If it wasn’t for an Ohio Supreme Court decision and the secretary of state breaking a tie vote, Democrat Lauren McNally would be running against only a write-in candidate for the 59th Ohio House District seat.

McNally, Youngstown’s 5th Ward councilwoman, won the Democratic primary for the seat, defeating three other candidates. No Republican filed for the seat.

Poland Township Trustee Eric Ungaro and New Springfield businessman Greg Beight turned in nominating petitions as independent candidates for the position.

The Mahoning County Board of Elections voted 3-1 on Aug. 22 to not certify Ungaro — contending he was a Democrat. But the Ohio Supreme Court overturned that decision with a Sept. 22 ruling that Ungaro had to be put on the ballot. That came in a 4-3 court decision.

The elections board deadlocked 2-2 on Aug. 29 on the eligibility of Beight with the Democrats voting against it and the Republican in favor of it. Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, a Republican, broke the tie Sept. 14, ruling that Beight was an independent and kept him on the ballot.

Cecil Monroe of Youngstown, who has unsuccessfully run for several elected positions, filed as a write-in candidate.

The newly drawn 59th District includes Youngstown, Coitsville, Ellsworth, Poland, Sebring, New Middletown, North Lima, Smith, Goshen, Green, Beaver and Springfield, along with four townships in northwestern Columbiana County.

The Ohio Supreme Court has ruled the legislative maps redrawn by Republicans to be unconstitutional five times. But a federal court permitted maps to be in place for only this election.

MCNALLY

McNally, who has served on Youngstown council since January 2016, said her top three priorities are to work with schools to give them the tools to properly educate students, partner with quasi-public groups to spur economic development and to bring together various entities to work toward the growth of regional infrastructure.

“I’m still focused on commonsense legislation that works for our families and businesses because we’ve gotten away from that,” she said. “We’re not focusing on just the things that make our lives better on a daily basis, that are empowering our families to have more than what their parents had, to have extra time to volunteer at their churches or their school picnics. We’re working 60, 70 hours a weeks, not getting ahead and something needs to change.”

She wants to work with boards of education to enrich every district with state assistance as well as partner with workforce agencies, business associations and trade unions to provide alternative education opportunities and career paths.

“It’s really important that we make sure our students have all of the opportunities available and they know about them and they know about them early,” she said. “And we’re not stigmatizing or treating kids differently who choose to go to a four-year college or choose to go to a trade school or go to a community college. It’s about changing the narrative around it.”

McNally said she plans to work with organizations like the Youngstown Warren Regional Chamber, Eastgate Regional Council of Governments, Economic Action Group and the Western Reserve Port Authority to spur economic development in the area and also bring various groups together to “work toward creating regionalized infrastructure and economic development plans that capitalize on our resources.”

UNGARO

Ungaro, a Poland Township trustee since 2012 and a special education teacher, listed his top priorities as helping those with mental health and addiction issues, improving public education and promoting economic development.

Ungaro said he would work with local officials and be a liaison to the governor to prioritize what is needed to grow the area’s economy.

Ungaro said he would “emulate” his father — Patrick Ungaro, the deceased former Youngstown mayor — by working with all people, regardless of party affiliation.

“No. 1, you (have to) be open and you work with whoever you have to work with to actually get the job done,” he said. “You have to have good relationships with your local officials to help facilitate that and bring the money back to clean up some of the areas, to help with infrastructure upgrades, to get shovel-ready projects ready and work with Republican state senators, Republican state reps, Republican governors and whoever else you’ve got to work with.”

Ungaro said he has 30 years of public school experience.

“I will bring a real perspective and help mold legislation to promote mental health services in our schools,” he said. “Instead of arming teachers, we need to fund trained officers and work with our local police departments, like we do in Poland, to keep our kids safe.”

Ungaro said he will continue to “support funding for and encourage students into the trade schools and vocational schools. In the last 30 years of teaching, this trend is moving in the right direction and we must continue.”

BEIGHT

Beight, of New Springfield, has been the managing member of TMPB, a vending machine business, since June 2016. This is his first time running for elected office.

His priorities are attracting and supporting businesses, placing priorities on law and order, and having more of a focus on K-12 education and less on higher education.

To attract and support businesses, Beight said: “You market better to people. I also think that being in business and dealing with a lot of other small businesses, this area has taken home run swings on certain things over the years and not looked to what’s already here and what the legislators can do to support what’s already here. Can you help them expand? Can you help them grow?”

Beight wants to better fund police and said courts should be concerned with community safety when sentencing criminals.

“I believe tougher on crime is a better policy,” he said.

Beight also wants to focus tax dollars on K-12 education and a lot less on four-year college educations.

“I personally think the university system has a bad future going forward,” he said. “I think with the pricing, with the expenses, people can’t afford to go to college anymore. What the return on investment is for many, many degrees is awful.”

There should be more of a focus on community colleges, trade schools and apprenticeships, Beight said.

dskolnick@vindy.com