Gerberry, Hagan, Okey earn retention in the Ohio House

Like many Ohioans, we are unhappy with the musical chairs being played in the Ohio General Assembly as a result of term limits. But nothing in the constitutional amendment that went into effect in 2000 prohibited a state senator approaching the end of the road from running for representative, and vice versa.

In a perfect political world, a lawmaker would serve his or her time and then call it quits. And, in a perfect political world, these experienced officeholders would be replaced by individuals with a deep understanding of state government and a familiarity with the workings of the Ohio General Assembly.

But perfection is elusive, which is why voters have swallowed hard and supported legislators playing musical chairs.

Such is the situation confronting the electorate in Mahoning County.

In the race for the 59th and 60th House District, two veteran legislators are seeking new terms. Rep. Ronald V. Gerberry, an Austintown Democrat, has 20-plus years in House and six-plus years as county recorder; Robert F. Hagan, Youngstown Democrat, has served 12 years in the House and nine years in the Senate.

By contrast, Mark Okey, a Carrollton Democrat, is completing his first term as the 61st District representative. The district includes a small portion of Mahoning County.

Challengers

The incumbents are being challenged in the Nov. 4 general election by three Republicans who are relatively unknown in the political arena.

Gerberry is facing Dick McCarthy of Boardman, an accounts executive with PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP; Hagan’s challenger is Timothy A. Gordon Jr. of Lowellville, bar manager at South Bridge Billiards/The Cellar; and Okey is up against Kirk Susany, who owns a construction company.

Neither Gordon nor Susany accepted an invitation to meet with The Vindicator’s editorial board and, therefore, cannot be considered for endorsement.

Had Gordon joined us, he would have been faced with challenge of making the case that a political novice is what the 60th District needs at this crucial time in Ohio’s history.

The state has lost almost 300,000 high-paying manufacturing jobs over the past five years, the issue of funding public education is still unresolved, the number of Ohioans without health care coverage remains unacceptably high, and regions like the Mahoning Valley continue to struggle in their economic revitalization efforts.

Thus the question: Can the 60th District afford to have an individual representing it who would need on-the-job training? The answer is no.

Hagan has established himself as an expert in health-related issues and began pushing a universal health-care initiative long before it attracted the attention of national and state politicians.

The Youngstown representative also has a deep understanding of the challenges confronting the Valley’s economic recovery effort and is a supporter of incentives from the state and federal governments for creation of high-technology, green energy jobs.

“We need to invest in our manufacturing base that exists in our Valley to provide the green jobs of wind and solar.”

Energy initiatives

Wind and solar energy initiatives have become a priority for Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland and have been embraced by both presidential candidates, Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain.

Okey, a lawyer by profession, says that the top issue in the election is public school funding, and he has developed a 10-point proposal for dealing with what the Supreme Court has ordered. The proposal has been presented to Gov. Ted Strickland. Okey has discussed his thoughts during town hall meetings he has hosted throughout the district.

Gerberry’s tenure in the General Assembly has been defined by his expertise in education. When Democrats were in the majority in the House, he served as chairman of the education committee.

His knowledge is evident when he discusses in detail the four Supreme Court rulings that, in effect, have called on the Legislature and the governor to find an alternate source of funding for kindergarten through 12th grade so that local property taxes are not the primary source of revenue for school districts.

While the incumbent’s challenger, McCarthy, does a good job of articulating the problems confronting the state and the 59th District, in particular, he comes up short when proposing specific solutions. It is not enough for him to say that Gerberry is ineffective.

The Vindicator endorses Hagan, Gerberry and Okey in the belief that their experience will benefit Ohio as it weathers the current economic storm.