Trending
YOUNGSTOWN -- The Mahoning County Board of Elections’ new home will bear the name of a woman who dedicated more than three decades to overseeing elections in the county.
The Board of Mahoning County Commissioners on Thursday recognized the late Joyce Kale-Pesta, former elections director and long-time Democratic Party leader, with a proclamation naming the former Williamson Elementary School building in her honor.
Kale-Pesta’s husband Thomas Pesta, sister Sharon Sabatka, and son Robbie Kale, accepted the proclamation during the commissioners’ meeting.
The Board of Elections is preparing to relocate to the former Williamson Elementary School after the Western Reserve Port Authority paid $900,000 for the building. The Vindicator reported Sept. 9 that county commissioners, the WRPA and the Youngstown City School District were finalizing plans for the board of elections to relocate to the former school at 58 Williamson Ave. on the city’s South Side.
Commissioner Anthony Traficanti said naming the building for Kale-Pesta recognizes both her years of service and her commitment to ensuring elections were conducted properly.
He said Kale-Pesta’s knowledge, dedication and willingness to help others made her an invaluable resource to candidates and election officials throughout Mahoning County.
Traficanti proposed naming the building for Kale-Pesta during a meeting two weeks earlier. Commissioners Geno DiFabio and Carol Rimedio-Righetti supported the proposal.
Traficanti said Kale-Pesta was a fixture at the Board of Elections and possessed an extraordinary understanding of election law and procedures.
“She was like the mother of boards of elections,” he said.
Traficanti said he has known Kale-Pesta for about 30 years and recalled relying on her expertise when filing his own election petitions.
Traficanti said he made it a practice never to submit petitions without first having Kale-Pesta examine them after a friend advised him to take his first petition to her.
“Thank God I did,” he said. "She discovered a bunch of errors and other issues. I never would have made it onto the ballot."
He said Kale-Pesta’s priority was protecting the integrity of elections and helping candidates, regardless of party affiliation, ensure they followed the rules and completed their paperwork.
Traficanti said his only regret was that commissioners had not thought to honor her while she was alive.
Kale-Pesta began her political career in 1978 as secretary of the Mahoning County Democratic Party. She held several positions within the organization and was elected party chairwoman in 2019.
She joined the Board of Elections in 1988 and rose through the ranks to become deputy director and director. She retired in 2021 and later served as a member of the board.
Her work earned statewide recognition. She was named Ohio Democratic Election Official of the Year in 2013 and was inducted into the League of Women Voters Hall of Fame in 2016 and the Democratic Party Hall of Fame in 2017.
Kale-Pesta also was active in the John F. Kennedy Democratic Women’s Club, which named her its Woman of the Year in 1988.