Former U.S. senator returns to the Valley

An Ohio auditor candidate held a political fundraiser in Boardman.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
VINDICATOR POLITICS WRITER
Ex-U.S. Sen. Max Cleland of Georgia is becoming somewhat of a familiar face in the Mahoning Valley that he jokingly said he should move here.
Cleland was in the Valley on Thursday to endorse the candidacy of state Sen. Charlie Wilson of St. Clairsville, D-30th, who is running for the 6th Congressional District seat next year.
Cleland was in Canfield in October to endorse U.S. Rep. Ted Strickland, a Lisbon Democrat, for Ohio governor in 2006 instead of seeking re-election to the 6th District seat. Cleland also spent time in the Valley last year touting the unsuccessful presidential bid of U.S. Sen. John Kerry.
Cleland said he expects to be back in the Valley again to help Wilson, Strickland and others worthy of his support.
"He has a track record of integrity," Cleland said of Wilson. "He is the perfect person to go to Washington to represent the people of this district with honesty and integrity."
As it was last year, Cleland said Ohio will be a key presidential battleground state in 2008 and the Democratic nominee must win here to be elected president.
"It's still all about Ohio," he said. "The future of the nation is in Ohio. If Democrats with a track record of truth and honesty are elected [next year] then good things can happen in '08."
Raising support
Also, Mahoning County Treasurer John Reardon held an event in Boardman to raise money for his Ohio auditor bid next year. About 300 people attended Reardon's $100-a-ticket event.
Reardon is the only announced Democratic candidate for the auditor's seat, and with a Feb. 16 filing deadline about two months away, the county treasurer doesn't expect a primary. State Rep. Mary Taylor of Uniontown, R-43rd, is the only announced Republican for the position.
Reardon is concentrating his efforts in Northeast Ohio, the strongest Democratic region of the state, until he knows for sure there won't be a primary. Even so, Reardon has already campaigned in about half of the state's 88 counties.
Reardon is mailing a flier to about 18,000 Ohio Democrats -- from top officeholders to county precinct committee members -- introducing himself and touting his attributes.
On the congressional front, Cleland and Wilson held a rally in Salem in support of veterans' rights.
Cleland is a triple amputee who lost the limbs when he picked up another soldier's grenade as it exploded in 1968 while serving in the Vietnam War. Besides his one term in the U.S. Senate, Cleland is the former head of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs under President Carter and a former Georgia secretary of state.
Wilson called Cleland "a true war hero," who will help him make inroads with military veterans.
6th District race is key
Cleland said Democrats like Wilson and Strickland offer a stark contrast to Republicans.
"On one side you have people with integrity and on the [Republican] side you have a culture of corruption," Cleland said.
State Rep. Charles Blasdel of East Liverpool, among four candidates running for the Republican nomination for the congressional seat, said Cleland is making incorrect blanket statements about Republicans.
"Democrats have no ideas or vision so they talk about the past," said Blasdel, the Ohio House Speaker pro tempore and the Republican who has raised the most money so far in this race.
National Republican Congressional Committee officials say this race is their No. 1 target in the country as far as picking up a Democratic district. National Democrats say the position is one of their top priorities as far as retaining a seat being vacated by a Democrat.
Blasdel said prominent national politicians from both parties will visit the 6th District, which includes Columbiana County and part of Mahoning County, during this election.
Wilson will face Diane DiCarlo Murphy of Beaver Township in next year's May Democratic primary. Murphy was soundly defeated in the 2004 primary by Strickland.
Also, John Stephen Luchansky of Boardman is considering a run next year for the seat as a Democrat. He ran in last year's general election against Strickland as a write-in and received 145 votes, or 0.06 percent of the vote.
skolnick@vindy.com