A battle royale over White’s mayoral candidacy rages on

July 11, 2025

As he did four years ago, John White wants to run for Youngstown mayor as an independent – and just as in 2021, his eligibility is in question. The Mahoning County Board of Elections will have a hearing Monday to listen to arguments about the issue and make a determination as to whether White will appear on the Nov. 4 ballot. The word “and” as well as how it’s interpreted will play a huge factor in the board’s decision. The board met three days ago to rule on the eligibility of independent candidates and those running in Campbell city elections. The board made decisions on ...

State legislators take aim at DeWine property tax vetoes

July 4, 2025

While school districts throughout the state are breathing a collective sigh of relief over Gov. Mike DeWine’s veto of significant property tax changes, state legislators are thinking about overriding his decisions. The legislators I spoke to said they were disappointed and surprised about the vetoes, but I could definitely sense frustration and some anger with DeWine. Legislators, Republicans and Democrats alike, said the top issue they hear from their constituents is property tax relief. We all feel it. Recent property tax reappraisals saw property values go up 38% in Mahoning ...

Ohio Dems in holding pattern

June 20, 2025

With Sherrod Brown, a former U.S. senator, considering a return to politics by either running for a seat in the Senate or for governor next year, both races on the Democratic side remain up in the air. Actually the entire Democratic ticket for 2026, unlike the Republicans, is uncertain. When Brown will make his decision on whether to run for Senate, governor or at all isn’t known, but it should be in a few months. Dr. Amy Acton, the party’s only declared candidate for governor, told me during a recent visit to Youngstown: “Sherrod Brown will probably be making some decisions ...

Judges run in mid-terms to get around age limits

June 13, 2025

Republican Pat Fischer is looking to stay an Ohio Supreme Court justice for as long as possible. With some prompting from Gov. Mike DeWine, a fellow Republican, Fischer announced May 28 that he would challenge incumbent Democrat Jennifer Brunner for her seat in next year’s election. Ohio has a law that doesn’t permit judges to run for office if they will be older than 70 when their terms are to begin. Fischer, 67, cannot run in the 2028 election, when his seat would next be on the ballot. So instead of finishing out that term, he said he will challenge Brunner in 2026. If he ...

Property tax cuts in spotlight

June 5, 2025

Finding ways to reduce skyrocketing property taxes that occurred in Ohio during the past couple of years is a top priority for the Republican-controlled state Legislature. It’s a difficult balancing act as property owners are screaming for tax relief while public school districts, which get most of those tax dollars, say reductions will severely impact education. For the most part, Republicans are siding with property owners though there have been a few bills introduced that would have minimal or no impact on school districts and other government entities that rely on property ...

Football bill won’t clear end zone

May 30, 2025

It’s not that state Rep. Tex Fischer doesn’t want to put an end to noon start times for Ohio State University football games, but he knows his bill to restrict them isn’t going anywhere. Even before Fischer, R-Boardman, formally introduced the bill on May 20, he received a significant amount of publicity — locally, statewide and nationally. Most of the responses fell into three camps. One, largely consisting of Buckeyes fans, was supportive. The second didn’t treat it seriously. The third was critical, questioning why Fischer wasted his time with this bill when there ...