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David Skolnick

Acton rolls out endorsements with Ryan’s candidacy looming

With Democrat Tim Ryan on a self-imposed Sept. 30 deadline to decide if he’s going to run for governor, Amy Acton, the lone declared Democrat for the position, is rolling out endorsements. The endorsements, including some locally, likely won’t impact Ryan’s decision. But it’s an effort to show Acton has support and isn’t going anywhere, even if the former 20-year congressman, who used to represent the Mahoning Valley in the U.S. House, enters the gubernatorial race. It’s no coincidence that the endorsements started coming out right after it was initially reported Aug. 12 ...

Many Valley candidates run slipshod over ballot petitions

Filling out nominating petitions, particularly if it’s your first time running for elected office, can be confusing for some. That’s why the boards of elections in Mahoning and Trumbull counties provide candidates with information about what needs to be filled out in order to qualify for the ballot. Yet still a number of potential candidates don’t bother to accept the generosity of the boards, which are trying to help them. Instead, plenty of candidates print nominating petitions off websites, rather than pick them up at the board. They run the risk of filling them out ...

Ohio Legislature searches for property tax answers

Though there are enough Republicans in the Ohio House to override vetoes from Gov. Mike DeWine, the legislative body fell short of its goal when it held a special session. The July 21 session was intended to override three of the vetoes from DeWine, who’s also a Republican. There was support for only one override, and it was for the least consequential of the three. An override needs at least 60 votes, and there are 65 House Republicans. Three Republicans didn’t attend the July 21 special session, announced July 8, and state Rep. Scott Oelslager, R-North Canton, voted against ...

Could GOP reunite Valley in one district?

With Republican leaders in Ohio seeking to draw congressional districts to give the party more seats in the U.S. House, the possibility exists that Mahoning and Trumbull counties could be reunited in a single district. Republicans currently hold 10 of the state’s congressional seats with the other five in the hands of Democrats. When Republicans drew the lines in 2022, the intention was to give Democrats two safe seats and have three tossup seats that slightly favored Democrats that could be won by GOP candidates. Democrats won those three tossup seats in 2022 and 2024. U.S. Rep. ...

Rulli’s loyalty to Trump on display in resolution

The 6th Congressional District is a Republican stronghold. In last year’s presidential election, Republican Donald Trump got 66.4% of the district’s vote to 32.8% for Democrat Kamala Harris with other candidates picking up 0.8%. So Trump beat Harris by 33.6%. In that same election, U.S. Rep. Michael Rulli, R-Salem, got 66.7% of the vote to 33.4% for Democrat Michael L. Kripchak of Youngstown. Rulli won by 33.3%. Kripchak said he will again challenge Rulli in the 2026 election and Democrat Malcolm Ritchie of Dover has filed a statement with the Federal Election Commission to run ...

GOP fails to foil Frenchko

Niki Frenchko isn’t the type to be quiet when she feels she’s been wronged. So it was almost as if those who wanted her to resign as auxiliary chairwoman of the Trumbull County Republican Party didn’t understand her at all. It shouldn’t have come as a surprise to anyone paying attention that the support to remove Frenchko from the position isn’t there. Party Chairwoman Julia Shutt came to that realization late last week when she canceled a meeting scheduled for this past Tuesday to vote on removing Frenchko as auxiliary chairwoman. Shutt told me: “When I want to have ...