A former Trumbull County commissioner is looking to make a roaring comeback by unseating a man who has spent nearly a decade in the office.

Tony Bernard, a Vietnam veteran, small business owner and Republican who was previously elected county commissioner when he was 27, is running for the position against Mauro Cantalamessa, a Warren native and Democrat who has served as commissioner for the last nine years.

While other candidates chose to chase Trumbull County Commissioner Niki Frenchko’s seat, he chose Cantalamessa’s because “he’s been there for 10 years.”

The election is Nov. 5. Early voting started Oct. 8.

BERNARD

Bernard was inspired to run for office after seeing the state of the board more than a year ago.

“I think we need to bring back dignity, respect and a sense of maturity in that office. I mean, we’ve had four years of chaos, bickering and lawsuits — and that definitely needs to stop, Bernard said. “When you look at a commissioners meeting, the last one that I went to, it’s probably been over a year ago and I sat in the back, and I listened and I watched the meeting and quite honestly, I was embarrassed by the way they conducted the meeting.”

“That should be a meeting where you conduct county business and county business alone. They politicized that meeting,” he added.

Bernard considers the county’s budget to be the most pressing concern for the commissioner’s position in January, expressing belief that they’re spending money they don’t have.

“ARP money was there. They had $38 million that they went through and that’s not there anymore. I think the budget is going to be a major concern and I think you have to go in there and take a hard look at that,” Bernard said. “Their union contracts are coming up, that needs to be addressed and I’m not sure where we’re going to find all the money to do some of that. 911’s been in the news a lot; they’re understaffed.”

Bernard emphasized the importance of saving Trumbull Regional Medical Center, believing that if the county is to grow economically, both the hospital’s economic growth and stronger, expanded grant writing capabilities are a must.

As a commissioner, Bernard said he’d sit down with the county’s planning commission and work to expand the office to bring state and federal dollars to the county, which he considers integral to any kind of infrastructure and economic developments. Bernard added he would offer a grant writing office to townships, because he understands they don’t have the capacity to write them.

CANTALAMESSA

For Cantalamessa, who was born into a small business himself, he credits that experience and learning to survive in the private sector for giving him a “well-rounded” background, which allows him to make decisions of similar nature.

Cantalamessa said the commissioner’s office has been busy over the past decade, recalling when the county was under a consent decree issued by Ohio’s EPA for several years when he was first elected in 2014.

“It was lifted in 2017 after my first term, and that was in part because of what we’ve been able to accomplish over that period of time as far as the sanitary sewers,” Cantalamessa said. “Altogether, up to this date, we’ve done over $80 million in sanitary, sewer and water upgrades, which is an unheard of amount.”

While he noted the county has a lot of challenges, Cantalamessa considers getting affordable and accessible high-speed internet to everyone in the county to be one of his top priorities, because “it’s going to position us for the future.”

“I know that the writing was on the wall that broadband is obviously such an important issue, not only for schools, remote work, and all those different things,” Cantalamessa said. “It’s really become an indispensable necessity. We started the first broadband feasibility study and since then it has grown to include four counties in this regional effort.”

By doing that feasibility study, he said they’ve been on the “cutting edge” of it, securing over $4 million for accessibility and affordability in rural townships and low- to-moderate-income areas of cities.

In a time where people who have owned their homes for a number of years and have been priced out of them because of the 2023 revaluations, Cantalamessa said one of the roles commissioners can play is controlling the sales tax.

“One of the initiatives that we started, Denny (Malloy) and I and unfortunately Commissioner Frenchko didn’t get on board with, but it’s helping the Chamber and our economic development partners,” Cantalamessa said. “We need housing in Trumbull County, that’s something we absolutely need. But not just any housing, we need housing for these individuals that are going to come work at Kimberly-Clark and at the battery plant; we need affordable housing.”

“I’m not being crass when I say not government housing or low-to-moderate income housing, I mean average American, middle-class housing, and there’s actually a need for it here,” he added.

Tony Bernard (R)

AGE: 77

OCCUPATION: Owner of Bernard’s Garden, 30 years

PREVIOUS ELECTED EXPERIENCE: Trumbull County Commissioner (1974-1978)

GOALS: Bringing a “mature, professional and respectful” approach to the Commissioners’ Office, economic development, and having a close working relationship with The Port Authority, Chamber of Commerce, and Eastgate Agency.

Mauro Cantalamessa (D)

AGE: 47

OCCUPATION: Trumbull County Commissioner (2014-present)

PREVIOUS ELECTED EXPERIENCE: Democratic Precinct Committeeman (2015-2019)

GOALS: Economic development, infrastructure and asset improvement, and keeping sales taxes at their current rate.