Mahoning County's 3 picks for the soon to be vacant 33rd State Senate Seat... Not a good thing.

On Tuesday 12/2/08 the Mahoning County Executive Committee met to interview some of the people who had expressed an interest in replacing Congressman-elect John Boccerri.  I say some, because Lisa Antonini (the chairperson of the local party) only invited who she wanted to invite.  This is some leadership we have in Mahoning County when it comes to the Democratic Party.....NOT!   Facts:  The Obama campaign refused to work with the local party. The chairperson actively backed a republican for probate court judge over Mark Belinky (who was appointed by Governor Strickland). She was not the only prominent Democrat. Mike Morley and Ed Reese also backed the republican, as did many precinct committeepeople that Antonini controls.  Judge Belinky won! The chair actively campaigned for an independent prosecutor over Democrat Paul Gains, because Prosecutor Gains has successfully got all the Judges in Mahoning County (2 who are the subject of the same investigation) to appoint a special prosecutor and the Ohio Ethics Commission to begin proceedings against... you guessed it Lisa Antonini (currently Mahoning County Democratic Chair and County Treasurer), Mike Sciortino (County Auditor), John McNally (County Commissioner), and State Supervior of Banks John Reardon (formally a player in Mahoning County politics.  Also being investigated is the Cafaro Corporation (Yes, the one State Senator Capri is related to).  BTW: Gains won!

The picks by the powers that be are: Former County Commissioner David Engler. David has a great resume. He mysteriously left office in 1999 at the height of his power when it came to light that he had accepted $13,000 from a company from Rhode Island that was involved with the MVSD scandal. He has been repremanded by the Ohio Supreme Court for having sex with a client. He has been repremanded for not fulfilling educational needs (not a big deal). He was repremanded locally by a common please judge for putting potential jurors at risk for releasing their names in a murder trial. He does foreclosures for the American Tax Funding Corporation, a for profit outfit that is drawing more and more scrutiny for their dealings. He owns 85% of a company that does business with many governments in the state  called LightGov. He does collections for the city of Youngstown. He is a master at taking care of David Engler, but not the people.

#2 on the hit parade is a Poland Township Trustee by the name of Robert Lidle. His claim to fame is 3 DUI's! Why he hasn't done any jail time is beyond me! Imagine him with the lobbyists on a Friday afternoon! He has never ran outside of Poland. Never received more than 2500 votes.

#3 is Dan Yemma. Dan works for Lisa as her assistant. He has wanted more jobs in government than carter has liver pills.  He ran against Bob Hagen and was crushed in a primary. Oh, he used to be a mortgage broker in the subprime business. That business failed. Thats why he needs government.

The state party needs to come to Mahoning County and hold new and fair hearings for a proper replacement!