Mayor Williams Silent on Recent Homicides

Mayor Jay Williams and Chief of Police Jimmy Hughes are strangely silent on the subject of the city's recent homicides. There have been five killings so far in 2010, including the police shooting of a man attacking an apartment building. The latest and most heinous occurred Saturday morning when 80 year Angeline Fimognari was gunned down in the parking lot of St. Dominic's on the South Side. The same church, incidentally, where I made my First Communion.

I don't expect a dramatic speech about crime or a thunderous damnation of the person who committed this latest act but I do wonder why Mayor Williams, the elected leader of Youngstown, is silent on five homicides in the first 23 days of this year. He was chosen by the voters of Youngstown to be a leader and right now, when the city could use a father figure, he remains utterly quiet.

The city is enjoying a renaissance downtown. The incubator is doing well, the Covelli Centre is turning a profit booking some decent shows and restaurants are seeing an uptick in business compared to years past. However, that sort of growth can come to a screeching halt if violent crime is allowed to flourish. And let me tell you, 80 year old women gunned down outside of church on a Saturday morning is exactly the kind of news that will make people avoid the city.

My suggestion to the mayor is to stand up and tell people what they need to hear, to treat them like adults. The only people who can change Youngstown are the people who live in Youngstown. If they want to be safe they have to talk to the police. They have to take responsibility for their kids. They have to break the cycle of violence by making sure their kids are in school, succeeding and acting like civil human beings. Mayor Williams needs to hold up a mirror and say that Youngstown is the way it is because people act like thugs and tear down every good thing.

Youngstown has to decide if Youngstown wants to succeed.