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Support for an unlikely trio: LaTourette, Ryan and Wilson
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Support for an unlikely trio: LaTourette, Ryan and Wilson
The conventional wisdom is that voters hold Congress as a whole in low regard, but they tend to think well of their congressman.
We understand that sentiment, times three.
In a strip of Ohio that stretches from Ashtabula County to the north, down the eastern border of the state and along the Ohio River halfway across the state, there are all or part of 22 of Ohio’s 88 counties, These counties of widely disparate populations are divided into three congressional districts that are represented by three distinctly different congressmen.
The 14th District to the north is represented by Steven C. LaTourette of Bainbridge, a Republican who tends toward the conservative, though he describes himself as a moderate.
The 17th District in the center is represented by Tim Ryan of Niles, a Democrat who has become a close ally of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
The 6th District, which snakes from Mahoning through 10 other counties to Sciota, is represented by Charlie Wilson of St. Clairsville, also a Democrat, but a proud member of the conservative Blue Dogs.
The races
Of the three incumbents, LaTourette faces he strongest competition — from William O’Neill, a former judge on the 11th District Court of Appeals. We’ve supported O’Neill in judicial races, but he did not make a strong enough case for removing LaTourette. LaTourette has served seven terms in Congress and says he stands by all 11,000 votes he has cast. While we would disagree with a number of those votes, we believe he is a strong and effective representative.
Ryan is emerging as one of the young Democratic leaders in the House and, with an anticipated increase in his party’s strength in the next Congress, is clearly the best candidate for the 17th district. He is being challenged by Duane Grassell, a Republican from Mogadore, who was unable to keep an interview appointment with editors.
Wilson has two challengers, Richard Stobbs, a Republican who splits his time between Columbus, where he works, and Belmont County. Stobbs argues for reining in deficit spending, but that argument doesn’t get much traction against a conservative Democrat like Wilson. Dennis Spisak of Struthers is running on the Green Party ticket and says he represents and alternative for those who are tired of picking the lesser of two evils.
LaTourette, Ryan and Wilson may disagree on any number of issues, but The Vindicator is comfortable that they are a good team for this area of Ohio and we endorse their re-election.