Austintown leaders stress no shame in name of new trustee

AUSTINTOWN -- Shakespeare once asked: What's in a name?

In Mahoning County politics, the answer can be: quite a lot.

That's why officials in Austintown feel it is important to distinguish between the township's newly appointed trustee and other county politicians of a similar name.

At Monday's meeting, trustees Monica Deavers and Bruce Shepas appointed State Farm Insurance agent Jamie Ciccone to join them on the board, filling the seat vacated last month by Robert Santos, who accepted a position with Mahoning County.

In discussing the appointment, township officials unanimously emphasized that Ciccone bears no relation to embattled Mahoning County Clerk of Courts Michael P. Ciccone, nor to his former chief of staff and chief deputy clerk Jennifer Ciccone. Those two also are not related to each other.

The Vindicator has chronicled the drama unfolding in Michael Ciccone's office over the past year, beginning in October with the firing of Jennifer Ciccone, who then publicly released private messages showing alleged misconduct by Michael. Since then, he has been subject to disciplinary action by the Ohio Clerk of Courts Association and Mahoning County commissioners, as well as a bipartisan effort from county Republicans and Democrats to remove him from office. In recent weeks, more allegations have emerged about Michael Ciccone creating a hostile work environment, using racist language and improperly firing employees, likely for racist motives. Civil suits have been filed against him by Jennifer Ciccone and former administrator Thais Scott.

For these reasons and more, township officials and Jamie Ciccone said they feel it is important to distance her family from Michael and Jennifer's families.

"It's unusual that we would have to distinguish her from other officeholders with a similar name," said Austintown Township Administrator Mark D'Apolito. "But she's a well qualified business owner in the township, she has spent a significant number of years in Mahoning County, and I look forward to working with her as my new trustee. I think she'll show her dedication to the community. She has always made it a point to support local programs and causes, and to donate money and her time, and I think it speaks volumes to her character."

Officials say Jamie Ciccone's reputation has been well established over more than three decades in the Valley -- perhaps the only knock to her Austintown bona fides being her 1998 graduation from Boardman close-knit, however. While she does have a sister named Jennifer, she said, her family shares no known familial ties with either of the other Ciccones in the Valley.

"In the early '90s, my family moved to Ohio when General Motors shut down their Van Nuys, California, plant and transferred my dad to Lordstown," Ciccone said. "Although I was born in California and spent the first 13 years of my life there, I have been in Ohio for over 30 years now."

Ciccone provided a photo of her family standing with her at Austintown Township Hall on Monday after her appointment was announced.

"The people in this photo are the only people I am related to in Ohio," she said.

The surnames also are pronounced differently depending on the family in question. Michael and Jamie both pronounce it "chick-coney" while others sometimes pronounce the name as "chick-cone."

"I always say I pronounce it the way Madonna pronounces it, the right way," Jamie said.

Indeed, the pop icon was born Madonna Louise Ciccone. Her family are Abbruzzese, however, while Jamie's family are from Buccino, in the south of Italy.

Similar or identical names among unrelated families is not an entirely uncommon problem for Italian-Americans in the Mahoning Valley, any more than it is for those named Smith or Jones. For example, a Vindicator reporter and his family are often asked about ties to the Pompili family in Hubbard. There is no known relation.

An internet search reveals that Ciccone is like many Italian last names, in that it likely originated as a nickname. It comes from the Italian word cicco, a medieval nickname related to Francesco. By adding the suffix "-one," it roughly translates to "descendant of Cicco." Ciccones tend to hail from central and southern Italy, especially Abruzzi, Molise, Lazio, Campania and parts of Puglia. These same regions sent many immigrants to Ohio and Pennsylvania in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Much of the Mahoning Valley's large Italian-American population has roots in Abruzzi, Molise and Campania, so having multiple unrelated families named Ciccone is not unusual.

D'Apolito, on the other hand, cannot escape his ties to a name that is almost synonymous with Mahoning County politics. Nor does he wish to. Most of his relatives seem to end up on the judiciary bench -- his uncle, Canfield Township Administrator and former Mahoning County Common Pleas and 7th District Court of Appeals Judge David; cousin, Common Pleas Court Judge Anthony; and his dad's first cousin and Anthony's father, retired Common Pleas Court Judge Lou. Mark is now seeking the bench in November, running against Ross Smith for Judge Scott Krichbaum's seat.

"There's a common lineage amongst us and with that is a shared sense of responsibility and passion for our community, a sense of place," D'Apolito said. "I left to go to school but I knew I wanted to come home and serve locally. That was more than coming home -- it was a sense of responsibility to my hometown and I think that I will always strive in any role to make Mahoning County and Austintown Township proud."

D'Apolito said he grew up watching other mentors serve the community with the D'Apolito name, in local police and fire departments, including his cousin Anthony, who died last year.

Cousins Ronnie and Stevie were police and fire employees.

"Their influence on my sense of place is really profound," D'Apolito said. "I watched what they did for our community and that gave me a calling to public service."

For Ciccone, name recognition may not be as much a luxurynow as what D'Apolito enjoys, but she doesn't plan to let it stand in her way.

"I'm asked the second I say my name; I don't bring it up first," she said. "I'm happy to differentiate, and I'm sure it's an unspoken understanding of why."