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David Skolnick

Before candidates seek political office, there are a few things they should do. Among them are to make sure they pay any delinquent property taxes, clear up any outstanding legal issues against them, and if you’ve had problems in the past, don’t ignore them or discount them when this newspaper asks if there are any. Republican Randy Law, who is running for Trumbull County clerk of courts, didn’t do any of those things. Republican Dawn Zinni, who is seeking to be Trumbull County recorder, failed to clear up her legal issues — and she has a number of them — and then ...

This election sizzles in excitement

Turnout for this election, primarily driven by those wanting to vote for president, is going to be strong. Turnout in Mahoning County is expected to be between 72% and 74%, according to Tom McCabe, the county’s elections board director. Stephanie Penrose, director of the Trumbull County Board of Elections, predicts turnout for this election in that county at 74% to 76%. When I was at the Mahoning County Board of Elections for a while Tuesday, the first day of early voting, it was obvious that people were excited to be there. Whenever I go to the local early voting centers, most ...

Congress hopefuls get blunt

As we started doing candidate endorsement interviews this week, one thing struck me: Those I spoke with were blunt. They were so blunt that it probably didn’t help them though it was refreshing after about three decades of talking to candidates who primarily said what they thought we ...

GOP gets edge in court races

Before the 2022 election, Ohio Supreme Court justice candidates ran in partisan primaries and then had their party affiliation removed for the general election. Of course, the parties backed their candidates, spending money building them up and sometimes attacking their opponents. But without affiliation on the general election ballot, numerous people weren’t aware of who was a Republican and who was a Democrat. We can talk about judicial philosophy, but voters largely decide who to support in these races based on party affiliation and name recognition. Republicans, who ...

Trump, Vance advance lies

Springfield is similar to Youngstown and Warren. They’re Rust Belt cities in Ohio that have experienced major declines in population over the last 60 years as the industries and businesses that once helped them thrive left. Despite best efforts and some improvements — such as focusing on rebuilding downtowns and seeking to attract new businesses – the cities still struggle. Springfield saw its population start to increase in 2017 when Haitian immigrants began legally relocating there to get a fresh start and employment after the city attracted some new businesses in need of ...

Harris may help Mahoning Valley Democrats this election

Before Kamala Harris replaced Joe Biden as the presidential nominee, Mahoning Valley Democrats were rightfully concerned that the incumbent at the top of the ticket would drag down the rest of the party’s candidates on the Nov. 5 ballot. Biden’s disastrous June 27 debate performance left Democrats, who were unenthusiastic about him before that, in a position where they knew if he remained the presidential candidate that he would definitely hurt other candidates by his mere presence. Harris has infused energy into the party that it never would have experienced had Biden remained ...