It is beyond time for Mahoning County Clerk of Courts Michael Ciccone to read the room — or in this case the entirety of the local political scene — and resign.

It should have happened last fall, when it became apparent in the wake of a scandal ignited after the firing of former deputy clerk of courts Jennifer Ciccone, that this man is not fit for office.

Jennifer Ciccone was fired Oct. 17 after a falling out with her former boss and friend. Hours later, she took to Facebook and posted several incriminating and embarrassing text messages from and photos of Michael Ciccone.

The scorched-earth, social-media barrage included examples of Michael Ciccone’s use of a racial epithet a number of times and slurs about other elected officials. The incident quickly prompted a bipartisan call from the chairmen of the Mahoning County Republican and Democratic parties for Michael Ciccone, a Republican, to resign.

The embattled politician said in an Oct. 19 statement that he would not resign and has made no public statement in the nine months since. The Vindicator’s David Skolnick reported that the two political parties announced Dec. 19 they would seek to remove him through legal action that started in January 2026.

Little has happened since until this week, when a former clerk of courts employee that Michael Ciccone fired Dec. 4 filed a lawsuit against her former boss, accusing him of racial discrimination, retaliation and having a hostile work environment.

Skolnick reported Thursday that Thais Scott of Girard, a former clerk of courts’ administrator who is black, filed the lawsuit in common pleas court. Scott is seeking back pay, lost future wages, restoration of lost benefits, emotional distress damages and damages to her professional reputation. She is represented by attorney Corey J. Grimm.

From Skolnick’s story Thursday:

Grimm wrote in the lawsuit that three days after Ciccone fired Jennifer Ciccone, the latter sent an email to Scott, which stated, in part, “Please be careful, I believe you are next and if you need anything, someone to talk to, (someone) to testify (or someone) to sign an affidavit, you let me know.”

The email contained an attachment of a text message exchange in which Michael Ciccone wrote to Jennifer Ciccone: “I think George would have been a better (N-word though it was spelled out), but I (expletive) up and trusted Thais. And (she’s) next to go,” according to the lawsuit.

The same text message exchange has Michael Ciccone referring to another black employee with “a racial slur and states that this employee had been fired,” according to the lawsuit.

On Oct. 21, the day after Scott received the email, she filed a complaint with the county’s human resources department about the racial slur, Ciccone’s statement about her being the “next to go,” and a claim of a hostile work environment in the clerk’s office, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit contends that, “No investigation, corrective action or meaningful response resulted from plaintiff’s human resource complaint” and that Michael Ciccone fired Scott without providing a reason or explanation for the termination. Grimm wrote in the lawsuit the firing was “racially motivated and without just cause and was made in bad faith.”

We hope Scott gets her day in court, and we again call for Michael Ciccone to finally do the right thing — something he seems to have been chronically unable to do since taking office — and put an end to the latest embarrassing and sordid episode in Mahoning Valley politics.

Don’t force your colleagues to collect thousands of signatures to trigger a court hearing to remove you, Mr. Ciccone. You’ve abused your office, your employees and the people of Mahoning County long enough. You are not a political outsider. At best, you’re a political hack and, at worst, a racist.

Do everyone a favor and resign now.