work on Dec. 27, 2019. A board of education resolution simultaneously denied that leave request and terminated Hudzik.

“At the end of the day, these are two separate entities, and I don’t think it’s fair to even speak about this. It is in the past. I was not accused of doing wrongdoing and I moved on,” Hudzik said.

JIMMY JULIAN

Julian, 30, is in the middle of his first full term on council.

He was appointed in March 2021 when Ryan McNaughton left and then went on to win re-election later that year.

Since last August, Julian has been the senior staffing manager at Corptemps Staffing in Niles. He is a 2011 graduate of Niles McKinley High School.

Julian said he has tried to be a “consensus builder” and said he gets along with a majority of council.

“We’re not always going to agree. That’s a good thing. It shows that we have different ways of thinking. You need diversity in that aspect in a legislative body,” Julian said.

“It’s also election season, so I think some of that animosity is intensified right now. I hope it doesn’t stay that way, but I’ll work with anyone to move this city forward.”

Julian said that council and the administration must work together, but he is proud of the progress the city has made on his platform from two years ago. He said this includes ensuring the safety forces are properly equip, attacking neighborhood blight, spending tax dollars wisely and making the city a family-friendly place to live.

If re-elected, Julian said he will continue to build upon these things.

The city has purchased 12 new police and two new fire vehicles over the last two years, Julian said, and Fire Station 8 has new doors.

He also noted that Niles was the first in the Mahoning Valley to get Flock cameras. These cameras help the police to track stolen vehicles that come into the city, as well as solve crimes that involve a vehicle.

Julian also said he is proud that 13 buildings have been torn down over the last two years in an effort to fight blight. “That all protects the property values of residents and business owners in our city,” Julian said.

Julian is council’s representative to the Niles Community Improvement Corporation, and is a Niles representative to the Trumbull County Council of Governments.

He said he wants to focus moving forward on the downtown.

“We have this demo coming up for the old theater building, and we need to bring in new businesses to replace those,” Julian said. “We need a variety of different ones that will help bring people to the downtown area, and help the businesses that are already there.”

As a younger member of council, Julian said he thinks he brings a fresh perspective to city government and wants to help the city be welcoming for young people. He said Niles has an aging population and it needs to find a way to bring in younger families.

“I think between our school system and bringing in new, good businesses to this area — that’s what’s going to encourage younger families to move here and become homeowners here,” Julian said.

He also said the bike trail and the river corridor are things that can draw new families to the city. He said he would like to see a kayak launch.

Although the city building has been brought up a lot recently, Julian said he has not personally heard any complaints. He said he does not think it is financially responsible to put a security guard or police officer in the city building, especially because of the security assessment that was done by the police department, which said the current operations are the safest.

While going door-to-door, Julian said the most common questions he gets from residents are about zoning and blight.

MICHAEL LASTIC

Lastic, 79, has served on council since 1999. He was the 2nd Ward councilman from 1999 to 2002, and has been an at-Large councilman since.

Lastic graduated from McKinley High School in 1961, received a bachelor’s in education from Kent State University in 1967 and a master’s in administration from Westminster College in 1970. He was a teacher and principal in Niles City Schools and retired in 2004.

Lastic said his experience is valuable. “New faces aren’t going to change a lot of things,” Lastic said. “Patience, confidence, doing the right thing, is what city council needs, and that’s where I’m at.”

He said council members have to be willing to listen to everyone and work out solutions in a respectful way.

While addressing some heightened tension on council as of late, Lastic said he thinks that is largely due to the election, as several council members are vying for a seat. “Some of them are a little more contentious, but I think once the election’s over and everyone’s in their place, that will die down,” Lastic said.

He said he likes to keep a low profile himself and doesn’t grandstand.

If re-elected, Lastic said one of his main priorities will be keeping the city fiscally sound.

He said he’s been through the city’s hard financial times and doesn’t want to go back.

Keeping that front of mind, Lastic said it is also important to build the city’s safety forces.

“Whatever new equipment is out there, let’s look at it. If we can afford it, let’s get it,” Lastic said. “Every day you look at the news and something crazy is going on in and around the area. They need whatever help they can get.”

Lastic said it is important that council help bring in new businesses whenever possible.

One thing Lastic said will always be a priority for him is flooding. He said some of the buildings in the city weren’t designed correctly and have problems, but noted that the ongoing effort to fix all of the city’s pump stations has been working.

Lastic said he agrees with how things operate at the city building, but said he made a mistake with Hartzell Avenue.

“People keep saying, ‘Well, 50 years ago we walked around city hall.’ I understand that, but it’s not the same today,” Lastic said. He said the building is not closed, but thinks there can be a middle ground found to make everyone happy.

With Hartzell Avenue, Lastic said he thinks cities he looked at for comparison about bike lanes were not similar enough to Niles. He said he knows not everyone on Hartzell is in support of the bike lanes. In the end, Lastic said the majority should win.

