NILES — Trumbull County Democratic Party Chairman Mark Alberini criticized two Republican candidates — Dawn Zinni running for recorder and Randy Law for clerk of courts — for failing to pay court judgments.

Also, Law is regularly late paying county property taxes on a Warren house he owns at 1446 Clemmens Ave. NW since 2020. He owes $1,400 on the property as of Monday.

At a Monday news conference at Democratic Party headquarters in McKinley Heights, Alberini said Zinni and Law don’t “possess the qualifications, competency or personal responsibility to run” the county offices they are seeking.

Alberini said: “Democratic candidates present highly-qualified and trustworthy individuals while Republicans offer candidates marred by irresponsibility, questionable ethics and unmatched incompetence.”

Zinni is challenging incumbent Recorder Tod Latell in the Nov. 5 general election while Law is running against Democrat Jennefer Holland for the clerk of courts seat held by Karen Infante Allen, a Democrat who isn’t seeking another four-year term.

Zinni owes $102,759 in a court judgment and faces five other lawsuits, seeking more than $325,000, from her. The judgment and lawsuits stem from a failed trucking business Zinni ran for seven years.

Zinni said her business was “thriving” until the economy under President Joe Biden, a Democrat, forced her out of business.

“It truly has been through my own personal suffering and increased awareness that I decided there was a need for me to get involved in government,” she said last week when asked about the lawsuits.

She also said she was “confident the judgment will be reversed and these issues will be cleared up and rectified.”

In addition to his delinquent property taxes, Law has three outstanding judgment liens against him for $5,891 and resolved a separate lien of $1,348 against him in May 2021.

The smallest of those three liens is $86 that Law owes to the clerk of courts — the very office he’s seeking. Also, while online records show Law owes $264 to the clerk of courts, the office said that lien was closed in June 2019.

Law said he wasn’t aware of the two clerk of courts liens — for unpaid court fees — until a reporter informed him. Law had someone go into the clerk of courts office after the conversation with the reporter and learned the $264 lien was closed.

Law said because the other lien is so old, it was turned over to the state and he paid the $86 Monday.

“I didn’t know anything about them,” he said. “I wouldn’t be running for a job I owe money to.”

But the two other liens — $3,483 owed for charges in 2009 to the former Sears store and $2,322 to Chase Bank dating to 2010 — remain unpaid.

Law said he plans to sell the Warren house shortly and part of the purchase price is paying the delinquent property taxes.

Alberini said: “We are all expected to accept personal responsibility to pay our taxes. Personal responsibility is necessary to own a home and follow through to pay our taxes that support police and other critical services. Randy Law has been delinquent on his taxes and he is not fulfilling personal responsibility.”

Law said he’s “not making excuses” for owing money to the county and on liens.

“But to say, ‘I’m not qualified,’ I’m the most qualified candidate for the position,” Law said. “People are throwing bombs and that’s politics. It’s all fair game.”

On this newspaper’s candidate questionnaire Law checked the “no” box when asked if he’s ever been involved as a plaintiff or a defendant in any civil legal actions. Law said Monday it was an oversight on his party.

Trumbull Republican Party Chairman Mike Bollas said he doesn’t know about Zinni’s legal problems and declined to comment on them. But he said of Zinni: “She is competent to run for that office.”

Bollas said Law is a different matter.

Bollas declined to comment on Law’s legal issues, but said he is not supporting the clerk of courts candidate because he’s been critical of party leadership.

“I agree with the Democrats that he’s not competent to run for office,” Bollas said.

As for the rest of the Republican ticket in the county, Bollas said: “It’s a solid slate of good candidates.”

Law said he’s not concerned with Bollas’ comments and efforts to take him off the county party’s slate card were stopped by state Republicans.