McKelvey said he hasn't determined the congressman's motivation for attacking him.

McKelvey said he hasn't determined the congressman's motivation for attacking him.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
VINDICATOR POLITICS WRITER
BOARDMAN -- U.S. Rep. James A. Traficant Jr. upped the stakes in his verbal attack on Youngstown Mayor George M. McKelvey's role in the proposed convocation center project.
"I think George should be more assertive, but every political figure works in different ways," Traficant, of Poland, said Wednesday after serving as host of the WKBN-AM radio show. "The mayor has to make a decision, but I will say this, and I'll say it right out: I think if [former Youngstown Mayor] Pat Ungaro was in that seat, this matter would have been resolved and we would have broken ground a long time ago."
Response: McKelvey doesn't mind the criticism nor the comparison to Ungaro, whom he appointed as one of his representatives on the arena board. McKelvey said he is doing all he can to move this project along and to bring city council and the arena board together.
"I have encouraged him to continue to attack me personally," McKelvey said of Traficant. "That has the potential of reducing tensions between the arena board and city council. If he's attacking me, he's not attacking the arena board members and council members."
McKelvey said he would not "lower myself to personal attacks or making baseless allegations." But McKelvey wonders why Traficant is attacking him when he is doing all he can to iron out the problems between council and the arena board.
"One always has to look below the surface of his comments to understand what potentially his real motivations are," McKelvey said. "I haven't determined what they are. Is it to deflect criticism from his current dilemma that he faces? Does he perceive me as a political threat?"
Traficant's current dilemma is a 10-count criminal indictment charging him with bribery, racketeering and tax evasion.
Meeting: City council meets today to consider several pieces of legislation to abolish the arena board. Council postponed a vote on those measures last week. The arena board then approved a contract that appears to give council the outright authority it has sought over the project.
Traficant, D-17th, said he entered the fray at the last minute because of the council vote. The congressman, who was responsible for obtaining $26.8 million from the federal government for the project, said the elimination of the arena board would be a "tragic mistake."
Traficant said McKelvey should be more vocal about maintaining the arena board. McKelvey said he does not know what more he can do to help.
"I've repeatedly said I support a contract between council and the arena board," McKelvey said. "If he thinks I'm going to call council names and berate them, I'm not going to do that."
McKelvey said he has tried to contact Traficant during the past year to discuss the arena project and the congressman has not returned any of his phone calls.
Invitation: Traficant said he would invite McKelvey and members of the arena board to appear on today's radio show to discuss the center. McKelvey said he would appear only if it were one on one with Traficant in the studio.
"I won't do a dog-and-pony show," McKelvey said. "If he calls me, I'll be at the station in five minutes."
Nemenz: Also after Wednesday's show, Traficant would not comment on the impact on his case of documents filed last week by federal prosecutors accusing the congressman of shaking down grocery store owner Henry Nemenz.
Nemenz will be called as a witness in Traficant's case to say that the congressman paid him only $25,000 for a $90,000 pole barn-riding arena at his family farm and instead of paying the rest, offered to intercede in a labor dispute on Nemenz's behalf.
"I can't talk about what Henry Nemenz does or anyone does, but I harbor no hard feelings against anybody who's trying to protect their freedom, their business and their money," Traficant said. "The way this case has been orchestrated, every single person involved has an awful lot to lose. If I was on their side of the aisle, I'd take care of myself."