YOUNGSTOWN — Officials say the Mahoning County Board of Elections needs a new home. Youngstown residents want to be certain it remains within the city limits.

“Youngstown is still the county seat and has the most registered voters in the county. The essential offices of the county have always been located in the county seat,” said Rev. Ken Simon, pastor of New Bethel Baptist Church in Youngstown, and Chair of the Greater Youngstown Community Mobilization Coalition, which represents 25 African-American and Latin-X organizations.

Simon spoke about the issue at a recent Mahoning County commissioners meeting. In November, Commissioners Carol Rimedio-Righetti and David Ditzler voted to buy the former Infocision building on Patriot Boulevard in Austintown for $2.5 million, to centralize some county offices that already operate outside the city. The Board of Elections, which many say needs to be moved out of Oak Hill Renaissance Place, is one being considered for the new building.

But Simon’s group and others say that would disenfranchise a large portion of the county’s voters who already have difficulty with transportation.

“The first concern that has not been addressed is the fact that this move has been proposed and is being pushed by the Board of Elections without any public hearings or input from the residents of the county that it would affect the most,” Simon said. “We are not questioning the condition of (Oak Hill.) Our concern is why we are moving these essential services outside the county seat when there are plenty of options within the City of Youngstown to accommodate the needs of all the departments.”

Simon and Youngstown Councilwoman Anita Davis, D-6th Ward, said the move feels like a political attack as well.

“We are already dealing with a climate created by our national and state government that marginalizes minorities, people of color, and impoverished persons of all races in our nation, and is insensitive to the needs of the residents of our inner cities,” Simon said. “We do not expect our elected county commissioners to make critical decisions like this one, that affect the most vulnerable, in the same insensitive manner.”

Commissioner Geno DiFabio said that “just isn’t true.”

Davis countered.

“It may not be a reflection of the national (trend), but it sure does feel like the national (trend),” she said. “We are facing a decreased population, but we are still almost one-third of the county population. This idea to move this office out of Youngstown is so wrong.”

She said that regardless of their intention, the effect would be decisive.

“You’ve said you’re not trying to disenfranchise us. But if it goes out there, it will be disenfranchising us,” she said.

Davis said the move also certainly would affect election results.

“You saw what happened with this election, how close it was. Can you imagine if it had been out in Austintown? I have no doubt we would have a different election outcome,” she said.

PROBLEMS AT OAK HILL

Attorney Dave Betras, the chair and ranking Democrat on the Mahoning County Board of Elections, said there is no debate that Oak Hill is unsuitable.

“The building is unacceptable on every level,” he said. “We are sworn to preserve and protect the records and machinery. That is something that is not happening. We have to put tarps down on broken pipes. The building has been shut down multiple times. We’re the only county in Ohio I’m aware of that has to have a plan for catastrophic building failure.”

In March, the building was twice forced to close unexpectedly.

“What do we do when that happens the day before an election? We’re the only county that has to worry about that,” he said. “It’s only a matter of time. We’ve just been lucky up to this point.”

Betras called the conditions of the building “disgusting” and said the county employees who work there are unsung heroes.

“There’s a lot of work that goes into voting and we have a lot more hurdles to jump over to make it seem as seamless as it is. God bless the people who work there,” he said. “If our voters knew how bad it was, we would’ve moved a long time ago.”

Betras said the Mahoning County jail is in better condition.

“People’s expression of democracy is not as secure and updated as the facilities for people who commit crimes,” he said.

Simon said commissioners have asked him to submit suggestions for other buildings in the city.

On Thursday, he provided them with a list that includes: the Nathaniel Jones Federal Building at 10 E. Commerce St., the W.J. Cobbin Office Tower at 1350 Fifth Ave., the 21-acre site of the failed Chill Can factory on the lower East Side, the former Eastern Gateway Community College Building, or one of the newer Youngstown City School District buildings that will be abandoned when the district reconfigures over the summer. Simon also suggested building on new or vacant land downtown, or on the property adjacent to Oak Hill.

NO DECISIONS

Commissioner Anthony Traficanti said he wants to see the Board of Elections in a good home, but said it is a pain point for him that it needs to move from Oak Hill. Traficanti championed the building’s adaptation for county offices 16 years ago.

“We are looking at other options,” he said. “I’m the one who fought for Oak Hill and consolidated all those agencies. But the will of the board is to get out of there. I’d like to build a new facility in Youngstown, but it’s not going to happen overnight.”

In November, Traficanti voted against the purchase of the Patriot Building in Austintown.

“I was hesitant because I didn’t want to move Job and Family Services and the Board of Elections into that building,” he said. “The location is outside the city, there could be transportation issues for people who may be compromised, and it may discourage voters, and that was another issue I had.”

He said he also felt it was unfair not to wait for DiFabio, who had just been elected to replace Ditzler, not to have the opportunity to study the issue and make a decision as part of the board – a sentiment DiFabio echoed at Thursday’s meeting.

Commissioners all stated that no decision has been made and is a relatively long way off.

Simon and Davis offered another suggestion.

“Why don’t you have a hearing and request that the Board of Elections come to it and face all of us, their constituents?” Davis asked.