Staff photo / Ed Runyan .... Bruce Shepas looks at election results from the polling place at Austintown Township Park shortly after the polls closed Tuesday night. He was leading the four-candidate race.

AUSTINTOWN — It’s taken several years, but Bruce Shepas is on the verge of becoming an Austintown trustee.

According to unofficial results from the Mahoning County Board of Elections, with roughly 163 of 212 Mahoning County precincts reporting, Shepas led his opponents with 39% of the vote.

Assuming the results hold, he will be sworn in as soon as the election is certified to relieve interim trustee, attorney Mike Dockry.

“I want to thank my family, my friends, and all my supporters for voting for me for all the right reasons,” Shepas said. “I am excited to get to work and start to represent our community.”

Shepas retired as a counselor for the U.S. Department of Justice in 2023 after a 23-year career. He has owned his business, Austintown Bounce, since 2007. He also sits on the Austintown Zoning Board of Appeals and previously served on the township’s zoning commission board from 2017 to 2022.

In his campaign, Shepas touted strong relationships with trustees Monica Deavers and Robert Santos, from serving not only as a zoning official but as the township’s Fourth of July parade chairman. He said he wants to use his know-how in this area to develop a local business ownership panel to help the township make smart decisions that will attract new businesses and support existing ones.

He also intends to leverage relationships he has in the school district to find ways to save taxpayers money through resource sharing and bulk purchasing.

At deadline, Andrea Paventi had won 25% of the vote, while Eric Vereb claimed 26%, and Bo Pritchard 9%.

Santos said he was pleased with the way the race was run and complimented all the contenders.

“All the candidates ran a good race,” he said. “It shows character to put yourself under the microscope of the public, so I give them all credit. I look forward to working with Bruce and Monica as a unified team for the betterment of Austintown.”

Shepas will occupy the seat formerly held by disgraced former trustee and ex Poland Township police officer Steve Kent.

Kent was elected in 2019 but removed from office immediately after his August 14 conviction in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court for tampering with evidence, a third-degree felony. He was acquitted on three charges of sexual battery related to an improper relationship with a student in 2021 while he was the school resource officer at Poland Seminary High School.