Staff photo / R. Michael Semple Trumbull County Commissioner-elect Rick Hernandez, left, and supporter Matthew Griggs of Warren Township wait for election results Tuesday. Hernandez, a Republican and current Hubbard Township trustee, ended up winning over former commissioner Dan Polivka, a Democrat, with 56% of the vote, according to unofficial results from the Trumbull County Board of Elections.

WARREN — The Trumbull County Board of Commissioners will be an all-Republican group for the first time in history come January, but that’s not all that makes the trio special.

Rick Hernandez defeating Democrat and former commissioner Dan Polivka and Tony Bernard beating Democrat Mauro Cantalamessa opens the path to an inexperienced and young board.

Denny Malloy, who was voted president of the board when he joined it two years ago and was reelected this year, said losing Cantalamessa is a big hole for them and credited his colleague with helping him to navigate the position. However, he said Hernandez and Bernard bring together a “fresh new vision.”

“There’s a lot going on in Trumbull County economically and now literally the county has flipped; every office except for the prosecutor is now conservative, is now Republican,” Malloy said. “Not that that really matters, because once you’re in there, our job is to serve all constituents. We’re not discussing abortion, social welfare, we’re not discussing many of the big political issues.”

Malloy said everyone being on the “same team” moving forward will create good communication between offices.

Malloy credited the previous board for its strong financial situation, but expects the biggest challenge moving forward will be helping the newly elected commissioners get acclimated.

“We’ve got a bunch of whole new people that have never been through a budget cycle and they, every one of them, is going to work differently than their predecessors,” Malloy said. “So we have to figure out how to tailor our budget to make sure we don’t run out of money at the end of the year and everybody still provides the same great service at the end of the year.”

Malloy said having all-Republican representatives can only help them when it comes to securing funds and working with the state.

“It feels like now we’re dealing with family members; we can pick the phone up and get a return call from the governor’s office and JobsOhio. The auditor’s office, the Secretary of State, the whole slate is Republican,” Malloy said. “This is going to pave the road for us and make it easier for us to hopefully obtain more state funding for our county.”

For Hernandez, a Hubbard Township trustee since 2017, and Bernard, who was last commissioner 50 years ago, both are making jumps into different, yet partially unfamiliar, environments.

But Malloy sees it as an asset.

“People don’t like politicians. Nobody formally accused me, Tony or Rick of being seasoned politicians; we’re not. We all came from the private sector and it isn’t like any of us have a career in government. This is all new to all of us, in a lot of ways,” Malloy said. “So I think the public will accept that we’re just average people.”

Malloy believes Hernandez’s experience as co-owner of Hern Motors and partner of the Hern Brothers Band shows his experience with marketing, and people can appreciate Bernard’s experience outside of politics.

“He knows how to sell things to the people, sell programs that we initiate, our policies that we have. You know, this is going to be great for that,” Malloy said. “Tony has 50 years of experience outside of politics that people can appreciate. This isn’t just another politician coming up with some political trick.”

Malloy said he hasn’t spoken to Cantalamessa since his loss, but he expects him to be at their workshop meeting on Wednesday. He expects Trumbull County Recorder Tod Latell and the other incumbents to do their part to the end as well.

“I believe they’re all going to finish strong and do their part to serve the community. They should be thanked for their service,” Malloy said.

For Hernandez, who has let the win sink in, he reiterated Malloy’s desire to work with both parties across the board, and is looking forward to working with Malloy, with whom he became close fter losing to him in the primary nearly two years ago. He hopes to form a similar relationship with Bernard.

Hernandez intends to come through on his promise to look into improving the county’s public transportation system, noting he’s looked into other areas, such as Delaware County, who have implemented an Uber-like ride system at a rate of $2 a ride.

But his number one priority, like Bernard, is to unify the commissioners’ office.

“Make it so that it is a friendly environment to visit and to get something done when they make a phone call or (try to) get a phone call back, and that’s just how I work,” Hernandez said. “I’m the type of person when somebody calls and they have an issue, I gravitate toward their needs and the issue. I look forward to doing that on a county level.”

Bernard, who noted the close eye he’s had on the commissioners’ meetings at his candidate interview last month, said he hopes the atmosphere will be much different than it is today on day one.

“Rick and I both realized, you know what? We were out there knocking on doors and listening to the people and that people want to change,” Bernard said. “And the reason they wanted to change was because they weren’t happy with what was going on.”

Bernard plans to ask questions about the budget, which has been a concern for him.

“My main concern is the budget. You know where we are with this budget. Trumbull County, you know, they went through $38 million of ARP funds,” Bernard said. “And I’m concerned that our general fund is tapped out and I hope I’m wrong. But you know what? I’m gonna start asking some questions.”