Voinovich: big impact on Ohio?

The senator's impact on the state is negative, his Democratic challenger says.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
VINDICATOR POLITICS WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- U.S. Sen. George V. Voinovich says some of his colleagues in the Senate have no idea about the struggles of residents of Ohio, who are losing their jobs and facing serious economic problems.
"Some of the guys don't get it," Voinovich said Thursday during an interview with The Vindicator. "They live in states with low unemployment."
While he didn't mention many names of the senators who "don't get it," he said U.S. Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, the Democratic presidential nominee, and U.S. Sen. James Jeffords of Vermont, who left the Republican Party in 2002 and is an independent, want to approve legislation that would essentially put coal mining out of business. That would devastate Ohio, Voinovich said.
Voinovich, elected in 1998 to a six-year term, said he believe he's made a bigger impact than any other senator elected that year.
"I'm making a difference in Washington ... because of my experience and my knowledge. Half of these guys don't understand local and state government," he said.
Previous offices
Voinovich has held numerous elected offices since 1967, most notably Cleveland mayor from 1979 to 1988, and Ohio governor from 1990 to 1998.
Voinovich said he is also needed in the Senate because he is an independent voice.
"I'm needed because I'm passionate," he said. "I'm my own person. I look through the lens of Ohio. Somebody's got to fight for Ohio."
Voinovich, a Republican, is being challenged in next month's election by state Sen. Eric Fingerhut, a Democrat.
"George Voinovich has had an impact on Ohio, and it's all negative," Fingerhut said. "The problem is George Voinovich doesn't know how to represent Ohio in the Senate. He's a nice man, and he means well, but his ideas are not working for Ohio. The policies he supports in Washington hurt Ohio."
The 68-year-old Voinovich isn't sure whether this will be his last campaign. If he ran for re-election to a third six-year term, he'd be 74.
"My future depends on God and my wife," Voinovich said. "My wife and children would like to see this be the last campaign."
skolnick@vindy.com