GOP candidate Swann speaks at event

A legendary football player says 2006 may be the best year of his life.
By D.A. WILKINSON
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
SALEM -- Lynn Swann tells a story about Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw calling a play -- a full right split.
Swann said the play gave the Steelers a good gain in yardage.
The problem came when coach Chuck Noll later watched the game film over and over and finally told Bradshaw the team had no such play.
Swann said, "The question is: 'What were the other 10 guys thinking?' We ran the play, and why did we run the play? We could envision a plan and put it together and made it work."
Swann is best known for playing in two Rose Bowls, helping the Steelers win four Super Bowls, and playing in three Pro Bowls. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2001.
Now a motivational speaker and Republican candidate for governor of Pennsylvania, Swann brought his message of thinking outside the box Monday to the Columbiana County Republican Party's Lincoln Day Dinner at the Timberlanes.
In another football game, Swann recalled signaling Noll that he was open. Bradshaw finally called a timeout to talk to Noll. Swann said he got the ball and made the play.
It worked, Swann said, "because Chuck trusted a young player. He was doing the right things for the right reasons."
Why he's running
Swann said he wasn't running for office to become famous or powerful, but because he's trying to do the right things for the right reasons. If successful in his first bid for political office, Swann would become Pennsylvania's first black governor.
The candidate said Pennsylvania has the 47th highest income tax of all 50 states, while other states, such as North and South Carolina, Florida and Texas, grab new jobs.
"Every day is a new day, a new beginning. Are you prepared to take advantage of it?" Swann asked, then added, "2006 may be the greatest opportunity of my life."
Pennsylvania, Swann said, should not be looking to support industries "that are on their way out." Instead, he said, Pennsylvania has to look forward.
Swann told the crowd, "Government is not going to create jobs. You are."
Ohio's situation
David Johnson, who is expected after the May primary to take over again as Columbiana County's Republican Party chairman, noted that Ohio is the state with the third-highest taxes in the nation. But, he added, Ohio is not done with traditional smokestack industries because is also the country's third-largest industrial state.
"I'm in a smokestack industry," said Johnson, whose family has been involved in Summitville Tiles Inc. since the 1920s.
Johnson said he will soon travel to Germany to study new technologies to keep core industries operating to provide jobs.
Swann's speaking at a Republican event is part of a growing trend, said Johnson. Four years ago, blacks made up 6 percent of the party and in 2004 made up 14 percent, Johnson said.
wilkinson@vindy.com