YOUNGSTOWN – The Mahoning County Board of Elections will again have to determine if John White is permitted to run for Youngstown mayor – and is expected to, as it did in 2021, heavily rely on the legal opinion of the city’s law director.

White of Mount Vernon Avenue recently filed with the board to run as an independent for mayor – something he’s planned for several months.

On June 12, 2021, Jeff Limbian, then the city’s law director, ruled White wasn’t eligible to be a Youngstown mayoral candidate based on his interpretation of the city charter and state law. The board of elections agreed with the decision on July 6, 2021, and didn’t certify White to the ballot. Kenneth D. Myers, then White’s attorney, objected.

At the time, Myers threatened legal action, but the matter was dropped when it was discovered that White had voted in the Democratic primary after filing as an independent for mayor. Voting in a partisan primary after filing as an independent in Ohio disqualifies a candidate from running.

The board voted 4-0 to not certify White for voting in the primary and for violating the city charter.

The charter reads: “The mayor shall be an elector and resident of the city for the five years immediately preceding the mayor’s election, and not less than 30 years of age.”

White registered to vote Feb. 5, 2021. Shortly after that, he said he hadn’t voted in about 30 years.

The 2021 registration means White hasn’t been an elector of Youngstown for the five years immediately before this year’s election.

White texted Thursday: “I registered in 2020 and the position doesn’t take effect until 2026. I would recommend you follow up with the board of elections as I have.”

White texted he spoke to Tom McCabe, Mahoning elections director.

McCabe said he’s spoken to White about having enough valid signatures and not voting in the Democratic primary – just as he would for any potential candidate – but he’s never had a discussion with him about being a qualified elector under the city charter.

Regarding being a qualified elector in Youngstown, McCabe said of White: “It’s a hurdle he’s going to have to overcome. I don’t have a vote or a say in this. It’s up to the board. Our records show he registered Feb. 5, 2021. We’re looking into the registration, but our records show 2021. That’s four years, not five.”

White declined to respond further, except to text: “I wish The Vindicator would just leave my name out of all (their) articles,” and “no need to mention my name or anything about me. News is one-sided.”

McCabe said the board would seek an opinion from the Youngstown law director before considering White’s certification as a mayoral candidate. July 15 is the deadline to certify independent candidates to the Nov. 4 ballot.

City Law Director Lori Shells Simmons said she plans to look at the White eligibility issue and will provide the board a legal opinion if it requests one. She had no initial reaction Thursday to the matter.

In the June 2021 decision, Limbian wrote because White wasn’t an elector until Feb. 4, 2021: “This would plainly disqualify him from being an eligible Youngstown mayoral candidate because he fails to meet the five years electoral status requirements.”

Limbian also cited a 1988 Ohio Supreme Court case regarding the city charter of Oregon in Lucas County that required the clerk-auditor to “have been continuously a resident and a qualified elector of the city for two years prior to his election.” In that case, Limbian wrote, the court concluded a person was eligible if he “had been both continuously registered and a resident of the city for two years.”

In a response letter, Myers wrote that “a common-sense reading of that section (of the city charter) is that a person has to be 1) an elector, and 2) a resident of the city for five years. If the framers of the charter had intended for the requirements to be 1) an elector for five years and 2) a resident of the city for five years, they would have written it that way.”

Myers also said Limbian’s interpretation was in direct conflict with the Ohio Constitution and Ohio Revised Code.

In a Wednesday Facebook post, White wrote: “Why am I running as an independent, you ask? Because this is local government, focused on the issues that affect our lives very personally on a daily basis. Foreign wards, trade deals and border security are all important issues, but at the end of the day, they are beyond what we can control. My focus is on the roads, crime, water rates and taxes. We need an administration that protects and serves the community in Youngstown today, yesterday and tomorrow. Together, we can bring Republicans, Democrats and independents to the table for a better Youngstown. I’m running as an independent to bring everyone, regardless of race, religion or culture, to the table. Let’s eat!”

White has sent mailers to city residents saying he “voted Democrat on issues that matter to you” and is “supported by most Democrats.” The mailers also use the official Democratic Party logo of a blue D surrounded by a blue circle.

Mahoning County Democratic Party Chairman Chris Anderson said: “The idea that John White is supportive of the principles of the Democratic Party is laughable. How could he have voted with Democratic principles when he’s never held office or voted on anything? Also, anyone who said he’s aligned with Democrats would never set foot in a fundraiser headlined by Vivek Ramaswamy, who wants to end Social Security and Medicare?”

White attended the county Republican Party’s April 3 Lincoln Day dinner with Ramaswamy as the keynote speaker.

White’s wife, Amber, who also attended the Republican dinner, became the first independent candidate to win a Youngstown council race in 28 years when she was elected in 2023 to represent the 7th Ward.

Besides White, Aleesha Foster has filed to run as an independent candidate for Youngstown mayor. Foster had previously said she was going to run for mayor to change the city’s direction. Her son, Charles E. Allen Jr., 27, was killed inside a nightclub on April 3, 2021.

The filing deadline for independent candidates is Monday.

Derrick McDowell, founder of the Youngstown Flea, said he will file nominating petitions before the deadline to seek the mayoral seat as an independent.

Tuesday is the Democratic primary between incumbent Mayor Jamael Tito Brown and 3rd Ward Councilwoman Samantha Turner. No Republicans filed for mayor.