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NILES -- Two political newcomers are seeking the Democratic nomination for the Niles 1st Ward seat on council that has been left open by the incumbent seeking the at-Large Democratic nomination.
Todd Weddell and Judee DeChristefero-March both said they decided to run for the seat after learning that Doug Sollitto, the incumbent, had decided to run for councilman at-Large.
The candidate who earns the Democratic nomination in the primary will face Republican Tina Collins. Independent candidates have until May 1 to file.
Weddell said he is proud of the direction the city is headed and wants to be part of moving the city forward. DeChristefero-March said she wants to shake things up.
DECHRISTEFERO-MARCH
DeChristefero-March, 63, was born and raised in Niles. She said she is a single mom of three and has worked for 25 years at a retail store, where she is the head cashier.
In 1977, she graduated from Niles McKinley High School and in 1983 she graduated from Raphael's Beauty School.
While DeChristefero-March has never held public office, she has helped others get elected. She said she was the campaign manager for Jimmy DePasquale, who was an at-Large councilman until his death late last year, and sat on a committee to elect Chris Chieffo, who is a school board member.
"I decided to run because I want to bring open mindedness when looking at what is best for the residents. Right now, I only see two council members doing that," DeChristefero-March said.
She said she thinks Sollitto and Mindy Devorich, 4th Ward councilwoman, do a good job of listening to the residents. She said there are a lot of decisions that council has made that she doesn't agree with that often have Sollitto and Devorich in the minority.
DeChristefero-March said she has no connections with anyone in the city administration, which she said will allow her to look at issues objectively and do what is best for the residents.
"I have so many residents that are getting no, no, no, no," DeChristefero-March said. "I'm tired of no."
The 1st Ward hopeful said opening the city building is one of her top priorities. While door knocking, DeChristefero-March said she has been hearing complaints from residents about the current procedure to access the city building. This debate has come up multiple times during council meetings.
To get into the city building at 34 W. State St. during normal business hours, residents must ring a buzzer to be let inside. Residents have complained at council meetings that they should be able to walk into the building because it is taxpayer funded. The mayor has said times have changed and the current way is a security check.
"I know the mayor said it is open. It's not," DeChristefero-March said. "Every other building in the city is open. I should be able to open that door."
Residents enter the building through the side door off the parking lot, which is the handicap accessible entrance. DeChristefero-March said she wants residents to be able to walk in the front door.
She acknowledged that there should be security and said she would support hiring an additional police officer to stand in the lobby.
She also said that people should not just be able to wander around the building like they once could. DeChristefero-March said the city spends so much money each year, that another police officer would just be a drop in the bucket.
Another priority she said is requiring all purchases above $20,000 to be approved by city council. Currently, purchases below $50,000 don't have to be approved by council.
"We just came out of fiscal emergency and we are already giving the mayor $50,000," DeChristefero-March said.
She said she wants to make sure that bids are awarded to local service providers.
DeChristefero-March's third top priority is getting an event coordinator or board to plan events for the downtown. She said she wants to see events like chalk on the walk, high school art shows and concerts.
Events like this, DeChristefero-March said, will bring the people of Niles together, and will bring people who live outside the city to the downtown.
"Everyone talks about bringing the community together. How can we bring the community together? We can have events to bring people together," DeChristefero-March said. "We need to do more for our children and young parents. We have to draw people in. Right now, we are not drawing people to the downtown."
She said the only way to get this done as a council member is to keep bringing it up.
TODD WEDDELL
Weddell, 64, has lived in Niles for more than 35 years and has worked in the city for over 45 years. He said he chose Niles to raise his family.
In 1977, Weddell graduated from Liberty High School and was in the Ohio Certified Apprenticeship Program from 1986 to 1990.
Weddell works as a maintenance structural technician at Howmet Aerospace, although it was RMI Titanium when he first started. He served as president of the union, United Steel Workers Local 2155 and 2155-7, for 18 years and represented 350 workers.
He also taught adult maintenance welding classes at the Trumbull Career and Technical center for five years about a decade ago, and is the owner of Property Management Services.
"I've always been interested in politics. I've been active in politics, as far as my union is involved, so I thought this would be something I would like to give a try," Weddell said. "As I look around the city, I like the direction that it's going. I would like to continue to help the city go in that direction."
He said the continuing efforts of revitalizing the downtown excite him and he wants to help. Weddell said the downtown needs more events.
As a tradesman, Weddell said he would bring a unique perspective to council that he thinks would be valuable. He has been endorsed by the Mahoning-Trumbull Labor Council AFL-CIO.
He said his union background also will be useful because he has dealt with all types of people and has had to work to resolve conflict. Weddell said he will have to get to know members of council and city administration, and when doing so, he said he will try not to take sides and will look at each issue objectively.
"I know that I'm going to be an asset, but I know that respect is gained. We're all there to do what is best for the city and I would anticipate that everybody should work together to do that," Weddell said.
He said he wants to "remain neutral in the politics of politics." He said everyone has a right to be upset or be excited about something. Weddell said if elected, he will be there to listen to residents' concerns and find the best ways to address them.
One of Weddell's top priorities is maintaining strong financial stability for the city. He said council and the mayor did a good job getting out of financial trouble.
To continue this, Weddell said it is important that all council decisions are well researched and thought out by working together. He said fiscal responsibility would be front of mind for every decision he makes.
Weddell noted that he serves on the board of directors for Trumbull County United Way and previously served on the board of directors at First Choice Community Credit Union. He said the perspective this experience has given him will be valuable when council has to make financial decisions.
Another top priority Weddell outlined is maintaining strong city services.
"As a city and as council, we have to make sure that our police and fire have what they need -- A, to first of all work safely and B, to give them the tools to perform their jobs. Without a strong police and fire department, that loans itself to a lot of trouble, and I think Niles does a good job," Weddell said.
He noted that the Flock cameras have been working great for the city, and he is proud that Niles was the first department in the Mahoning Valley to get the new technology. Flock cameras capture photographs of cars and their license plates, and those images are used to assist in solving crimes or for Amber Alerts through a searchable database.
Weddell said the city does a good job continuously updating police and fire vehicles, which he wants to prioritize.
He also said it is important for council to support and give the best tools to other city service and maintenance services.
"I think having front line experience in being a maintenance person helps me to identify and maybe understand even what the safety concerns would be for our maintenance departments," Weddell said. "I think our maintenance and electrical departments have proven over these last two weekends with the storms their value and I commend them for the job that they've done."
Weddell's third top priority will be the city's streets. He said if the money is available, he would want to prioritize resurfacing in the city's budget. Weddell said he would like to see a rotating list of when each street will be resurfaced.
"The roads, just like every other city in Ohio, are just a mess," Weddell said. "Keeping up with that is a huge task, but that's definitely something that everyone is concerned about."
He said he does think most residents want to keep the city moving forward, and having good roads is part of that.