YOUNGSTOWN — Renee DiSalvo, who has been Youngstown Municipal Court judge for seven years, is opposed by former longtime Mahoning County Assistant Prosecutor Marty Hume in the November election.

DiSalvo says the first of her top priorities if she is re-elected judge for another six years is to expand the GRACE (Growth Restored through Acceptance Change and Empowerment) Court she started several years ago to help victims of human trafficking leave a cycle of abuse that is typically fueled by drug addiction.

DiSalvo said that in 2023, when the GRACE Court had its first graduation, she started the program at the urging of members of the Mahoning Valley Human Trafficking Task Force, who showed DiSalvo statistics on human trafficking in Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley.

She visited other human trafficking courts to learn how they work and then started the first human trafficking court in the area.

Typically, it involves a woman and typically results in the person pleading guilty to charges and prosecutors dismissing some charges if they successfully complete a treatment program.

DiSalvo told The Vindicator for this story that expansion of the court could include “securing more safe housing for our survivors / graduates, as well as more opportunity for job or educational training.”

She stated that “These areas need to be enlarged to give our graduates the resources to thrive. Housing and viable employment opportunities are a challenge … in our area. I will continue working with Flying High, Youngstown State University, Goodwill, Free 3, Home for Good and our other area partners. I have revised our coordinator responsibilities for 2026 to include business outreach to secure more employment opportunities.”

She also wants to expand awareness of human trafficking by engaging more churches, service organizations, agencies, schools and community groups in discussions and to hold training and awareness programs with her GRACE Court team.

CHALLENGER

Hume, meanwhile, who worked 24 years as a county assistant prosecutor and four years as Youngstown law director, says public safety would be his first priority if he were elected Youngstown Municipal Court judge.

“I will work to reduce violent crime and deaths in our city by using 24 years experience as a prosecutor to hold offenders accountable and protect our citizens. I will be firm but fair, using my experience to determine which offenders are likely to respond favorably to rehabilitative treatment and those that will not.”

He also wants to address housing issues in Youngstown by establishing a Housing Court “to help keep housing affordable, safe and compliant with the city’s Property Maintenance Code.” The Housing Court “will increase efficiency by enabling city housing inspectors to have all their cases in one session to give them more time to dedicate to being out in the community doing inspections.”

He said it also would be a convenience to landlords and tenants, who would have their cases heard quickly.

“It will make enforcing compliance with the Property Maintenance Code a priority to increase the value of real estate throughout the city,” Hume told the Vindicator for this story.

He also stated that he will make Youngstown Municipal Court more accessible to the public by “introducing a night court session, so people do not have to lose time from work to come to court. Warren Municipal Court recently successfully instituted night court and Youngstown should do the same. I am willing to spend more time on the bench to make it easier for citizens to obtain access to justice,” Hume stated.

Hume challenged DiSalvo for the same judgeship in 2019, receiving 32.3% of the vote to DiSalvo’s 42.6% and Mark Hanni’s 25%.

Hume also lost in the 2011 election for Girard Municipal Court to Jeff Adler and lost a bid for 11th District Court of Appeals judge in 1998.

DISALVO

DiSalvo also has worked toward creation of a misdemeanor mental health diversion program for Youngstown Municipal Court after former Ohio Supreme Court Justice Evelyn Lundberg Stratton connected DiSalvo to the Ohio Attorney General’s Task Force on Criminal Justice and Mental Health and the Ohio Attorney General’s Task Force on Competency Restoration and Probate, DiSalvo said.

DiSalvo’s efforts included participating in a Mahoning countywide meeting involving the Mahoning County Mental Health and Recovery Board and both attorney general task forces, mayors, council members, legislators and others “to discuss our current mental health challenges and need for improvement.”

She hopes to start the misdemeanor mental health diversion program by the end of 2026 and to “remain an active part of the county initiative to improve our mental health resources to stop the criminalization of mental illness and help reduce misdemeanor recidivism, she stated.