YOUNGSTOWN — The race for Mahoning County clerk of courts is ugly with harsh criticisms thrown by incumbent Democrat Dan Dascenzo and his Republican challenger, Michael P. Ciccone.

Ciccone, of Austintown, an attorney, said his “first and foremost” priority is to fill the four-year term of clerk of courts on the Nov. 5 ballot if elected, something he contends Dascenzo won’t do. But Dascenzo said he promises to serve the full term.

“Before one can have real priorities for an elected position, they must first be committed to that office,” Ciccone said. “I have made this priority clear at multiple candidate forums” while Dascenzo “has refused to make this same promise to the people of Mahoning County despite being urged and challenged by myself to do so. A person cannot have real priorities for an elected office if he is not committed to the office and is using it as a potential steppingstone for another elected position (judge) in 2026.”

But Dascenzo, of Boardman, who was Youngstown deputy law director and a Mahoning County Common Pleas Court magistrate before his appointment by the county Democratic Party to clerk of courts, said Ciccone isn’t telling the truth.

“I’ve never said I’d run for judge or anything else,” Dascenzo said. “I can make the commitment to serve the four-year term. I have no problem making that commitment.”

Dascenzo was appointed Sept. 13, 2023, as clerk of courts and started serving Oct. 1, 2023. He succeeded Democrat Tony Vivo, who retired after 29 years as clerk.

Ciccone accused Dascenzo of covering up the arrest of Chemere Williams, a clerk of courts employee, indicted July 11 for having a weapon under disability and illegal conveyance of a deadly weapon in court, both felonies.

Ciccone said if a clerk of courts employee commits misconduct or a crime, “I vow to independently investigate the allegation and swiftly address, disclose, and if necessary issue appropriate discipline, depending on the results of the investigation in hopes to prevent a similar situation occurring.”

Williams was moved from the clerk’s legal department to the title department.

Dascenzo said the county sheriff’s office did an independent investigation into the Williams incident, and she was suspended without pay for 30 days.

“It was determined that she’s not a safety threat,” he said. “It was human error.”

Dascenzo said Williams’ husband asked her to put his gun — which he needs for his work — in his truck and she forgot. Instead, it remained in her bag, which she brought to work at the courthouse and was subsequently arrested.

“She was transferred to the title office not because she posed a safety threat but because she has a criminal charge being handled in this court,” Dascenzo said. “To not give the appearance of impropriety, I transferred her. After the sheriff’s investigation, it was determined she violated a work rule and the discipline was in line with the county personnel manual for a first offense.”

Ciccone said Williams “brought a gun into the courthouse. That’s concerning to me. (Dascenzo) might make up stuff and lie. It’s a serious problem. You and I can’t bring guns into the courthouse. It’s a problem.”

As for Ciccone, Dascenzo said, “Despite him being an attorney, it doesn’t surprise me he makes false allegations against people. He makes reactionary decisions. If you look a little bit deeper, you’ll make discoveries about his character. He has a habit of making false allegations against people without evidence.”

In December, Ciccone was the attorney who filed a complaint from 28 supporters of Jennifer J. Ciccone, no relation, who disputed the outcome of the 2023 Struthers Municipal Court election that she lost by 10.28%.

In the lawsuit, Michael P. Ciccone contended, without providing details, that there was massive fraud in the judicial race by the board of elections, which drew sharp criticism at the time from Tom McCabe, the board’s director and county Republican Party chairman. McCabe called the lawsuit’s claims “baseless allegations” and both Ciccones “owe each poll worker and every election employee an apology. They accused my staff of rigging an election. They owe all of us an apology.”

A week after filing the lawsuit, Ciccone dropped it.

Ciccone said he would have filed proof of election fraud had the case gone forward, but his clients decided to drop it.

A judge in February also dismissed a complaint filed by Ciccone that the board of elections withheld numerous public records related to the Struthers judicial race. The judge ruled the board never denied the request.

Ciccone said he had moved on so he didn’t need the records though he contends “there were some serious issues.” The judge in the case ruled the board “never denied Ciccone’s request for inspection” of the requested records.

Dascenzo said Ciccone made “slanderous and false allegations in a legal complaint. He walked away without any consequences or penalty. He thinks he can continue to do that. It offends me. It’s embarrassing to me that an individual like that is an attorney and acts so irresponsibly. He tries to drag people into the mud, and it offends me to no end.”

Ciccone also said it is “a serious problem” that Dascenzo’s wife, Natalie, a 26-year deputy clerk, works for her husband.

“It’s a big conflict of interest,” Ciccone said. “He has a financial interest in the outcome of a union contract he negotiates.”

Dascenzo points to state law, summarized by the Ohio Ethics Commission, that permits a family member hired before an official is elected or appointed to remain on the job as long as their employment terms — such as promotions — aren’t changed and that a public official can participate in matters affecting a family member’s union contract.

“It’s frustrating to have to spend time addressing these baseless, contrived allegations from an individual who has a track record of falsely accusing innocent people of doing things that are illegal or unethical so casually as he does,” Dascenzo said.

Ciccone also was sued in November 2019 for failing to pay rent on a law office. The case was settled and dismissed in March 2021 with judgment in favor of Ciccone’s landlord with the attorney agreeing to pay $900.

On his Vindicator candidate questionnaire, Ciccone said the small claims action was brought against him for commercial rent, but the “plaintiff erroneously named myself as the defendant; the matter was dismissed.” Ciccone explained that the dispute was with his law office and not him personally, but he paid the $900 to resolve it.

Dascenzo said: “If you want to know how people will act in the future, look to see how they’ve acted in the past.”

Also, Ciccone hasn’t filed a designation of treasurer, but there are yard signs that say “Ciccone,” and that they’re paid for by Ciccone for Change, a committee that isn’t registered with the county board of elections, the Ohio secretary of state or the Federal Election Commission. In addition to Michael, his wife, Emily, is running for a state House seat and Jennifer is seeking a county commissioner position. The women both have a campaign committee though neither is called Ciccone for Change.

Ciccone has the sign as the cover photo on his campaign’s Facebook page, but first said he knew nothing about them, then that they were Jennifer Ciccone’s signs and that he posted about them in support of her.

But on Sept. 26, he posted on Facebook: “Ciccone yards signs are here! I am very humbled by the support and appreciate all of you! I’m ready to take it on and make Mahoning County better!”

Despite that, Ciccone said Wednesday they weren’t his yard signs and “I wouldn’t know anything about it.”

County Democratic Party Chairman Chris Anderson said between Ciccone’s handling of some court cases and not creating a committee “for the signs he is advertising, how can voters trust him to manage the clerk of courts office?”

Anderson added: “It’s deeply troubling that someone seeking an office that’s primary function is to keep the courts organized and running on time, and manage the titling of thousands of vehicles a month, has such a history not only of disorganization, but disregard for the rules.”