WARREN — The Democratic race to see who succeeds Trumbull County Common Pleas Judge W. Wyatt McKay is settling along county / city battle lines when it comes to finances, according to the preprimary election financial reports submitted by the candidates.

Both Democrats Dawn Cantalamessa, an Ashtabula County assistant prosecutor, and former state Sen. Sean O’Brien of Bazetta have raised thousands of dollars in their bids.

Cantalamessa, who is the wife of Warren Law Director Enzo Cantalamessa, sees a lot of the $21,569 in contributions coming from city sources.

O’Brien, who long has worked with Trumbull County officials on various projects, sees a lot of his $33,350 raised coming from people tied to the county court system.

Cantalamessa, however, also can boast some money coming from her old ties to Mahoning County when she was an assistant prosecutor there.

Both candidates also have spent thousands of dollars — Cantalamessa some $21,780 with O’Brien’s $33,687 in expenses — to secure the nomination, which would virtually assure the primary winner of the six-year term on the bench.

There is no GOP opposition, however there is a chance an independent can gain enough signatures on a petition to make the November ballot.

The financial report showed Cantalamessa received some 106 individual donations, including a $650 contribution from longtime area businessman John J. Cafaro of Hubbard. Former Warren 2nd Ward Councilman Alford Novak also contributed $650 to Cantalamessa.

Among other large contributors for Cantalamessa are Warren deputy law director James Sanders, $500; city attorney Daniel Letson, $500; Warren businessman Anthony Payiavlas, $500; Bazetta car dealer John Apostolakis, $500; retired Trumbull County Family Court magistrate Deborah Rudloff of Cortland, $500; and Judy Arnaut of Canfield, the former victim / witness coordinator for the Mahoning County prosecutor’s office, $500.

Some Warren officials also giving to Cantalamessa include Mayor Doug Franklin and safety service director Eddie Colbert, who both gave $125, while Councilman Greg Greathouse and Carla Brown, wife of council President John Brown, also each gave $125. Howland Administrator Darlene St. George contributed $250, while Cantalamessa’s former boss in Mahoning County, Prosecutor Paul Gains, wrote a check for $250 — although the report for O’Brien listed a $250 contribution from the Committee to Elect Paul Gains.

On O’Brien’s side of the giving ledger, top contributors include the Committee to Elect Randy Smith as Trumbull County Engineer donating $4,100, while the committee for former state Rep. Jack Cera of Bellaire contributed $4,000.

The Western Reserve Building and Construction Trades Council wrote a $1,000 check to O’Brien, while the Tasoulis Family LLC of Canfield contributed $2,000. Other large donors included Judge McKay’s former election committee, $500; Warren businessman Sam Covelli, $500; O’Brien’s law firm that includes attorneys John Fowler and Jeff Goodman, $500; former commissioner Dan Polivka’s election committee, $500; and Trumbull commissioner candidate Mike O’Brien’s committee, $500. Anthony and Tina Payiavlas of Warren, who contributed a total of $1,000 to Cantalamessa, also gave a $750 combined donation to O’Brien.

Members of the Trumbull County Prosecutor’s Office also were big givers to O’Brien’s campaign. Prosecutor Dennis Watkins gave $200, while his assistants Christopher Becker, Charles Morrow, Diane Barber, Michael Burnett, Gabriel Wildman and Gina Arnaut-Thomas combined to donate $775.

Defense attorneys who usually practice in the court also got out their checkbooks for O’Brien, including $500 from the William Urban law firm of Warren; and $250 each from Thomas Zena, Mark Lavelle, Robert Root III, Gary Rich, Hartwig Law LLC, the Maruca law firm of Youngstown, Sam Amendolara’s law firm in Boardman and Terry Swauger of Niles.

The reports show that Cantalamessa and O’Brien both spent well on advertising — whether it be through yard signs or the media.

Cantalamessa spent some $10,000 with Pitt Street Creative of Hermitage for commercial production, while she made a $3,200 media buy at WFMJ-TV in Youngstown. As for signs and campaign stickers, Cantalamessa spent $5,448 to Capital Promotions Inc. of Glenside, Pa.

Meanwhile, O’Brien spent $9,500 on campaign advertising with H&F Strategies LLCX of Chagrin Falls and made a $5,003 media buy with iHeart Radio, owner of Youngstown talk radio WKBN- 570-AM among other Mahoning Valley stations. As for the campaign signs and other literature, O’Brien spent $8,120 with Fulton Signs and Decals Inc. of Mentor. O’Brien’s report also lists $2,665 in expenses with Danny Thomas and Associates of Struthers for campaign management.

The report shows that Cantalamessa has a balance on hand of $19,789, while O’Brien’s current balance shows $24,663 for the last-minute push for votes as the primary draws near.

Cantalmessa has $20,000 in outstanding loans, which she gave to herself, while O’Brien’s loan of $25,000 was from James O’Brien of Brookfield.

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