CONGRESS Strickland, Ryan select office sites

U.S. Rep. Ted Strickland's main office will be in Marietta.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
VINDICATOR POLITICS WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- As an enticement to getting a second federal courthouse built in downtown Youngstown, former U.S. Rep. James A. Traficant Jr. had promised to relocate the 17th Congressional District office there.
The problem is Traficant cannot keep that promise. He was expelled from Congress, sentenced to an eight-year federal prison term for bribery and racketeering, and failed to get re-elected.
U.S. Rep.-elect Tim Ryan, who was elected last month to the 17th District seat, will not move into the 2,500-square-foot office space at the courthouse, said Patrick Lowry, his spokesman.
Instead, Ryan's Mahoning County office will be in the Youngstown Business Incubator, Lowry said.
"Being in the incubator sends a message," Lowry said. "We've been talking about downtowns and growing businesses. Being in the incubator shows we are serious about our message. It's a better location for what we want to be about."
Traficant's staff
The remaining members of Traficant's staff, who officially answer to the clerk of the U.S. House and the House Administration Committee, opted not to move to the new courthouse when it opened in October. Traficant had already been expelled and the 17th District staff held out little hope that he would be re-elected.
The 17th District staff stayed at the Thomas D. Lambros Courthouse and Federal Building, the congressional district's Youngstown office, to avoid having to pack and unpack only to have to box up items a second time when they leave in early January. Also, former Traficant staffers at his Niles and Canfield offices will leave in a few weeks.
Officials with the U.S. General Services Administration in Washington, D.C., which operates the federal courthouse, did not return telephone calls Wednesday seeking comment on what will be done with the vacant office space at the $22 million, four-story building.
Lowry will work out of the Youngstown office for Ryan. The rest of Ryan's local staff will be announced shortly. There will be about 14 full-time employees working in Ryan's local offices, Lowry said.
Ryan plans to open a Trumbull County office on the square in downtown Warren, Lowry said.
Ryan also is looking at office space in Akron, and is undecided if he will open a district office in Portage County, Lowry said.
No leases for office space can be officially signed until Jan. 3, when those elected to Congress technically start their two-year terms.
Strickland's plans
U.S. Rep. Ted Strickland, a Lucasville Democrat, is planning to open a Mahoning Valley office on U.S. Route 224 in the Astre Total Fitness and Rehabilitation building, across the street from the Boardman Township Park.
Like Ryan, Strickland cannot sign a lease on the office space until Jan. 3. Strickland is a current congressman, but the statewide redistricting plan that places Columbiana County and a portion of Mahoning County in his district does not take effect until Jan. 3 so he does not officially represent those areas until that date.
Anthony Trevena, who served as Strickland's campaign manager, will be a field representative out of the Boardman office. There will be another full-time worker at that office and one or two part-timers, none of whom have been hired yet, at the Boardman office, Strickland said.
Also, Strickland may use space at East Liverpool's city hall as a location for his staffers to meet with constituents in need of assistance.
Changes to district
The congressional redistricting is causing significant changes to Strickland's district. Three of his four current offices -- in Portsmouth, Wilmington and Jackson, all in south-central Ohio -- will not be part of his new 6th Congressional District.
Strickland is in the process of closing those three offices, and will open an office in Wheelersburg in Scioto County, and possibly a part-time office in Belmont County, in addition to the Boardman office and possibly the East Liverpool office.
Strickland's fourth office, in Marietta, is still in his district and will be used by the congressman as his main district office.
Strickland will have 18 full-time staffers in his district, the most allowed for House members under House rules.
"Opening offices is like setting up a small business," he said. "With telephones, office space and personnel, it's a challenge. It can be a little intimidating."
skolnick@vindy.com