YOUNGSTOWN Brown hints at run for governor's job

The congressman said his district will not include part of Trumbull County beginning next year.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
VINDICATOR POLITICS WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- U.S. Rep. Sherrod Brown, D-13th, says he is not running for governor, but he talks like a potential candidate.
Brown, of Lorain, whose district includes the western portion of Trumbull County, said a good Democratic candidate can beat Gov. Bob Taft in the 2002 race.
When asked for names of good Democratic candidates, Brown, a former secretary of state who lost that seat to Taft in 1990, points out that he is the only elected Democrat in Ohio to successfully hold a statewide position.
"Six months ago, I'd say Taft was not beatable and now he makes a mistake a week," Brown said during an interview Tuesday with The Vindicator. "I don't see him getting any better."
Brown said he would be more than happy to run for re-election to Congress and not worry about a statewide position. But that depends entirely on the state's congressional redistricting plan.
Redistricting: Because the state did not grow as much as the rest of the nation, Ohio will lose a congressional seat next year. Brown's seat has been frequently mentioned as a prime candidate for elimination.
When asked if he was too liberal to run for a statewide position, Brown said, "I don't buy that. The issues I talk about are ones people care about."
If Brown's district, which includes Lorain and Medina counties, remains largely in tact, he'll run for re-election.
Brown said Taft has told the state Legislature, which is responsible for drawing the congressional districts, to leave the 13th District alone.
But Brown said recent conflicts between legislative leaders and Taft, a Republican, show the two sides are not always on the same page, so it is debatable what will be done with his district.
A possibility: One scenario mentioned by Brown has the Legislature putting him and fellow Democrat U.S. Rep. Thomas C. Sawyer of Akron, D-14th, in the same district.
A final decision on the congressional redistricting is expected late this year and the new lines will take effect with the 2002 congressional election. No matter what happens to his district, Brown is confident he will no longer represent any of Trumbull County.
Brown's district is one of only four in the state to grow and because each district needs equal representation, the 13th District will shrink if it still exists. The logical part to eliminate is western Trumbull County, which could be given to the 17th District, represented by U.S. Rep. James A. Traficant Jr. of Poland, whose district lost population.
Brown also said based on population projections, the state will probably lose another congressional seat 10 years from now.
Cancer campaign: Brown was in Youngstown urging state officials to reconsider a decision not to cover uninsured working women diagnosed with breast or cervical cancer who do not qualify for Medicaid.
Brown, the ranking Democrat on the House Commerce Committee's health and environment subcommittee, said the federal government pays 70 percent of the cost of treating these women for breast or cervical cancer if states pay the remaining 30 percent.
Ohio's cost for treatment would be about $440,000 annually, Brown said. In a letter to Brown, Taft wrote that with a weakening economy and budget cuts, he is not able to commit to the program.