nhawthorne@tribtoday.com
NILES Niles City Council decided in a 7-0 vote Monday to dismiss a case that questioned 4th Ward Councilman Al Cantola’s residency.
The decision during a hearing comes after an inquiry over several months into Cantola’s Vienna Avenue residency.
“That was the right decision for council to dismiss this issue. I’ve stated on the record that’s where I live. That’s all it’s ever been,” Cantola said.
“This has been a fishing expedition for months now for the city, and I’m sure a couple thousand-dollar bill for the city and the taxpayers that should have never been put on the table,” he continued. “Our city has much bigger things going on than to worry about a councilman’s residence, whose home burnt and who put his wife in a safe place. This has been a shame.”
The issue first arose late last year when Councilman Ryan McNaughton, D-at large, sent a letter to Philip Zuzolo, the city law director, requesting an investigation following the purchase of the Howla
editorial@tribtoday.com
After embarrassing dysfunction just a few years ago, the Trumbull County Republican Party has made great strides under the leadership of local party Chairman Kevin Wyndham.
But now, Wyndham, who successfully unified the Trumbull GOP after significant division, last week announced he would resign his role effective Feb. 1. Wyndham was elected to the chairmanship in February 2017, following splintering and polarization within the political group.
The party’s central committee will meet in coming weeks to select a new chairman, according to party bylaws. So far, no one has expressed interest in the position.
In announcing his resignation, Wyndham recalled the problems that had plagued the party, and noted he had been asked to run for the post back then “in an attempt to reunite the group,” Wyndham states in his resignation letter.
FILE - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. acknowledges the crowd at the Lincoln Memorial for his I Have a Dream speech during the March on Washington, D.C. on Aug. 28, 1963. A new documentary âMLK/FBI,â shows how FBI director J. Edgar Hoover used the full force of his federal law enforcement agency to attack King and his progressive, nonviolent cause. That included wiretaps, blackmail and informers, trying to find dirt on King. (AP Photo/File)
There is still work to do in achieving the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream of more than 50 years ago, Valley clergy and activists say, as they view present-day upheaval in Washington and protests in American cities following violent police encounters with blacks.
rsmith@tribtoday.com
Staff photo / R. Michael Semple
Lea Dotson of Warren, one of the founders of IVote Black, a political organization formed in Warren in 2020 that focuses on making sure political leaders and organizations work on issues affecting black communities and their progress, stands by the gazebo at Courthouse Square.
Work still needs to be done to achieve the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream of more than 50 years ago, Valley clergy and activists say, as they view present-day upheaval in Washington and protests in American cities following violent police encounters with blacks.
That work, they note, entails putting people in office and holding them accountable to the black community, working for policy changes, involving youth in local discussions and addressing covert racism.