He admitted he hasn’t seen very many people use the bike lanes on Hartzell Avenue, but doesn’t think they should be taken away.

Lastic also noted that speeding still needs to be addressed on the street.

LINDA MARCHESE

Marchese, 71, has served on council as the 3rd Ward representative since 2014.

Before that, she worked more than 30 years at Packard Electric and retired in 2004. She is a 1970 graduate of Niles McKinley High School.

She said she decided to run for at-Large because she often gets calls from residents outside of her ward asking for help. Marchese said she wants to help the city to continue moving in the right direction.

“We have to build downtown Niles back up again. We have (Route) 422 and the mall and that’s fantastic, but to get our town like the others, we have to work on the downtown. Until some of the old stuff is gone, we won’t get business people in here wanting to develop.”

She said she will work with the rest of council, the mayor and the auditor to get developers what they need to come to the city.

Marchese said she thinks the city should be split into three areas, so each at-Large member has an area of focus.

“At-Large needs to help the ward council people. If they are in a problem area or are having a dispute where someone doesn’t agree with that council person, the council at-Large can come to assist that problem and work to a better solution,” Marchese said.

When the city was in financial emergency, she said council members worked great with each other to get the city out of that situation and she wants to see that level of cooperation again.

“There was a time when I first got elected that no roads could be paved. We had no money whatsoever. We were going day-to-day, stressed out about how we were going to pay people and how we were going to get things done,” Marchese said.

She said she is proud of the direction the city is going in now, and noted that more roads will be paved this year than ever before.

When council meetings get contentious, Marchese said she thinks there is “too much bullying going on.”

She said certain council members who were not there during financial emergency don’t understand how bad of a situation the city was once in.

“A couple of the candidates who are running now came in — I hate to say it — but on the better end of the deal. The money is back in the city. Things are being done. Did they do that? No. We worked very hard working with the city and the state. We worked together,” she said.

Now, she said there is too much grandstanding.

Going forward, she said she would like to see the city assist residents with sidewalk repairs and replacements. Marchese said getting the city a grant writer again is important to help find the money.

Marchese said she went door-to-door on Hartzell Avenue and heard from residents that they wanted their parking back. She said she helped get the no parking signs removed, but noted that there is still speeding on Hartzell that needs addressed.

She said she heard from residents that they think speed bumps would be a good idea for the road.

In terms of the city building, Marchese said she supports the current buzzer system. She acknowledged that as the pandemic was beginning to ease up, she thought the building should be open like it was before the pandemic, without the buzzer.

Marchese said she took a tour through the building and realized how much money was going in and out. “As far as the building being open, it is open,” Marchese said.

DOUG SOLLITTO

After having served three-and-a-half years as council’s 1st Ward member, Sollitto, 57, decided to try for an at-Large seat.

He is a 1984 graduate of Niles McKinley High School and has worked as a staff rep for the Ohio Civil Service Employees Association since 2011.

He said he decided to make the switch because he already works a lot in other wards. Sollitto said he is always available for any citizen.

“I thought it was time to go ahead and broaden the base because I don’t think it should be territorial,” Sollitto said. “If you’re on Niles City Council, you’re on Niles City Council. I do understand we have a ward distribution, but I think if someone needs help, you should be able to go help.”

He acknowledged that he doesn’t always agree with the administration and everyone on council, but said he does think the city is moving forward.

Sollitto said the point of council is to look at, and ask questions of every decision of the administration.

“I haven’t always agreed, me and the administration, nor do I believe we should,” Sollitto said. “We should have a checks and balance system. We have two different branches — the administration and the legislative branch. Anyone can walk in there and vote yes, but it is our job to ask questions and bring the residents concerns to them. Don’t say yes just to say yes, but don’t disagree just to disagree either.”

Sollitto said he does not think anyone on council bullies another member. He said there has been no physical violence or threats. He said he does not consider “aggressive representation” to be bullying.

He said he’s trying to make everyone is accountable. “I would rather be told I’m aggressive than do nothing,” Sollitto said.

He said he is disappointed that council did not initially listen to the residents on Hartzell Avenue, but said the “heat got too hot,” so they had to make a change.

He also said the city should listen to the residents and open the city building. Sollitto said the city court is open, so the administration building should be too.

Sollitto said he would be supportive of adding a security guard or police officer patrol the building, but the doors should be unlocked.

Since being on council, Sollitto said he’s proud of the road paving and park improvements. As a member of the public grounds committee, Sollitto said he helped get the first restroom in place at Kennedy Park.

“You can’t have softball games and stuff of that sort without restrooms, so I made that a priority,” he said.

Sollitto said he thinks the wellness center should look at lowering its rates for city residents. He said it would be nice to have free memberships, at least for school kids in the summer.