
 
 Paul Ryan and his wife Janna wash pots at St. Vincent De Paul dining hall. (Associated Press) 
 
 Update: Antal, who describes himself as an independent, has voted in Democratic primaries for the past 17 years. 
 
 The head of a northeast Ohio charity says that the Romney campaign last week “ramrodded their way” into the group’s Youngstown soup kitchen so that GOP vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan could get his picture taken washing dishes in the dining hall. 
 
 Brian J. Antal, president of the Mahoning County St. Vincent De Paul Society, said that he was not contacted by the Romney campaign ahead of the Saturday morning visit by Ryan, who stopped by the soup kitchen after a town hall at Youngstown State University. 
 
 “We’re a faith-based organization; we are apolitical because the majority of our funding is from private donations,” Antal said in a phone interview Monday afternoon. “It’s strictly in our bylaws not to do it. They showed up there, and they did not have permission. They got one of the volunteers to open up the doors.” 
 
 He added: “The photo-op they did wasn't even accurate. He did nothing. He just came in here to get his picture taken at the dining hall.” Antal later told NBC News that Ryan had cleaned some dirty dishes; his original comment was based on secondhand information from a volunteer. 
 
 Ryan had stopped by the soup kitchen for about 15 minutes on his way to the airport after his Saturday morning town hall in Youngstown. By the time he arrived, the food had already been served, the patrons had left, and the hall had been cleaned. 
 
 Upon entering the soup kitchen, Ryan, his wife and three young children greeted and thanked several volunteers, then donned white aprons and offered to clean some dishes. Photographers snapped photos and TV cameras shot footage of Ryan and his family washing pots and pans that did not appear to be dirty. 
 
 According to a Romney aide not authorized to speak publicly about the event, the campaign followed its usual protocol for impromptu, on-the-road stops by candidates: A staffer was dispatched to the St. Vincent De Paul Society ahead of Ryan’s visit Saturday morning and spoke with a woman in charge on site, who said that it would be fine for the congressman to stop by. The campaign did not contact Antal ahead of the visit. 
 
 The woman on site told the Romney staffer that some of the volunteers had already left, but that most were happy to remain until Ryan arrived, according to the aide. After Ryan left the soup kitchen, the woman approached a campaign staffer and expressed gratitude for Ryan’s visit, the aide said. 
 
 Chris Maloney, Ohio communications director for the Romney campaign, said that the visit by Ryan had been intended to highlight the work of the soup kitchen volunteers. 
 
 "Our campaign and Congressman Ryan were pleased to bring attention to the meaningful charitable contributions the St. Vincent De Paul Society makes to people in need,” Maloney said. 
 
 Antal, a self-described independent voter, said that he “can’t fault my volunteers” for letting the campaign in but said that the campaign “didn't go through the proper channels.” 
 
 He noted that the soup kitchen relies on funding from private individuals who might reconsider their support if it appears that the charity is favoring one political candidate over another. 
 
 “I can’t afford to lose funding from these private individuals,” he said. “If this was the Democrats, I’d have the same exact problem.” 
 
 He added that the incident had caused him "all kinds of grief" and that regardless of whether Ryan had intended to serve food to patrons or wash dishes, he would not have allowed the visit to take place. 
 
 “Had they asked for permission, it wouldn't have been granted. ... But I certainly wouldn't have let him wash clean pans, and then take a picture,” Antal said. 
 
 Aaron Blake contributed to this post. 
 
 
 
 VIDEO: GOP vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan stopped at a soup kitchen in Youngstown, Ohio on Saturday, where he and members of his family washed dishes for several minutes. The head of the charity has since come out saying Ryan's visit violated the organization's apolitical status, and that Ryan "just came in here to get his picture taken." 
 
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 Photo Photo Paul Ryan, the Republican vice-presidential nominee, spoke to a group of men outside the St. Vincent de Paul Society’s Dining Hall in Youngstown on Saturday. The head of the society said Ryan used the facility for a “publicity stunt.” 
 
 St. Vincent de Paul Press Conference Video Video Brian J. Antal, president of the local St. Vincent de Paul Society, discusses the society's position on political visits. 
 
 By David Skolnick 
 
 skolnick@vindy.com 
 
 YOUNGSTOWN 
 
 The president of Mahoning County’s St. Vincent de Paul Society is “shocked” and “angry” that Republican vice-presidential nominee Paul Ryan used the soup kitchen for a “publicity stunt.” 
 
 Brian J. Antal, who runs the society, said the campaign “ramrodded themselves in there” without getting proper permission for the visit Saturday that followed Ryan’s town-hall meeting at Youngstown State University. 
 
 “They said they got permission from the right people, but that would have been me, and I never would have given them permission,” Antal said Monday. 
 
 Juanita Sherba, St. Vincent’s Saturday coordinator for the dining hall, said she gave the Ryan campaign approval that day for the visit by the candidate and his family. 
 
