A variety of issues concerns delegates from the Valley

Mahoning Valley delegates say key issues are job growth and the economy.
By BRAD PERRIELLO
SPECIAL TO THE VINDICATOR
BOSTON -- The cradle of the American Revolution is rolling out a cobblestone carpet for the nearly 5,000 delegates attending the Democratic National Convention, and more than a dozen Mahoning Valley residents are taking full advantage of the week's festivities.
Beyond the parties and receptions, however, they say they are here to bring national attention to their concerns about key issues, including job growth and the economy.
"We've lost 260,000 jobs in Ohio, and that doesn't include a number of people in my district who are working for lower wages," said state Sen. Marc Dann of Liberty, D-32nd, a member of the convention's Rules Committee, who attended his first Democratic convention at age 17 in 1980.
"Having a middle class in Ohio is becoming more and more unlikely, and I think you can directly attribute that to the policies of the Bush administration," Dann said.
Similar concerns are vexing Minerva's Ruby Gilliam, 82, chairwoman of the Carroll County Democratic Party.
"I live in the Appalachians, and everything there is closing. There are no jobs to be had," said Gilliam, who is attending her sixth convention. "George Bush has destroyed our economy by sending all of our jobs overseas. I know people who had to go on welfare that would never [have] believed they had to."
Concerned about outsourcing
Delegate James Kaster, 57, president of Local 1714 of the United Auto Workers union, said his main concern is the overseas outsourcing of jobs. He also expressed worries about veterans' benefits.
"A lot of our older people are falling back on our veterans' benefits and finding that they're not there," Kaster said.
Alternate delegate Tristan Paul Hand of Warren, a self-described "Robert Kennedy Democrat," said before the opening gavel that several factors prompted him to become a delegate.
"Unemployment is obscenely high in the Valley," said Hand, adding that he is also concerned about the Iraq war. "I support 100 percent our troops and the military, but I really worry about how we got there and that process. As an openly gay male, I worry about our rights.
"I served proudly to defend our rights," said Hand, who added that he served in the Air Force during Vietnam, "and I worry about how my rights are being defended."
Hand said he's been active in local politics for about eight years, serving as president of the downtown Warren Business Association, chairman of the Warren Traffic Commission, and vice chairman of the Warren Parks and Recreation Department.
Valley's struggling economy
Robert Wasko, a member of the Mahoning County Board of Elections, said the region needs federal help resuscitating its economy.
"We definitely need some assistance bouncing back since the demise of the steel industry," Wasko said. "We have not really received a lot of assistance from the federal government in the past, and we have hope now with Kerry-Edwards in the White House that we'll have some help there to give us the bounce we need."
For Mahoning County Commissioner Ed Reese, a member of the Kerry campaign's National Finance Committee, the key issue is to ensure that the heavily Democratic Mahoning Valley has an advocate in the Oval Office.
"I've said before that Mahoning Valley is critical to the election. We need to get the vote out," Reese said. "We raised almost $100,000 [for Kerry], which is unbelievable for our area. I want to be sure we are noticed, and I think we are noticed because of the fund-raising efforts in the Valley."
Health care
Ohio state Rep. Sandra Stabile Harwood of Niles, D-65th, said economic recovery, job growth and health-care issues are crucial to Valley residents.
"I intend to participate in the health-care forum with Sens. Clinton and Kennedy on Thursday, sharing the story of the devastation of so many people and families in our Valley," Stabile Harwood said.
Tim Callion of Warren became a delegate after a friend suggested that he put his name in the hat during the March caucuses. Before the convention began, he said his previous political experience was limited to helping a sister-in-law campaign for a Warren City Council seat.
Callion, a member of the Local 396 Plumbers and Pipefitters union, said he also is most concerned about the economy.
"Our manufacturing in this country is pretty much gone. Everyone keeps stressing that we're in the service industry now, but what jobs, services do they mean?" Callion said. "There's got to be some way to entice companies to stay in America instead of going abroad for cheaper wages. We need to do something here for the people who own the businesses as well as the blue-collar workers."
Women's issues
Another delegate, Judie Hartley of Warren, is a former women's health-care nurse practitioner. As such, she said women's issues are most important to her.
"I am a Democrat because I believe in the party's platform in regards to women," said Hartley, 71. "I'm a member of the Women's Democratic Party and the League of Women Voters because I believe everyone should get out there and vote, regardless of your party politics."
The economy is also important to Hartley. She said she plans to attend the women's and senior caucuses and the health-care seminar sponsored by Sens. Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts and Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York.
Hartley became a delegate after filling out an application in the Ohio Democratic Party's newsletter.
"I kind of got it by default -- there was nobody else to vote for," Hartley said. "I had no idea what I was getting into."