MAHONING CO. Montgomery backs Smith

The state auditor candidate is finishing a bus trip around the state to kick off her campaign.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
VINDICATOR POLITICS WRITER
BOARDMAN -- Ohio Attorney General Betty Montgomery, who is running for state auditor, said she is supporting the re-election of Clarence Smith, a frequent contributor, as chairman of the Mahoning County Republican Party.
During a stop today at Mahoning GOP headquarters on U.S. Route 224, Montgomery said she would do whatever she could to ensure Smith remains Republican chairman. Smith is being challenged by Mark A. Hanni.
"He has been a very strong supporter of me and the Republican Party," Montgomery said of Smith, whom she has known for about 10 years.
"Only in the Mahoning Valley would you have a hijacking of the Republican Party by a group of Democrats. It's not unusual in the Mahoning Valley. Politics here are very personal."
Party switch: Hanni is a former Democrat whose father was a longtime Mahoning Democratic chairman. Before deciding to run as chairman, Hanni said he had been contemplating the switch to the Republican Party for a few years because of philosophical differences he has with Democrats.
Montgomery praised Smith for increasing the number of Republican officeholders in Mahoning County. A number of the county's Republican judges initially got their jobs because Gov. Bob Taft, a Republican, appointed them to fill vacancies left by Democrats.
"Republicans were an endangered species in the Mahoning Valley and now we're making headway," Montgomery said. "He should be around to enjoy the fruits of his labors."
Montgomery is finishing up a three-day, 17-county bus trip around the state to kick off her campaign for Ohio auditor. She cannot run for a third term as attorney general because of the state's term limits law.
She will be challenged in the November general election by Democrat Helen Knipe Smith, a former Cleveland City Council member.
Success: Unlike most Republicans, Montgomery defeated her challenger in the Democratic strongholds of Mahoning and Trumbull counties during the 1998 general election. She hopes to repeat her success.
"For most Republicans, the northeast Ohio corridor is an area where you want to minimize your losses," she said. "I love to carry the Mahoning Valley. I hope it means people here feel we are working to root out the corruption in the Mahoning Valley. You're seeing the light of day in the Valley. Cleaning up corruption isn't going to happen overnight, but what a downpayment we've seen in improving the ethical makeup of our judicial system [here] in recent years."
skolnick@vindy.com