HOWLAND — Two veteran Howland Township trustees face competition in this fall’s general election from a longtime Mahoning Valley Realtor and an attorney with the Makridis Law Firm in Warren.

Incumbent trustees Dr. James LaPolla Jr., 62; and attorney Matthew Vansuch, 45, are squaring off against Dawn Nicholas, 60; and Theo Kafantaris, 44, for a four-year seat on the governing board for the growing Trumbull County community.

The campaign largely has been quiet and low key with continued controlled residential and commercial growth in the township, concern over the future of property taxation and preservation of the community’s small-town assets rising as front-line issues.

THEO KAFANTARIS

Kafantaris, a Warren native and Warren G. Harding High School graduate, returned to Trumbull County several years ago after spending many years in California.

He said he chose to purchase a home in Howland because of the high quality of its schools and added his fondness for the township has grown in part from the ease of travel and lack of hassles, compared with daily life in California.

He noted his detachment from the West Coast made him realize Howland residents have many things to be proud of and motivated him to seek public office to try to make the community even better.

As for growth in the township, he supports continued business development along state Route 46 north of the Eastwood Mall Complex and believes areas along North River Road are ripe for additional residential development. “We have a lot of land to do it,” he said.

Kafantaris said he would prefer to oversee additional traditional single-family home construction over developments governed by homeowner associations.

Kafantaris said he also would support loosening rules governing local businesses in the township, specifically those that limit the types and sizes of signs they are permitted to use to advertise.

“Howland can be more business-friendly,” he said.

As for the push to abolish property taxes, he said, “I think it’s a nice idea” but he does not view it as practical as townships would have to find other means of taxation to carry out essential services.

He said he offers a fresh perspective over the two incumbents seeking re-election from his experience elsewhere. For example, he said that Orange County, California, serves as a great model for effective community planning.

DR. JAMES LAPOLLA

LaPolla, first elected trustee in 2013, is seeking his fourth term in the office. The former president of the Howland Rotary Club and former Howland Parks Board commissioner cites as assets his longtime familiarity, service and devotion to township residents both in his podiatry practice in the township and in his service as a community leader.

“My hands are on the pulse of Howland Township,” he said.

He also said he prides himself as a team player, noting that the township during his tenure has acquired an excellent and cooperative administrative team. In addition, LaPolla argues team building must extend beyond township borders and cited his role in creating and serving on a Council of Governments in Trumbull County that strives to unite local governments for projects to improve purchasing power and to share services.

The trustee also advocated continued but managed growth in the township. He envisions and would support residential growth opportunities along state Route 46 and on former farm land in the North River Road corridor, a sector that has witnessed moderate commercial growth in recent years.

He also supports continued infrastructure improvements to better accommodate growth, particularly in the Golden Triangle industrial area of the township.

As for ongoing initiatives on property tax reform, LaPolla said to avoid the mammoth increases of last year, he would like to see property revaluations and tax adjustments take place much more gradually and affordably over perhaps two-year cycles rather than six-year cycles.

DAWN NICHOLAS

Nicholas, a Niles native who’s lived in Howland for about two years, has worked the past quarter-century as a Realtor in the Mahoning Valley and in Florida.

While acknowledging that she believes LaPolla and Vansuch have served the community well over the years, she said she would bring “a unique skill set” to the three-person governing board that she has acquired in the real estate industry.

“I’ve had to spend my whole life trying to sell people on my thoughts and ideas,” she said, noting such well-honed communication skills could easily transfer to a position of leadership.

As for growth, she said she believes the older Bolindale area of the township is ripe for redevelopment and supports ongoing initiatives there. She, however, said she was more pessimistic about a residential boom in the North River Road corridor because that area tends to be perceived as part of Warren.

Her priorities, if elected, would include establishing a stronger collaborative relationship with the Howland Local School District, ensuring transparency and accountability in all facets of local government operations, and creating a town center near the site of the high school. She said she’d also work cooperatively with school officials toward creating a centralized campus for all students in the district, similar to that which is in place in Austintown.

MATTHEW VANSUCH

Vansuch, first elected in 2009 and seeking his fifth term on the trustees board, said his leadership assets include his experience in guiding Howland toward controlled growth and responding responsibly and expeditiously to the concerns of township residents.

As an example, he cited what he views as great progress the township has made in recent years in clearing up a large backlog of zoning and property maintenance concerns. Today, cases can be investigated almost immediately as they are reported, he said.

On larger economic development issues for the township and the region, Vansuch said he played an active role behind the scenes in courting Kimberly-Clark to build an $800 million manufacturing plant and distribution center in Warren and in negotiating and finalizing the Joint Economic Development District among Warren city, Howland and Warren Township. He emphasized, however, that many, many others also played important teamwork roles in carrying the project over the finish line.

Vansuch also is a strong proponent of the value of the township’s comprehensive plan to improve the quality of life for residents and businesses. He envisions more refinement to that plan in coming years with a focus on more mixed-use zoning areas and creation of a dedicated town center for the community near state Routes 46 and 82.

As for residential development to accommodate housing needs of incoming workers at Kimberly-Clark, he said the township should continue to actively focus on the older Bolindale district of the township and specifically on rebuilding homes where many have been demolished in recent years.

Like LaPolla, Vansuch said he would favor more frequent but less costly phased-in increases in property values and their taxation. He blames the mammoth recent increases in property taxes on Ohio’s “archaic system” of government operations.

“It is definitely not the system we would create today,” he said.

He added he would work with state lawmakers for guidance in moving forward should a campaign to abolish property taxes succeeds next year.