WARREN — A rematch between Trumbull County Engineer Randy Smith and former engineer David DeChristofaro will take place during next week’s election.

Smith has been the county engineer since 2011 when he replaced DeChristofaro, who resigned from office. On July 26, 2011, DeChristofaro pleaded guilty to charges of felony theft and misdemeanor conflict of interest. He was accused of using materials from his county office to send thank-you notes and Christmas cards to Democratic precinct committee members.

In July 2016, the charges were sealed and expunged from court records because DeChristofaro was a first-time offender and has not gotten into further legal trouble. Smith’s time as county engineer has not been without controversy.

In 2018, a former employee, Kenneth Kubala, accused the engineer of creating a “sexually hostile work environment.” In June 2023, in spite of Smith’s objections, the County Risk Sharing Authority, also known as CORSA, paid $150,000 to settle the complaint prior to it going to trial.

“I was opposed to that settlement,” Smith said during a recent interview. “I wanted my day in court, so we could get to the bottom line.”

Smith in 2021 also was cleared in an ethics investigation conducted by the Ohio Ethics Commission.

The investigation against Smith was thought to begin on the morning of April 3, 2014, when state agents spent more than two hours searching records in his North River Road offices. As many as a half- dozen investigators from Ohio BCI were acting on a sealed search warrant.

At the time, a spokesman for now-Gov. Mike DeWine, who was attorney general, said the search was part of an ongoing ethics probe into Smith’s actions.

After the completion of the investigation, Smith said, “From the outset of this inquiry, I was confident the outcome would confirm that my conduct was at all times ethical and in compliance with Ohio law.”

DAVID DECHRISTOFARO

DeChristofaro unsuccessfully sought reelection to the county office against Smith in 2020.

If elected, DeChristofaro emphasized one of his first goals would be to reestablish better employee-management relationships in the engineer’s office.

“To encourage learning, to recognize performance and to promote longevity in order to retain skilled employees,” DeChristofaro said. “Having more skilled operators and laborers will allow us to perform more quality maintenance work with the same number of employees.”

DeChristofaro, a Republican, noted that during his two-and-a-half-years as the county engineer, he set out to establish better working relationships with all cities, villages and townships in Trumbull County by setting up weekly meetings to discuss their needs.

In a 2009 Intergovernmental Cooperative Initiative that DeChristofaro created, he set out a plan to construct a truck wash and a salt dome for the storage of road salt, but was not able to complete these projects before being forced to leave office.

“My second priority is to continue to expand the local intergovernmental services that I started when it is meaningful and economical by listening to the needs of township and cities,” DeChristofaro wrote in his candidate questionnaire.

DeChristofaro noted he will work hard to secure at least a portion of approximately 20 local, state and federal grants to help pay for improving the county’s infrastructure.

“Nearly all of these grants require local matching funds of 10 to 20% from the engineer’s budget,” he said.

Some of the local match money would come from establishing a leaner staff in the engineer’s office. He argued that Smith has had too many former politicians working as assistants in his office.

DeChristofaro has been the owner of David DeChristofaro Associates LLC since 1983. The company does real estate development, as well as consulting and infrastructure planning, design and development. He worked in various engineering and development positions with the Cafaro Company from October 1986 through June 2009. He was a part-time city engineer in Niles from July 1995 to December 2008.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and a Master of Business Administration degree, both from Youngstown State University.

RANDY SMITH

In 2008, Smith lost the race for county engineer to DeChristofaro. However, he replaced DeChristofaro in 2011 and has won every reelection campaign since then.

Smith, a Democrat, emphasized his willingness to work with anyone of any political party to complete the work of the engineer’s office.

During his time in office, Smith said his team has rehabilitated or replaced more than 100 bridges, representing approximately 26% of the county’s 378-bridge inventory.

“There currently are 15 bridges in Trumbull County with weight restrictions,” Smith said. “Some of these weight restrictions are due to deterioration and some are due to the original design of the bridges.”

Smith said his department has a five-year, more than $20 million plan to do work needed to address 24 county road and bridge projects. The money for these projects already has been set aside.

Smith said he has been able to continue infrastructure improvements in the county without seeking additional permissive tax revenues. The engineer’s office is primarily funded with money raised from the state gasoline taxes and from license plate fees.

The department has an average annual budget of between $10 million and $11 million, not including federal pass through funds.

“I have never sought additional tax dollars from Trumbull County residents, nor do I have any intention to do so,” Smith said.

He emphasized that a critical function of the office is to provide infrastructure improvements that promote public safety.

“We have partnered with various state and regional agencies, along with local governments, to study, fund, design and construct a numerous array of projects,” Smith said.

Smith noted he has worked to foster greater sharing of resources and collaboration with local communities. He recently worked with various communities to help them get American Rescue Plan funds for road projects approved. Smith has worked with the commissioners and others to create a Transportation Improvement District in Trumbull County.

TIDs are state-approved organizations that allow communities to seek state grants designed to promote economic development through job creation, job retention and private-sector capital investment. Its funding can be used on all publicly owned Ohio roads.

Smith described his office as being on the forefront of collaboration with area townships and villages in getting things done.

Smith has a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Youngstown State University, an Associate of Applied Science in surveying and construction from the University of Akron and a Bachelor of Science in surveying and mapping from the University of Akron.

He worked for 15 years in the county’s engineering office, working his way from a summer intern to its deputy engineer. He also worked for 10 years in private practice as an engineer and surveyor.