Ann Womer Benjamin makes sense for new 17th District

Timothy J. Ryan is an engaging young man who has grown since victories in his 2000 race for the Ohio Senate and even since his surprise upset in the Democratic congressional primary this spring.
But he still hasn't grown into the shoes of a member of the Congress of the United States. Frankly, the Mahoning Valley has not done a very good job of sending people to Congress from well over a generation. The last truly effective voice this area had in Washington was that of Michael J. Kirwan, an era that ended 32 years ago.
He was followed by Charles J. Carney, who proved to be a marginal embarrassment; Lyle Williams, who was marginally effective as a Republican trying to keep up in a Democratic world, and James A. Traficant Jr. , who spent nearly 18 years in Washington telling people he was working for the little guy while the only person he was really worried about was himself.
It is time for a change, time for something clearly better than what we've become used to. And the only candidate who offers even a glimmer of hope for solid representation and true change is Ann Womer Benjamin.
In her four terms in the Ohio House she has sponsored 18 bills, an impressive record. In the two years Ryan has been in Columbus he has been virtually invisible.
Womer Benjamin, 49, has been a practicing lawyer for 20 years and a legislator for eight. Ryan, 29, earned a law degree, but has said he never intended to practice law and so has not taken the bar exam. He held a couple of internships during college and worked two years for Traficant before being elected to the state Senate.
If she were a Democrat and lived somewhere between Youngstown and Warren, this wouldn't even be a race. But Womer Benjamin is a Republican, which automatically eliminates her from consideration by the party-line voters, and she lives in Aurora, which means to some that she can't understand the Mahoning Valley psyche or represent its interests. That's nonsense.
While she is, indeed, a Republican, she is a moderate Republican with a strong history of support for labor and steel-making. As for geography, someone doesn't have to have grown up in the Mahoning Valley to feel its pain. Her commitment to the area is clear. She has spent as much time campaigning here as has Ryan and when she had the opportunity to squeeze $3 million out of the state budget, she delivered to Youngstown State University for a job training program.
TIMOTHY J. RYAN (D)
Age: 29.
Home: 438 N. Rhodes Ave., Niles
Employment: State senator.
Education: Law degree from Franklin Pierce Law Center; bachelor of arts from Bowling Green State University; John F. Kennedy High School graduate.
Family: Single.
Priority: Economic development including bringing new technology jobs to the district and preserving the manufacturing segment of our local economy.
ANN WOMER BENJAMIN (R)
Age: 49.
Home: 362 Eldridge Road, Aurora.
Employment: State representative and attorney.
Education: Law degree from Case Western Reserve University; bachelor's degree from Vanderbilt University.
Family: Husband, David; two daughters.
Priority: To address the economic needs of the congressional district, with a focus on the Mahoning Valley.
JAMES A. TRAFICANT JR. (I)
Age: 61.
Home: 429 N. Main St., Poland.
Employment: Federal prisoner.
Education: Two master's degrees from Youngstown State University; bachelor's degree from the University of Pittsburgh; Cardinal Mooney High School graduate.
Family: Wife, Patricia; two daughters.
Priority: No response.
YOUNGSTOWN -- Voters in the 17th Congressional District have an interesting choice to make this year.
Do they vote for Democrat Timothy J. Ryan of Niles, a relatively inexperienced state senator who promises to use his enthusiasm and energy for the betterment of the district?
Do they vote for Republican Ann Womer Benjamin of Aurora, an experienced and well-connected state representative who doesn't live in the district?
Or do they vote for former U.S. Rep. James A. Traficant of Poland, an independent candidate who was expelled from Congress and sentenced to eight years in federal prison in July for bribery and racketeering?
If Ryan or Womer Benjamin wins, it will be the first time since 1984 that someone other than Traficant has represented the district in Congress. Ryan leads Womer Benjamin and Traficant in raising campaign funds and a Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee-sponsored poll has him with a comfortable lead.
The district includes portions of Mahoning, Trumbull, Portage and Summit counties.
Experience touted
Womer Benjamin touts her experience during her nearly eight years in the state House and her ability to bring people together to tackle complex issues as reasons to vote for her. Eighteen of her bills have been signed into law, the most of any Ohio legislator in the past eight years.
"We need a fighter and we need to elect an experienced person to a district that sorely needs leadership," she said. "Why do we need an experienced person? Because we can't afford to wait around for someone to learn how to bring things back to the district. We need someone who knows how to deliver."
Womer Benjamin has proved she has connections to state and national leaders by bringing Gov. Bob Taft, U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao, and a number of ranking members of Congress to the district to endorse her candidacy.
Womer Benjamin says that if she's elected, economic development will be a top priority.
"I will start with the business community, the university community and the work force to develop an economic plan," she said. "Economic development isn't something that just happens overnight. You have to build partnerships at the local level and have access at the state and national levels."
Ryan's a native
Ryan says because he was born and raised in the Mahoning Valley, he can better understand its needs and wants than Womer Benjamin.
Ryan says he would concentrate on education, including developing partnerships between businesses and the four major universities in the congressional district.
"We have to work together to make education more affordable," he said. "The focus needs to be on higher education. The Republican Party is cutting essential programs to fund education. We need to get more people educated. Better educated people will attract and received better paying jobs."
To free up money for higher education, Ryan proposes cutting tax breaks for the rich and reducing the federal farm bill, which he says is a government subsidy to major agricultural companies.
Traficant's not talking
As for Traficant, he's not saying anything. Serving an eight-year federal prison term in White Deer, Pa., Traficant, a former eight-term congressman, has declined interview requests from The Vindicator.
If Traficant is elected and not released pending appeal, he will not be able to serve on Capitol Hill as congressman. Also, federal prison officials say Traficant could not conduct congressional business out of his prison cell.
Prior to his expulsion, Traficant's main issues were the elimination of the IRS, opposition to free trade, toughening the nation's borders and pushing a buy-American policy.