Published: May 20, 2008 10:27 pm            

YOUNGSTOWN: New blood coming to board

Starting in June, the Village of Youngstown Board of Trustees will have a different look.

That’s because two newcomers running on the Democratic line, Raleigh Reynolds, 61, and Steven Suitor, 26, won the right to four-year terms in Tuesday’s election. They defeated Republican incumbents David Gifford, 68, and Fred Stephens, 80. Stephens is also deputy mayor.

Reynolds and Suitor campaigned together and expressed hope voters would choose them as a team.

“I was a little surprised,” said Suitor, who works as a senior input analyst for a Tonawanda-based customs broker. “I think the people in the village must have wanted a change.”

Suitor said he was looking forward to working with other members of the board and acquainting himself with the village’s business.

Two-term incumbent Stephens (until last year, village trustees were elected to two-year terms) said he was surprised by the results. He and Gifford have run on their experience and the time they had to see through complicated grant applications on which the village depends.

“There’s lots of work for the new boys and I hope they pick up the reigns and run with them,” he said. “I’ll have a little more time to sail the boat, ride the motorcycle and ski.”

Gifford, a three-term incumbent, said he was fine with the results, but disappointed that things he and Stephens had worked toward, including reinvigorating the Cold Storage building and merging the Department of Public Works with the Town of Porter’s, weren’t finished while they were in office.

“All of those are going to be difficult to carry on for awhile until the guys get up to speed,” he said. “But hopefully those will carry on and we’ll see the results of some of the input we had.”

Reynolds could not be reached at home Tuesday evening for comment.

At final tally, 243 votes were cast for Reynolds, 220 for Suitor, 196 for Stephens and 161 for Gifford.

Republicans have a slight advantage in the village in registered voters, with 509 compared to 481 registered Democrats out of 1,282 total registered voters, according to the Niagara County Board of Elections.

        

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