YOUNGSTOWN — Three Republicans are vying to be the party’s nominee for Mahoning County commissioner, while state Rep. Lauren McNally won’t face opposition in the Democratic primary for the position.

Republicans filing by Wednesday’s deadline for commissioner were Canfield Mayor Don Dragish, Canfield City Council President Christine Oliver and Austintown trustee Bruce N. Shepas.

Commissioner Carol Rimedio-Righetti, a Democrat who is serving her fourth four-year term, isn’t seeking reelection. She threw her support behind McNally of Youngstown, who is in her second two-year term in the Ohio House.

Candidates and issues that filed by Wednesday’s deadline for the May 5 primary need to have their petitions certified by the county board of elections. The board is meeting at 5:30 p.m. Feb. 17 to certify.

Two other Republicans who were considering running for commissioner chose not to file. They are county Recorder Richard S. Scarsella of Boardman and Mike Young of Berlin.

In the Republican primary for county auditor, incumbent Ralph T. Meacham of Lake Milton, who is seeking his fourth four-year term, drew a challenge from Zachary Miller, a Youngstown attorney.

Miller said he was running because “property taxes are the blood supply of the local swamp. My plan is to drain the swamp by launching a full-scale attack against property taxes on all fronts.”

The lone Democrat to file for auditor was Dalton Bosze of Austintown.

With McNally not seeking reelection to her seat representing the 58th Ohio House District, three Democrats filed to replace her.

They are John Boccieri of Poland, Basia Adamczak of Youngstown and Jordan Pegues of Austintown.

Boccieri was first elected to the Ohio House in 2000, serving three terms until he was elected in 2006 to the state Senate. Boccieri won a Stark County-based U.S. House seat in 2008 and lost reelection in 2010. He was appointed in September 2015 to a vacant Ohio House spot, won election in 2016 and lost in 2018 to Republican Michael Rulli for a state Senate seat.

Adamczak served two terms on Youngstown council before losing reelection in 2023.

Pegues is project specialist for Westco International and has never run for elected office before.

The lone Republican who filed for the House seat is Heather Fronk of Poland, founder of Clothed In Strength and a first-time candidate.

The district favors Democrats by more than 21% based on partisan statewide voting results between 2014 and 2022.

JUDICIAL RACES

If candidates are certified by the board, there will be contested Republican primaries for two common pleas court general division seats, domestic relations and two spots on the 7th District Court of Appeals.

With Common Pleas Court Judge John M. Durkin not seeking reelection, Republicans Anissa Modarelli of Canfield, the assistant county prosecutor in Durkin’s court, and Ralph Rivera of Boardman, also an assistant county prosecutor, filed for the GOP primary. J. Michael Thompson, an attorney and president of Poland Village Council filed as a Democrat.

Common Pleas Court Judge R. Scott Krichbaum cannot seek reelection because of the state’s age-limit law for judges. Republicans filing to succeed him were Ross T. Smith of Boardman, Krichbaum’s new magistrate, and attorney Eddie Gzopu of Boardman. Austintown Township Administrator Mark D’Apolito of Canfield is the only Democrat who filed for the judicial position.

Domestic Relations Court Judge Beth A. Smith cannot run for reelection because of the state’s age-limit law.

Two Republicans — Kathleen Bartlett of North Jackson and Mark DeVicchio of Boardman — will meet in the May 5 primary for the party’s nomination. Terry A. Grenga of Youngstown, who has a law practice in Canfield, is the lone Democrat to file for the position.

In the 7th District Court of Appeals, Judge Carol Ann Robb cannot run for reelection because of the state’s age-limit law and Judge Cheryl Waite isn’t seeking reelection.

The court, based in Youngstown, has jurisdiction over Mahoning, Columbiana, Belmont, Carroll, Harrison, Jefferson, Monroe and Noble counties.

The Republican-controlled state Legislature passed a law, effective with the 2022 election, that requires party affiliation on the ballot for those running for seats on the court of appeals and the Ohio Supreme Court. Before that, candidates ran in party primaries and then didn’t have political affiliation in the general election.

Since then, Republicans have won every judicial race for the Ohio Supreme Court, the 7th District Court of Appeals and the Warren-based 11th District Court of Appeals.

Democrats didn’t field candidates in the 7th or the 11th appeals court races in 2024 and didn’t again this year. Waite, a Democrat, is retiring after her current term ends.

For Waite’s position, the Republican primary is between David Comstock of Poland, a longtime attorney and Western Reserve Joint Fire District chief, and Mark Anthony Hanni of Canfield, who is a sitting judge on the appeals court.

Hanni was elected in 2022 and cannot run in 2028 for another term because of the age-limit restriction on judges.

If Hanni is elected, he would be able to stay on the appeals court for an additional four years. If he loses, he would keep his current position.

Hanni said: “Next year, I will be the senior judge having only three years of experience. That is a red flag I cannot ignore. To make our productivity improvements a permanent part of the 7th District Court of Appeals, I have decided that I need at least three additional years in office to accomplish that goal in order to mentor new judges and staff coming in.”

For Robb’s seat, the Republican race is between Mahoning County Area Court Judge Molly K. Johnson of Canfield and Donald P. Scott of Canfield.

Johnson was first elected judge in 2018 and reelected six years later. She is also a civil litigator with her family’s law firm in Canfield.

An attorney, Scott is a retired Youngstown police officer and retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel. He unsuccessfully ran in 2021 as an independent for Youngstown council president and two years earlier for council’s 7th Ward seat, when he lived in the city.

Scott said: “Our courts are not for sale. And I’m running to make sure they never are.”