 Sherba say she now realizes it wasn’t her call to make. 
 
 The event “was a photo op,” she said. “It was the phoniest piece of baloney I’ve ever been associated with. In hindsight, I would have never let him in the door.” 
 
 When an advance person from the Mitt Romney/Ryan campaign asked about the visit, Sherba said it took her by surprise. 
 
 “I didn’t know it was my place to say ‘no,’” she said. “I made a mistake.” 
 
 The event was completely staged by the campaign, she said. 
 
 “They couldn’t have cared less,” Sherba said. “The advance man said Paul Ryan wanted to come and talk to our clientele, but he didn’t.” 
 
 When asked for a comment, Christopher Maloney, spokesman for the Romney/Ryan campaign, said: “Our campaign and Congressman Ryan were pleased to bring attention to the meaningful charitable contributions St. Vincent de Paul Society makes to people in need.” 
 
 One Romney/Ryan campaign aide, who declined to be identified for this story, said Sherba told a staffer that it would be fine for Ryan to come to the center, and that she was pleased by the request. 
 
 Also, the aide said Sherba expressed gratitude for the visit. 
 
 But Sherba tells a different story. 
 
 She said she was told Ryan would talk with the society’s clientele, but he arrived so late that breakfast was over for quite some time. 
 
 Volunteers started to clean up, she said, when a Ryan campaign staff member asked them to leave some pots and pans unwashed so the VP nominee and his family could do something when he arrived. 
 
 “We just wanted to come by and say, ‘Thanks,’” Ryan said to a few volunteers who stayed behind Saturday. “This is what makes society go.” 
 
 Despite some media reports, Sherba said Ryan and his family washed a few dirty pots and pans, but it wasn’t necessary. 
 
 “It was all about him coming in and doing dishes for publicity,” Sherba said. “We had to save dishes. We would have gone home by the time he arrived. We didn’t need him to do the dishes. It was getting late, and I said that we were closing in five minutes. I waited longer than that, and he finally arrived.” 
 
 Antal said he’s received several phone calls and emails from donors who are “not pleased” that Ryan used the soup kitchen as a photo op. 
 
 “I’d have the same problem if [Vice President] Joe Biden or [President] Barack Obama came down there,” Antal said of the Democratic ticket. 
 
 But he did specifically criticize Ryan for wanting to eliminate the small amount of federal money the society gets for the dining hall. 
 
 “That is a little two-faced to say the least,” he said. “I cannot have the appearance that we are endorsing the Republicans by letting them use our facility for photo ops and publicity stunts.” 
 
 The society received $12,000 in federal money this year and raised about $175,000 to $200,000 in private donations for the dining hall, Antal said. 
 
 The nearby food pantry received $3,200 in federal aid this year and $75,000 in private donations, he said. 
 
 “If we can’t get private donations, we’re sunk,” Antal said. “It’s not a Democrat or Republican issue. It’s a faith-based organization, and we’re not here to get someone elected.” 
 
 Antal said he doesn’t blame volunteers for this. 
 
 The society’s bylaws prohibit the endorsement of candidates and political parties, Antal said. 
 
 Now it also will include a policy prohibiting candidates from visiting its facilities, he said. 
 
 The dining hall is next door to The Vindicator’s production facility and newsroom on Front Street in downtown Youngstown. 
 
 St. Vincent serves 98,000 meals to the poor annually with 200 to 250 people served lunch every weekday and about 150 served breakfast on Saturdays, Antal said. The hall is closed Sundays. 
 
 Also, those provided lunch are given bags with a sandwich or food wrap to eat at night, he said. 
 
 Those wanting to donate to the society can do so at P.O. Box 224, Youngstown, OH 44501 or at any First Place Bank.
– Paul Ryan and campaign staffers "ramrodded their way" into a soup kitchen for a photo-op long after the patrons had left and staff had cleaned up, complains the chief of an Ohio charity. "We’re a faith-based organization; we are apolitical because the majority of our funding is from private donations," the head of Mahoning County St. Vincent De Paul Society tells the Washington Post. "It’s strictly in our bylaws not to do it. They showed up there, and they did not have permission. They got one of the volunteers to open up the doors." The charity chief says he wouldn't have let Obama or Biden use the dining hall for a photo-op either, but Ryan's appearance was especially annoying because the VP candidate wants to cut the small amount of federal funding the facility receives. "That is a little two-faced to say the least," he says. "I cannot have the appearance that we are endorsing the Republicans by letting them use our facility for photo-ops and publicity stunts." The volunteer who let Ryan and his staffers in says the event "was the phoniest piece of baloney I’ve ever been associated with." But contrary to some reports, the pots Ryan was pictured washing were actually dirty, because a Ryan aide had asked for some dirty ones to be set aside for him to clean, she tells the Youngstown Vindicator,