Reese declines to run for 6th District seat

A Mahoning County state rep will decide his political future shortly.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
VINDICATOR POLITICS WRITER
Another potential 6th Congressional District candidate from the Mahoning Valley won't run for the seat next year.
Ed Reese, a former Mahoning County commissioner, said Monday that he won't seek the position being vacated by U.S. Rep. Ted Strickland of Lisbon, D-6th, who is running in 2006 for Ohio governor.
Reese, of Boardman, said that to represent the 12-county 6th District as well as travel to and from Washington, D.C., would keep him away from his family for far too long.
Reese becomes the third Valley Democratic politician who had expressed interest in the post to announce he isn't seeking it.
In June, Mahoning County Treasurer John Reardon said he wouldn't run for Congress and is seeking the party's nomination for state auditor.
A few weeks later, then-Mahoning County Auditor George Tablack said he wouldn't run for Congress so he could focus on fixing the county's financial troubles. Less than a month later, Tablack announced his resignation for a better-paying job in Palm Beach County, Fla.
Running for nomination
State Sen. Charles A. Wilson Jr. of St. Clairsville, D-30th, is officially a 6th District candidate, and is considered by Democratic insiders to be the favorite to win the party's nomination next year. His Senate district includes three counties -- Columbiana, Jefferson and Belmont -- that make up a majority of the congressional district's population.
Also, Diane DiCarlo Murphy of Beaver Township, a Youngstown teacher defeated by Strickland in last year's Democratic primary for the 6th District, filed papers with the Federal Election Commission declaring herself a candidate.
State Rep. John Boccieri of New Middletown, D-61st, plans to decide his political future in the next few weeks. Boccieri, an Air Force Reserve pilot who returned from the Middle East a week ago, is looking at the congressional seat, the state Senate, and Ohio secretary of state.
"Being a state senator with a Democratic governor [meaning Strickland] sounds like a great opportunity," he said.
Reese said he would consider running for the state Senate if Boccieri doesn't seek that post.
Republican target
The National Republican Congressional Committee considers Ohio's 6th District to be its "No. 1 targeted open seat in the country," said Ed Patru, NRCC spokesman.
Republican candidates for the seat are: Ohio House Speaker Pro Tempore Charles Blasdel of East Liverpool; Noble County Commissioner Danny Harmon of Quaker City; political newcomer Tim Ginter of East Liverpool; and Richard Holt of South Point in Lawrence County, who lost the 89th Ohio House District race last year by a 2-1 margin.
skolnick@vindy.com