The March primary is less than two weeks away, and the campaign is getting nasty between the two Democrats going head to head for Trumbull County Engineer.

Randy Smith is the Democratic incumbent who took office in August of 2012. David DeChristofaro is a Democrat who held office for about two and a half years and left office as part of a criminal plea deal. His record has now been expunged, allowing him to hold office again if elected.

DeChristofaro has released a new campaign ad that could hit below the belt, attempting to hurt Smith's character instead of talking what he would do if elected Trumbull County Engineer.

The 30-second ad features the daughter of the late Nancy Guerini, who is supporting DeChristofaro. He hired Guerini years ago to work in the Engineer's office.

The TV ad says, "My mother was a victim of cancer who used up her sick time for treatment. Her fellow employees kindly donated theirs. Randy Smith chose to deny my mother their donate sick time."

Candidate for Trumbull County Engineer David DeChristofaro is fighting to get his old job back.

He had his theft charge expunged in court, and now the daughter of that former employee is supporting his campaign -- accusing incumbent Randy Smith of allegedly not caring about his employees when Guerini was suffering from cancer.

The TV commercial went on to say, "She (Nancy Guerini lost her job, health care, house, and ultimately her life. What kind of heartless person would do this to a cancer patient?"

DeChristofaro tells 21 News he would have allowed other employees to give her their sick time, "I believe that the county had a policy because there were other employees of the county that were allowed to accept donated sick time. This is not the first instance where an employee was offered and was able to use donated sick time."

Trumbull County Engineer Randy Smith tells 21 News, "Because of the criminal nature of how our previous Engineer resigned from office, we were hyper-sensitive to follow the precise letter of the law and the policies of the office. Obviously, cancer is a terrible disease that has affected all families, including my own. I think that it is shameful that my opponent would use cancer to exploit an extremely unfortunate and difficult situation. Our office extended every relief we had at our disposal during Nancy's sickness, including multiple leave extensions and fundraisers, so that she could keep her job and health care during her illness. Unfortunately, the county had no "leave donation policy" in place at the time, and we had to follow the letter of the law as directed by our insurance carrier attorneys. It's disgusting that David DeChristofaro is twisting the truth of what happened and exploiting her family's pain for political gain. He should be ashamed of himself, but it's apparent he has no shame. What would you expect from a former public servant who is guilty of theft."

When Smith consulted with the county's insurance carrier, they advised against allowing employees to donate their sick time.

The commissioners at that time had not implemented a leave donation program for all county agencies or the Trumbull County Engineer -- but a few unions did have it as part of their agreement.

Rich Jackson in Human Resources for Trumbull County also confirms to 21 News that at that time, some unions may have been allowed to donate their sick time, but not the Engineers office and other departments.

Smith says Guerini lost her job after he granted many additional unpaid Family Medical Leaves. But he says Nancy Guerini eventually stopped contacting his office for about six months leading them to believe she abandoned her job and what led to her termination.

DeChristofaro says, "My campaign is about people not about politics, and I believe the way you treat people is more important."

As for Randy Smith, "At the end of the day, I've never been convicted of a crime, I'm the only candidate in the race that can say that."