Like Voinovich, Brown shows a commitment to the Valley

When George V. Voinovich left the governor's office to go to Washington as one of Ohio's two senators, the question we pondered was this: Will Voinovich, a Republican, continue to pay attention to the Mahoning Valley the way he did during his eight years in Columbus?
The answer, after a full six-year term and two years on Capitol Hill, is clear: The predominantly Democratic Valley has an ally in the Senate.
The question surfaced again recently -- but not in relation to the senator. Rather, it came to mind when U.S. Rep. Sherrod Brown, who once represented a district that included a portion of Trumbull County, won the November general election for the U.S. Senate seat held by Republican Mike DeWine.
Democrat Brown, who once served as secretary of state, defeated DeWine in a hotly contested race. He will be sworn in next month.
The congressman, who has established a close working relationship with U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Niles, D-17th, met this week with members of The Vindicator's editorial board to offer his take on the election and to talk about his and the Democratic Party's legislative priorities in the next Congress.
The election nationwide saw Democrats take control of the House and the Senate from the Republicans.
While Brown can't wait for the opportunity to pursue the issues he says are important to working Americans that the GOP majority has refused to consider, he also let it be known that he intends to use his position as senator to advance the interests of regions like the Mahoning Valley.
Projects
As the interview was coming to a close, Brown, who lives in Amherst, posed this question to the Vindicator editorial board members: What are some of the projects that are important to the Valley?
He explained that he has worked closely with Ryan on issues such as the Taft Technology Center in downtown Youngstown and on keeping the Youngstown Air Reserve Station in Vienna Township off the Pentagon's base closing list.
Brown was told that the Taft Technology Center, which is one phase of the expansion of the Youngstown Business Incubator, is a top priority because it establishes high-paying, high-tech jobs in the downtown area.
The airbase also remains on the top of the list not only because the Pentagon has adopted a long-range cost-cutting program, but because Ryan is committed to its expansion.
But the overarching project in the region is the General Motors Corp.'s Lordstown assembly plant, which produces the Cobalt. GM has talked about discontinuing the popular compact model in 2009, which means a new product for Lordstown will have to be found.
Next year, Ryan, the 17th District congressman, will be serving on the appropriations committee, the most powerful committee in Congress, which means he will be in a position to funnel money to the Valley.
Highway and bridge projects and the restoration of brownfield sites were also mentioned as being important to the region.
The discussion with Brown about what the Valley needs was encouraging. It means that Ohio's two senators will not have to be reminded about the Valley.