Perspectives on DeWine’s fast decision on attorney general

May 15, 2026

Everything happened so fast. Two days after the primary, Attorney General Dave Yost announced May 7 that he was resigning, effective June 7, to take a leadership position with a Christian conservative legal advocacy group. Four days after that, Gov. Mike DeWine said he was appointing Andy Wilson, director of the Ohio Department of Public Safety and a member of his administration for more than seven years, as Yost’s successor. DeWine, a former attorney general, said: “It was very important for me to make this decision quickly. The new attorney general, frankly, has to start ...

Take a deeper dive into election’s winners, losers

May 8, 2026

One interesting part of the primary elections in Mahoning and Trumbull counties was how few people were in contested races for the seats they currently hold. The only incumbents in contested races in the two counties were Trumbull County Commissioner Denny Malloy, Trumbull Auditor Martha Yoder and the Valley’s two U.S. House members — Michael Rulli of Salem and Dave Joyce of Bainbridge. They’re all Republicans. You can also include Thomas Summers, who was reelected as the 32nd District state central committeeman despite losing Trumbull County to Tom Letson. But state central ...

Trumbull races prove timing can play key role in politics

May 1, 2026

Timing isn’t everything in politics, but it sure plays a huge factor. Look at Devon Stanley, a Liberty trustee, Girard Municipal Court prosecutor and Trumbull County deputy clerk of courts, who also has a private law practice. Already having four jobs, though he isn’t currently serving as Girard’s prosecutor, Stanley is running in Tuesday’s Republican Party primary for common pleas court judge. If he gets elected, Stanley would give up his current jobs to be a judge. Hanging over his head for months is an Oct. 23 incident in which he allegedly assaulted his wife. The case ...

Engler faces challenges in winning stop-abortion suit

April 24, 2026

Trumbull County Judge David L. Engler is seeking to stop abortions in Ohio through a lawsuit he filed with the Ohio Supreme Court contending the 2023 reproductive rights constitutional amendment does not provide protections for minors. Rather than asking the court to focus on that lone issue, Engler, a domestic relations / juvenile division court judge, wants an end to all abortions and a revote on the issue, approved by 57% of voters in November 2023. Engler’s lawsuit states that the reproductive rights amendment, which took effect in December 2023 as Article I, Section 22 of the ...

Don’t count on any fast move of Mahoning elections board

April 17, 2026

For the past two years, Mahoning County Board of Elections officials have vocally complained about the conditions at its offices at Oakhill Renaissance Place. There’s been a lot of talk. There’s even been singing as board Chairman David Betras performed in front of the county commissioners. Could action finally be forthcoming? That’s difficult to determine, but things have progressed more in the last six weeks than they have at any other time during the past two years. All involved parties agree on one thing: Getting the board of elections and other county offices out of ...

Low primary turnout is norm

April 10, 2026

As has been the case for years, turnout for this spring’s primary is expected to be poor. It should be between 23% and 25% in Mahoning County, according to Tom McCabe, director of its board of elections. Stephanie Penrose, his counterpart in Trumbull County, expects turnout to be around 25% in her county. The predictions are in line with what the two counties have seen in the past few years. In the May 2022 primary, when the governor’s seat was on the ballot, turnout in Mahoning was 23.24% and 25.83% in Trumbull. In the 2018 primary, which had contested governor’s ...