Recordpub.com - Ricciardi rules out mayor's job: Ravenna council president not interested; Bica eyes post

By Diane Smith

Record-Courier staff writer

Next year, the city of Ravenna will have a new mayor. But Council President Fran Ricciardi has made it clear it won’t be him.

According to city charter, Ricciardi is automatically eligible to succeed Mayor Kevin Poland when Poland resigns to become a municipal court judge.

Ricciardi, whose day job is chief assistant Portage County prosecutor, said his job involves prosecuting several homicide cases, and now is not a good time to step down.

“I certainly enjoy my job at the prosecutor’s office,” he said. “And I’m just too young to be the mayor.”

He said he believes it would be a conflict of interest to hold both jobs simultaneously, and believes the mayor’s job is “more than full time.”

“First and foremost, I’m of the opinion that one cannot serve as a prosecuting attorney for the county and also act as the mayor of a municipality,” he said. “I have made it clear that I can’t accept an appointment even on an interim basis.”

Councilman Joe Bica, the top vote-getter in Tuesday’s at-large race, said being mayor is “a lifelong dream of mine.”

“If the opportunity presented itself and if the other members of council felt I would be a good mayor, I would be honored and anxious to step up to the challenge,” he said. “And it would be an enormous challenge.”

Poland’s term as a judge begins Jan. 1. His term as mayor expires in 2011.

Law Director Frank Cimino recently ruled that if Ricciardi chooses not to take office, council, by a majority vote, shall appoint one of its members to serve the remainder of the unexpired term. Because there are fewer than two years remaining in Poland’s term, there would be no special election. There is no provision in state election law for a municipal election in an even year.

Poland said he has not yet decided when his resignation as mayor will be effective.

If Poland makes his resignation effective Jan. 1, new councilwomen Amy Michael and Sharon Spencer will have a hand in deciding the new mayor. And a new member will be appointed to fill the vacancy on council.

If, however, Poland steps down on or before Dec. 31, current councilmen Gene Brown, a 20-year veteran of council, and Steven Bailey would be eligible to help appoint Poland’s replacement. Both were defeated Tuesday.

Poland earns $64,783 as mayor, plus another $12,000 as safety director, for a total salary of $76,783. The salary remains the same next year because Poland voluntarily surrendered his pay increase for next year because of the city’s budget constraints.

Should Bica be appointed to the position, he said he would focus his efforts on bringing economic development to the city. He also said he would focus on evaluating all city departments to make them more cost-effective, and reconsider some appointments to city boards and commissions, noting that several members were appointed by former Mayor Paul Jones.

Most council members say they are not interested in the mayor’s seat.

Councilman Jack Ferguson said he’s already busy with council, Ravenna Balloon A-Fair and the Ravenna Area Chamber of Commerce, which he serves as executive director.

“It’s a very time consuming position, especially in this day and age,” he said. “I don’t envy any person in that position.”

Councilman Frank Seman, who was re-elected to his Ward 2 seat Tuesday, said he believes the position will require someone ready to deal with the problems the city is facing. He said he would rather concentrate his energies on his responsibilities on council, where he will be the senior member, with eight years of experience.

Councilman Scott Rainone, who represents Ward 4, said although he loves the city, he has no aspirations to be mayor.

“I only know one person who is interested in it,” he said.

Councilman Bruce Ribelin, who is serving his first term on council after serving in the post 30 years ago, said he is “not ruling it out” but at this point, he doesn’t think he’ll pursue the appointment.

“I enjoy being on council, serving the people and seeing what I can do,” he said. However, he noted, in recent years, council decided the mayor’s position should be full-time, and the new mayor should be prepared to do that.

Both Michael and Spencer said they won’t pursue the mayor’s position, either.

“I’m extremely interested in being the best representative for Ward 1 that I can be, and that is going to take all the energy I have right now,” Spencer said.

Brown said it is too early to decide whether he is interested in the mayoral appointment, or the council vacancy.

He said he wishes the new council members the best.

“Of course, I wish it could have turned out different, but my commitment to the city remains intact,” he said.