17TH DISTRICT AFL-CIO endorses Ryan for congressional seat

The union has more than 1 million active and retired members.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
VINDICATOR POLITICS WRITER
KENT -- The head of the Ohio AFL-CIO, one of the state's largest unions, said turning over the 17th Congressional District to a Republican would be a tragedy.
The union, which has more than 1 million active and retired members in Ohio, including 47,604 in the 17th District, threw its support Monday behind Democrat Timothy J. Ryan of Niles for the seat.
William Burga, Ohio AFL-CIO president, said the 17th District and the 3rd District, which is in the Dayton area, are the two key congressional races in the state.
The 17th District includes portions of Mahoning, Trumbull, Portage and Summit counties.
"These two are targeted because they'll be competitive," he said. "We'll put more effort in those districts compared to others. The Republicans already have a majority of districts in Ohio, and we can't let these two districts slip away from Democrats."
Competition
Also running for the seat are Republican Ann Womer Benjamin of Aurora and two independents, U.S. Rep James A. Traficant Jr. of Poland and Warren Davis of Bay Village.
Burga had praise for Womer Benjamin, saying that if she were running in a Republican district, she would probably get the AFL-CIO endorsement. David All, Womer Benjamin's campaign manager, said he was disappointed that she wasn't asked to appear in front of the AFL-CIO screening committee for the endorsement.
Ryan will receive money and volunteer assistance from the AFL-CIO.
"This is the first step in a series of positive steps for this campaign," said Ryan, a state senator.
The AFL-CIO did not make an endorsement in last month's Democratic primary. Burga said that Ryan was the preferred choice of the union's members who supported a candidate, but Ryan couldn't get the required two-thirds majority of the state AFL-CIO membership.
skolnick@vindy.com