Building praise for Traficant

The ex-congressman was the driving force behind the courthouse, U.S. Sen. George Voinovich said.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
VINDICATOR POLITICS WRITER
OMEWHERE IN FEDERAL prison, former U.S. Rep. James A. Traficant Jr. is probably smiling.
The expelled congressman, who is serving an eight-year prison sentence for bribery and racketeering in a White Creek, Pa., federal prison, received praise numerous times Tuesday during a dedication ceremony of Youngstown's new Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse.
"If it wasn't for Jim Traficant, we would not be here today," said U.S. Sen. George Voinovich, a statement that received applause from the crowd. "He was responsible for pushing this project."
U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge William T. Bodoh, a tenant of the new building, also complimented Traficant.
"Despite his recent problems, we should also thank former Congressman James Traficant, who persevered to make this a reality," he said.
During the ceremony, a sports utility vehicle drove past the courthouse several times with a trailer that had a large sign reading: "Vote Traficant. In your heart you know he is right."
'He deserves the credit'
After the event, Voinovich explained that Traficant was the driving force behind the $22 million, four-story federal building on the corner of East Commerce Street and Wick Avenue.
"Traficant had a passion about this building, and he deserves the credit," Voinovich said.
Voinovich made it a point to say that even though Traficant helped the Mahoning Valley with the federal project, he is supporting one of the former congressman's opponents in next month's election for the 17th District seat: Ann Womer Benjamin, a fellow Republican. She is facing Traficant, who is running as an independent, and Democrat Timothy J. Ryan.
Voinovich said Womer Benjamin is a prot & eacute;g & eacute; of his, and he encouraged her to run eight years ago for the Ohio House in a primarily Democratic district.
The new federal building, the second one in Youngstown, provides space for bankruptcy court, the IRS, U.S. trustees, and U.S. Marshals Service.
The 17th Congressional District office in Youngstown was supposed to relocate from the nearby Thomas D. Lambros Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse, but because of Traficant's expulsion, his former staff is not relocating.
Voinovich said the new courthouse could serve as a stimulus to the revitalization of the city's downtown.
"I look at this building as a part of the continuing renaissance of this community," he said. "It is a symbol of the future of this town."
Naming the building
Legislation, sponsored by Voinovich, is pending in Congress to name the new building after senior Judge Nathaniel R. Jones of the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, a Youngstown native who attended the ceremony.
Judge Jones said it would be a great honor to have the structure named for him.
A Traficant-sponsored resolution, which passed the House and never received a Senate vote, would have named the building after Judge Jones and the late Judge Frank J. Battisi, a U.S. District judge in Cleveland and a former Mahoning County Common Pleas judge.
But Voinovich said it is a rare occasion that a federal building is named after two people and he believed Judge Jones deserved the honor more than Judge Battisi. He said the decision is not political.
skolnick@vindy.com