Strickland's bid for governor will turn spotlight on Valley

Area Congressman Ted Strickland's decision to enter next year's race for governor means the Mahoning Valley will be even more of a factor in the election than it would have been -- given that the key issue will be the ill health of Ohio's economy.
Even when the economy hasn't been as anemic as it is today, the Valley and its continuing struggle to fully recover from the collapse of the steel industry more than 25 years ago have been used as the backdrop for statewide candidates promising us their undivided attention.
But with Strickland's candidacy, Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties' problems will be more than one-liners in political soundbites. As a two-term Democratic representative of the redrawn 6th District, which includes the southwest portion of Mahoning and all of Columbiana counties, Strickland has worked closely with the region's other congressman, Tim Ryan of Niles, D-17th, on issues ranging from job-creation to health care to the future of the Youngstown Air Reserve Station. Prior to being elected in the redrawn district, he served for eight years as the congressman in the old 6th District, which included several southern counties.
After the 2001 election, Strickland moved his residence from Lucasville to Lisbon in recognition of the fact that two-thirds of the district's population is concentrated within Mahoning, Columbiana, Jefferson and Belmont counties. Strickland has made his presence in the Valley known and has shown a willingness to work with area politicians of both parties to find solutions to many of the seemingly intractable problems confronting the region.
By far, the greatest challenge is the area's economic revitalization, which Strickland has been working on with other political, business, labor and community leaders.
Primary contest
That experience should stand him in good stead as he campaigns for the Democratic nomination for governor. Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman has also announced his intention to run next year.
The Republican primary will feature three statewide officeholders, Attorney General Jim Petro, Auditor Betty Montgomery and Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell.
Ohio's economy will dominate the political debate next year and Democrats can be expected to blame Republicans, who have controlled the governor's office for almost 16 years, for the bad reports.
In January, the Associated Press filed a story that said, "By most indicators, Ohio's economy is not stacking up compared with most states and has fallen further behind in the past 10 years, according to economists."
In 2004, according to the story, the state lost 5,100 manufacturing jobs, and when considering other types of jobs, still had a net loss of 200 non-farm jobs since the end of last year.
Ohio's 5.9 percent unemployment rate is a half-point higher than the national rate and Oregon is the only other state with a larger percentage point increase in its jobless rate since 1994. Historically, Ohio's jobless rate has been consistently below the national average.
Gov. Bob Taft has sent to the General Assembly a sweeping tax reform package and is pushing the Third Frontier initiative that aims to make Ohio a key participant in the high technology and global economies.
Strickland must know that it isn't enough for him to point the finger of blame at Republicans. He must able to identify the reasons for Ohio's faltering economy and to propose solutions.
Given his tenure in the U.S. House of Representatives, including his three years to date as a congressman from the Mahoning Valley, we believe he will be up to the challenge.