Youngstown Law Department: John White not eligible for mayoral race

YOUNGSTOWN The City of Youngstown's Law Department has reached an opinion on whether or not an independent mayoral hopeful is eligible for the November 2025 ballot.

A representative for the City of Youngstown tells 21 News the Law Department determined that John White is not eligible to run for mayor due to voting and residency requirements.

The City of Youngstown requires all mayoral candidates to be a resident of the city and be registered to vote in the city for five years. The Law Department determined that White would not be eligible to run until at least 2026.

However, the representative for the city tells 21 News the final decision on whether or not he's eligible to run. The Mahoning County Board of Elections is scheduled to meet Tuesday, July 8 to certify the independent candidates.

This is White's second attempt at running for Youngstown Mayor. His first attempt was in 2021 when he was deemed ineligible for voting in a partisan election despite running as an independent, as well as not meeting the five-year voting and residency requirement.

Other independent candiates in the Mayoral Race include Derrick McDowell and Aleesha Foster. If they are certified, they will run against incumbent Democratic candidate Tito Brown in the November 2025 election.