Ryan gets snookered by GOP opponent

State Sen. Timothy Ryan, the Democratic nominee for 17th District congressman, voted against a $3 million state gift for Youngstown State University. That, in a nutshell, is the effect of Ryan's decision to toe his party's line in the Ohio General Assembly. But don't judge the political lightweight too harshly, he simply got snookered by his more experienced Republican opponent in the race for Congress.
The Democratic minority in the House and Senate refused to support a Republican-drawn bill designed to close a $1.7 billion gap in the state's operating budget. The measure, which was signed into law last week by Gov. Bob Taft, boosts revenue by increasing the state cigarette tax by 31 cents per pack, taxing the undistributed income of trusts in Ohio-based banks through Dec. 31, 2004, and utilizing the entire $600 million in the state's rainy day fund.
Democrats complained that they were excluded from the deliberations and thus refused to vote for the budget-balancing plan. But given their majorities in both chambers, Republicans did not need any Democratic support.
On the other hand, the GOP leadership had to wheel-and-deal in order to get enough of their members on board, and that's when Ryan of Niles, D-32nd, fell victim to state Rep. Ann Womer Benjamin of Aurora, R-75th.
Womer Benjamin is the GOP nominee for the 17th District Congressional seat, which makes her Ryan's political rival. The move that the eight-year state legislator orchestrated during the budget deliberations had the effect of showing up Ryan for the legislative neophyte that he is -- 17 months in the Senate and no prior full-time work experience either in government or the private sector.
Let's make a deal
Here's what happened: Womer Benjamin, a member of the House Finance and Appropriations Committee and the Higher Education Subcommittee, let Speaker Larry Householder know that she wasn't sold on the budget-balancing plan and needed an incentive to overcome her uneasiness.
"It was a very, very difficult problem that we faced," she said of the plan. "I felt if I could do something positive, I'd feel a lot better about supporting the bill."
She talked to the governor and House leaders about including $3 million in the bill to boost work force development "and Youngstown State University was the logical place to put it." But it was her subsequent comment that illustrates her political savvy.
"I told the governor that I thought it was important that as we face our economic crisis that we start putting money in places that need it most and have maybe not received it in the past," Womer Benjamin said. "It is the benefit of being in the position to talk to the right people, to have access to the right people and to recognize the right opportunity."
Translation: Ryan can yammer all he wants about how important Youngstown State University is to this congressional district's economic revitalization, but that's all he can do, yammer.
Indeed, during the primary campaign, Ryan argued that YSU and the other institutions of higher learning in the 17th District had to play leading roles in technology-related initiatives and in job training programs. Yet, when he had the opportunity to put state money where his mouth is, the state senator miscued. He couldn't break ranks with the Democrats and vote for the budget-balancing bill. Why? Because had he done so, one of the other Democrats running as an independent in the 17th District race, former labor leader and Democratic Party insider Warren Davis, would have accused him of being a political turncoat.
Legislative aide
Why just single out Ryan for voting against a gift for YSU and for turning a blind eye to the advantages this region will enjoy as a result of the work force training program? Because he is the leading candidate for the 17th District seat and because he insists that his lack of political and work experience are not major shortcomings. In fact, his flimsy r & eacute;sum & eacute; includes his working as a legislative aide for Congressman James A. Traficant Jr. of Poland, D-17th. Traficant, who has been found guilty of 10 federal criminal charges and is scheduled to be sentenced later this month, is running for re-election as an independent.
It is true that Ryan was in a no-win situation with regard to the budget-balancing bill, but it was Ann Womer Benjamin who put him there.
The fall campaign promises to be a doozie.