YOUNGSTOWN — James Melone raised $23,203 in his bid to win the Democratic primary for Struthers Municipal Court judge.

Melone of Poland collected the money during the preprimary reporting period, which is Jan. 1 to April 12.

Incumbent Dominic R. Leone III of Struthers failed to file his report in a timely manner. Leone said he expected to turn in the report to the Mahoning County Board of Elections shortly.

Besides Democratic primaries for three Youngstown council seats, the judicial race is the only other elected position on the May 2 ballot.

The court’s jurisdiction includes Struthers, Lowellville, New Middletown, Springfield Township and Poland village and township.

The largest contributors to Melone, a county common pleas magistrate, during the preprimary period were Lynn C. Melone of Boardman, who gave $2,300, and Paranzino Enterprises of North Lima with $2,000.

Those of note who gave Melone money included $150 from the committee for Struthers Mayor Catherine Cercone Miller and $150 for the committee for county Prosecutor Gina DeGenova.

Melone spent $15,216 in the preprimary period with his largest expenses being $4,693 to City Printing of Youngstown for various campaign literature, $3,000 to Danny Thomas Jr. of Struthers to be his campaign manager and $2,215 to the Fireplace Restaurant in Poland for a fundraiser.

After expenses, Melone’s campaign had $7,987 in it as of April 12.

Melone also has outstanding debt of $765 for expenses the candidate paid during the preprimary period.

Republican Jennifer Ciccone of Poland will face the Democratic primary winner in the November general election.

YOUNGSTOWN COUNCIL

• Pat Kelly, who was appointed 5th Ward councilman by his ward’s Democratic precinct committee members on Jan. 7 to fill a vacancy, is running a self-funded campaign. He gave $10,000 to the campaign: $5,000 each on Jan. 20 and Feb. 14.

Kelly, director of security for the Youngstown school district, spent $9,737 during the preprimary period. That left him with $263 as of April 12.

Kelly’s largest expenses were $2,647 to City Printing for printed campaign materials and $1,943 to Infinity Design Advertising LLC of Warren for postcards, yard signs and letters.

He is being challenged in the Democratic primary by Carie Watson, a teacher at Youngstown Community School who unsuccessfully sought the appointment.

Watson raised $900 in the preprimary period including $150 from herself. She spent $319, which left her with $581 as of April 12.

There is no Republican challenger. Independents have until May 1 to file.

• In the 6th Ward, incumbent Democrat Anita Davis will face Janet Tarpley, a former councilwoman, in the primary.

Davis is running a self-funded campaign, giving it $4,000 on March 1. In her 2015 election, the first time she won a seat on council, Davis gave $14,500 to her campaign.

During the preprimary period, Davis spent $3,813: $1,502 to Sherman Productions of Youngstown for yard signs, $1,311 to City Printing for the printing of campaign literature and $1,000 to Event Management of Liberty to help coordinate her campaign literature.

She started the year with $184 in her fund. She had $371 in it as of April 12.

Tarpley raised $5,375 during the preprimary period with $2,000 coming from Johnnie Tarpley of Youngstown.

Tarpley’s campaign also received $250 from Lou D’Apolito, a retired county common pleas court judge who works as an assistant city law director, and $200 from fire Chief Barry Finley.

Tarpley received contributions from three former members of council: $300 from Annie Gillam, $100 from DeMaine Kitchen and $75 from Nate Pinkard as well as $150 from Anthony D’Apolito, a county common pleas court judge who used to work in the city law department.

There is no Republican challenger. Cheryl Findley of West Judson Avenue filed as an independent. The elections board won’t certify independents until after the May 1 filing deadline.

• In the 2nd Ward, incumbent Councilman Jimmy Hughes didn’t file a preprimary report. Only candidates who spend or raise at least $1,000 have to file preprimary reports. During his 2019 campaign, Hughes didn’t spend or raise any money during the preprimary period.

The preprimary report filed by Ra’Cole Taltoan, the challenger in that ward’s Democratic primary, showed she received $1,372 in contributions and loaned $278 to her campaign. Among her contributors was Tarpley, who gave her $150.

After expenses of $1,024, Taltoan had $626 in her campaign fund as of April 12.

There isn’t a Republican challenger and no one has filed yet as an independent candidate for the seat.

POLITICAL PARTIES

The county Republican Party’s preprimary report shows it has more than four times the amount of money in its fund compared to the Democratic Party.

The Republican Party raised $59,640 during the preprimary period with much of it coming from its Lincoln Day dinner March 10.

The party’s report listed 18 contributions of at least $1,000 with the largest being $10,000 from Pat Moran of Poland, co-owner of Window World of Youngstown.

Other contributions included $2,500 from Canfield businessman Chuck George and $2,025 from U.S. Rep. Bill Johnson, who represents Mahoning County.

The party spent $47,875 during the preprimary period with the largest expense being $20,353 to Premiere Speakers Bureau, which handled the booking of Tulsi Gabbard, a Fox News contributor and former congresswoman, as the dinner’s guest speaker.

The Republican Party had $41,405 in its account as of April 12, which also included carryover from previous periods and a $15,000 transfer.

The county Democratic Party raised $14,230 during the preprimary period and spent $12,073.

The party reported no one giving at least $1,000 during the period.

Its largest expense was $6,595 to Fusillo Catering for the Jan. 27 retirement dinner for former county Prosecutor Paul J. Gains.

As of April 12, the county Democratic Party had $10,009 in its fund, which included carryover from prior reporting periods.