Jim Traficant’s homecoming should be put in perspective

James A. Traficant Jr., the disgraced congressman and former sheriff of Mahoning County who epitomized the culture of government corruption in the Mahoning Valley, could be back in our midst in three months. Let us not greet him as a conquering hero.

Traficant is a convicted felon who will have spent more than six years in federal prison by the time he is scheduled to be sent to Community Corrections Association in Youngstown in March.

How we in this region react to his homecoming will be the story line for the national and international media. While Traficant’s family and friends should celebrate, the larger community would do well to take a step back and ponder what this most talented of politicians has done to the reputation of the Valley.

Go anywhere in the country and say you’re from Youngstown (it’s the reference point most people outside the region recognize) and there’s likely to be a question or comment about Traficant.

And, if the individual is thoughtful and is aware of the former congressman’s criminal record, there will be this: “Would the people of your area really elect him if he ran for office after serving time in prison?”

We would like to answer with an unequivocal no, but we’re well aware that Traficant still enjoys widespread support in Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties. But whether that support would translate into votes in an election is anyone’s guess.

We would rather not see the idea tested.

Half-way house

Traficant has been gone since August 2002 and would be released first to a half-way house from the Federal Medical Center in Rochester, Minn.

The reason for his being incarcerated in a medical facility must be made public when he is released. People have a right to know how a former high-ranking elected official — he was congressman from the 17th District for 18 years — was able to do most of his time in the relative comfort of a medical facility rather than a regular federal prison.

The initial reaction to the announcement of the former Democratic congressman’s impending release from prison in March was not surprising. He is still popular in the tri-county area. But the re-writing of Traficant’s political history cannot go unchallenged.

A review of his record in the House of Representatives will show that he was no more effective in taking care of his district than his peers. To be sure, Traficant did do some good for the region, such as securing millions of dollars for the Air Reserve Base, thus making it all but impossible for the Pentagon to close the facility, and persuading the Veterans Administration to establish VA clinics in the area.

But the idea that he was one of the most effective members of Congress because of his one-minute speeches is not supported by the facts.

In the end, Traficant must be judged on his criminal record, which will not be erased just because he is out of prison.