Trumbull County Engineer candidates contend for office they’ve both held before

(WKBN) – Two men are running for Trumbull County Engineer, both of whom have held the position. We talked to both candidates in this heated race.

Incumbent Democrat Randy Smith faces the man he took over the position from — David DeChristofaro, who’s now a Republican.

“To me, it’s about moving our county forward in a positive direction. To me, it’s about someone that has some honesty, someone that’s committed to this county and someone that has the experience,” Smith said.

“We need to shepherd businesses through our regulatory processes and not hinder them to make it difficult for them to come to Trumbull County. We want people to want to come to Trumbull County, not to fear to come to Trumbull County,” DeChristofaro said.

Smith has been the county’s engineer since 2011.

He says since then, about 30% of the county’s bridges have been replaced, and the office started making its own cold patch and initiated a salt consortium, which provides road salt to between 30 and 40 communities.

“One hundred bridges to date during my tenure, another 24 projects on the books with $20 million of federal funds coming into Trumbull County. I think that’s what’s important and that was all done without any new tax dollars,” Smith said.

DeChristofaro has decades of experience working in both the public and private sectors.

He was the county’s previous engineer. He resigned from office before his term ended, prior to pleading guilty to theft and conflict of interest. Years later, his record was sealed and expunged.

“Everybody makes mistakes. I’m not immune from mistakes but what really matters is how you get up from being knocked down and how you do after that, and I think I’ve done very well,” DeChristofaro said. “I’m looking forward to going back to the county engineer’s office and turning Trumbull County around.”

Both explain why voters should choose them.

“I would tell the voters to fact-check all the candidates. I would tell them that — look at my record, compare his record and vote accordingly,” Smith said.

“If we want to bring our infrastructure in line with the infrastructure of the top counties in the state of Ohio, I will do that for you,” DeChristofaro said.

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