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Where Are They Now
Starks Keeps Counsel of Many He HelpsKey to resuscitating city is casino, hotel and civic center, former councilman says.In the prime of his political career, Youngstown's second ward councilman, Herman "Pete" Starks was the most powerful official in the city's government.A master of parliamentary procedure, not a piece of legislation passed that lacked his approval. And he knew where every dollar of revenue came from and how it was spent. It also helped that he was chairman of the finance committee, vice chairman of the legislative committee and president pro tem of City Council."He was the greatest councilman in Youngstown history," says the man who today represents the second ward, Rufus Hudson, who calls his predecessor "a mentor and a friend. He was beloved by everyone. He still is." First elected in 1964, Starks was re-elected 10 times, when in 1986, he ran for mayor but lost to Patrick Ungaro, then president of council. Ungaro would go on to serve 14 years as mayor of Youngstown and today is Liberty Township administrator. That was the last time Starks ran for public office.Today at 75, Starks, who moved to Liberty after his home on Fruit Street was twice burglarized, keeps his finger on what's going on in Youngstown. (During the interview for this profile, he took three calls seeking his counsel on city matters.) With intended understatement, Stark refers to himself a "political consultant."But his life is much more than nostalgia and offering advice.Every Friday afternoon he goes to his church, Price Memorial A.M.E. Zion Church, where he is a former trustee and a member of its food committee, to feed the hungry.Besides remaining active in his church, Starks is vice president of Haselton Old Timers No. 2, a group of volunteers who "visit nursing homes once a month and give out vouchers to indigent individuals." While he no longer cuts grass, he says, he does tend the flower beds in his yard.Starks just completed the third course he's taken on computers "for fun" and will take the fourth and last this fall. And he has taken photography lessons in Cortland where, not that long ago, "Mr. Meade showed us how to take long shots through a telephoto lens."From time to time, he has hosted talk shows on radio station WGFT but doesn't fill in as often as he used to "because my schedule is so busy."And Starks has attended all 18 Fruit Street reunions; a reunion is held each summer. "Mine was the first black family to move there," he recalls. Many of the neighbors he grew up with on the east side, and who have attended the reunions, comprise a who's who of Youngstown's standout athletes, best-known educators and prominent politicians. The death of his wife, Thirley, in 1993 "left a big void in my life." She had supported his political career and been his de facto legislative aide since he entered politics. When he wasn't home, she took every constituent call, every call from reporters and other politicians -- and there were many, the former councilman recalled -- and wrote it up so Starks could return the calls before they went to sleep."She worked as hard as I did," he says. "She took good records."Thirley Starks, whom Starks met when she worked at Haber's Furniture (today the Commerce Building downtown), was the impetus for him introducing legislation that allowed councilmen to have paid aides, he says. With few exceptions since then, council members have named their spouses. When council passed Stark's initiative, "payment was set at $1,200 a year," he recalls. Today it's $27,800. Members of councilmen continue to be paid $600 a year, the president of council $900.While serving on council, Starks was vice president of Local 1331 of the United Steelworkers of America and chairman of its grievance committee. That and serving on council "were all-day jobs," Starks says, "both jobs. I give my wife a lot of credit that I could do both."Since retiring, Starks says he has traveled considerably, mostly to gaming resorts including Las Vegas and Atlantic City, and cruise ships that offer gambling. He also visits Mountaineer Race Track in West Virginia.The key to resuscitating Youngstown, he says forcefully, is building "a casino at one end of Youngstown and a hotel between that site and the convocation center at the other end."He issues this challenge: "I will debate the ministers on this issue, if they'll face me. The money that will go to Pennsylvania could be coming right here to Youngstown."Earlier this summer, the commonwealth of Pennsylvania authorized the installation of up to 61,000 slot machine across the state and its gaming commission is expected to soon grant the last horse racing license to one of two sites in western Pennsylvania.Asked about Youngstown's future, Starks says forthrightly, "Youngstown's best days are behind it." On the restoration of Federal Street, he offers, "Just putting the street back, that won't do it [bring the downtown back]."Starks does think some small retail shops would return but that won't be enough to make the downtown a shopping destination."The only way that can be done is to finish the convocation center, build the hotel I mentioned and the casino," he states. "Then you can see a viable Youngstown."Starks dismisses those who say gambling has not helped Atlantic City come back and has done nothing for that city outside the section where the casinos were built. "I used to go to Atlantic City for union conventions," Starks says. "Over the years, I've seen lot of old homes torn down there and a lot of new ones built. I haven't seen any derelicts." Casinos built elsewhere in the United States, he says, have created jobs. The former councilman believes the Ohio Legislature and Gov. Bob Taft will have no choice but to allow more forms of gaming in Ohio in the wake of Pennsylvania's authorization of slot machines. "Casinos are going up all over the nation," he says, implying Ohio will suffer if it fails to follow suit.After his 22 years on council, Starks is proud that "every home in the McGuffey area had water [indoor plumbing] and there were no dirt roads left." Despite working hard at constituent service, he recalls, "I had so many people calling me to complain about [lack of government services], I just worked all the harder." In only one election did he lack an opponent in the Democratic primary, he says, even though he won by comfortable margins when he sought re-election.Councilman Hudson, also a member of Price Memorial Church, recalls that as a boy, "I went door to door with his literature."Today, he continues, "We talk every week, often twice a week. I would be crazy not to take his advice."Hudson won office on his second try, he says, mostly because of Starks' endorsement. "They didn't know me but they knew him. If I can be half the councilman he was, I'll think I've succeeded."Looking back on his 75 years, Starks finds, "Life is very fulfilling. My health is good." His hair is whiter but his weight hasn't changed since he was on council.He sees himself as still participating in helping bring about the future, just cast in a different role. As he says, he's a political consultant."