HOWLAND — A group calling itself Citizens to Remove Niki Frenchko met Tuesday in Howland to talk about circulating petitions to remove her as Trumbull County commissioner.

Michael Shrodek, one of the group’s leaders, said about 1,500 signatures have been collected so far, and the group plans to continue to collect more through signature drives. He said they need around 12,000.

The Ohio Constitution states removal of an officeholder is initiated by filing a written complaint that sets the charge against the public official, and must be signed by at least 15 percent of the total votes cast for the office of governor in the jurisdiction the official represents, in this case Trumbull County. The signatures will then be submitted to the board of elections to verify, then to a common pleas judge.

The group is alleging misfeasance, which is engaging in an act or duty, but unintentionally failing to perform it correctly, and malfeasance, which is intentionally and willfully performing a harmful act.

Several members said they are involved because they believe the commissioners office has not run smoothly since Frenchko came into office, and the board has not worked well with other county departments. Frenchko said she doesn’t just want to be a rubber stamp.

About 20 people attended the meeting, including Frenchko’s ex-husband, Andrew Tripoulas, who said he wanted people to know about her past.

Amy Jo Giovannone, campaign manager for Rick Hernandez, the Hubbard Township trustee who unsuccessfully ran for the Republican nomination for the seat in May, was also there.

“Very few Republicans want her (Frenchko) to represent our party,” Giovannone said. “She is not representative of what we stand for as a party. She is not representative of how a leader should act. She is not representative of the Mahoning Valley.”

Shrodek encouraged people to listen to the commissioners’ meetings and decide for themselves. There have been other attempts to remove Frenchko, but they were unsuccessful.

The petition event will be at Packard Park in Warren from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Monday.

FRENCHKO’S RESPONSE

Frenchko said people think she is difficult because she disrupts the status quo, and she is OK with that.

“If people are perceiving policy changes — like updating purchasing policies and requiring items that commissioners vote on to be reviewed by the prosecutor — if they are receiving those things as difficult, then that’s OK, because I’m doing this to prevent wrongdoing,” Frenchko said.

She said she is working to hold the commissioners office, and the county, accountable for their actions. She said she considers keeping to the status quo, not her actions, a dereliction of duty. Frenchko said she will continue to work for the taxpayers of Trumbull County to be good with their money.

Frenchko pointed to several examples of times she has caught problems that others didn’t, or thought of solutions that others didn’t. They include, she said her catching a bidding irregularity in how a contract for the roof of the board of elections was bid, which saved $120,000; she said she has stopped bid splitting on multiple occasions; she found that American Rescue Plan money could be used for heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems so that the county could include that in renovations for multiple buildings; and she said she lobbied in Washington, D.C., for the Youngstown Air Reserve Station to get C-130J aircraft.

“I have to feel good about what I do,” Frenchko said. “I have to come home and be able to look at my daughters. I have to be an example for my kids. I’m serving the public, I’m serving God and I’m setting an example for others who want to come into public service.”