Hagan emphasizes state budget crisis

Tim Hagan says he -- not the governor -- best understands the Mahoning Valley's needs and wants.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
VINDICATOR POLITICS WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Despite providing a $63 million state incentive package to keep General Motors in the Mahoning Valley, Gov. Bob Taft has done little to address the real needs of this area, said Tim Hagan, his Democratic challenger.
"Unemployment is up, tuition is up in the Valley, prescription drug costs are up, bankruptcies are up, foreclosures are up," Hagan said during a meeting Tuesday with Vindicator writers.
"Taft lives in a parallel universe. He can say he's done things for this Valley. But there is no evidence that he's done anything. This is the forgotten area of the state."
As for Taft's involvement in keeping GM in Lordstown, Hagan said a lot of other people were instrumental in that effort.
He also said it will take a lot more than keeping GM here for the Valley to emerge from its economic troubles.
"Youngstown will not be saved by a company of 3,000 people," he said. "It will be saved by small businesses with 20 employees or less coming to this area. You need a well-educated work force to attract businesses here. At the same time, Taft is cutting funding for higher education."
Hagan, who grew up in the Mahoning Valley, says he has a better understanding about what the area wants and needs than Taft does.
Taft, a Republican, has made frequent campaign stops in the Valley, including a visit Saturday to the Youngstown State University football game.
"Do you think Bob Taft cares about Youngstown when he tailgates at a YSU football game for 30 minutes and leaves?" Hagan said.
"Why doesn't he fix the damn bridge?" in reference to the closed Marshall Street Bridge in downtown Youngstown.
Taft's response
Orest Holubec, Taft's campaign spokesman, said the governor has focused a lot of attention on the Valley during his nearly four years in office.
Although others were involved in keeping GM in Lordstown, Holubec said it is wrong to diminish Taft's involvement in the effort.
Also, Taft helped create a $3 million job retraining center in the Valley that will begin next year and expects the Valley to be an active partner in his Third Frontier high-technology initiative, Holubec said.
Hagan says Taft's nearly four years as governor have been a disaster, with a number of scandals at state departments and a state budget deficit that is projected at more than $4 billion.
"I'm called a tax-and-spend liberal, but if I did what he's done for the past four years and ran this state into this deficit, you'd say that I was doing a bad job," Hagan said.
"This is the greatest tax crisis in the state's history and Taft gets away with it. If I ran this state for four years like he did, I wouldn't have the nerve to run for re-election."
If elected, Hagan said he would seek to make decisions affecting the state in a bipartisan way. Taft and the Republican leadership in Columbus have refused to allow Democrats at the table when discussing how to fix the state's problems, Hagan said.
Hagan trails Taft in raising money by more than a 9-to-1 margin. Also, the governor has a double-digit lead -- ranging from 11 percent to 18 percent -- in state polls.
Even so, Hagan said for an underfunded candidate with less name recognition than Taft to be that close with less than a month to go is remarkable.
"This race will go down to the wire," Hagan said. "It's been a tough journey. It's been a year of campaigning and effort. Bob Taft's a good man. I've known him for 25 years. But he hasn't been a good governor."
skolnick@vindy.com