Staff photo / Dan Pompili Mahoning County Prosecutor Gina DeGenova, left, swears in Mike Dockry on Wednesday as trustee in Austintown. Dockry, the township’s former administrator, replaces Steve Kent, who cannot continue to serve because of criminal conviction.

AUSTINTOWN — Township Trustees Robert Santos and Monica Deavers on Wednesday appointed former township Administrator Mike Dockry to join them on the board until Jan. 1.

Dockry replaces Steve Kent, who was convicted Monday of tampering with evidence, a third-degree felony. Mahoning County Prosecutor Gina DeGenova informed the township Tuesday the conviction immediately rendered Kent ineligible to keep his seat on the board.

Dockry served the township for more than 30 years, first as a fiscal officer and then for almost 30 years as township administrator before Mark D’Apolito took over the role.

“I expect now we’ll be able to put all this behind us and move forward with the business of the township,” Dockry said.

DeGenova was at the meeting to administer the oath of office and answer questions about the process of replacing Kent.

“I commend the board and officials here and administrator D’Apolito for moving so fast,” she said.

DeGenova said she has worked with Dockry for at least 18 years during her time at the prosecutor’s office and his time as administrator. “He is a wealth of information and will serve this community well along with the other trustees,” she said.

Under Ohio law, township officials had 30 days to appoint Kent’s replacement. If they could not do so, then the law authorizes the majority of the absent trustee’s campaign leaders, known as the committee of five, to name the trustee’s replacement.

However, Mahoning County Board of Elections officials said records show Kent listed no committee of five on his final nominating petition. Under the state code, the duty would then fall to Mahoning County Probate Judge Robert Rusu.

Trustees said that was never really a concern for Austintown.

“This is something that we’ve seen coming, and definitely we wanted to get ahead of the game so that we could get, as quickly as possible, back on track,” Santos said. “He (Dockry) was definitely the person to take on the position.”

Deavers agreed.

“Mike has a lot of knowledge and experience. I’m looking forward to working with him, and Mr. Santos and I agree that this was a great choice,” she said.

Santos said the possibility of appointing one of the candidates in November’s general election was discussed, but ultimately rejected.

“The reason we did not appoint any of the candidates that were running is that we wanted to ensure a fair and honest election,” he said.

Dockry said he is glad to serve, but made it clear he does not intend to continue as a trustee after January, and would not have accepted the position for a longer period. He will serve until the trustee elected in November is sworn in Jan. 1. Austintown has nine regular trustee meetings scheduled during that time.