Most Mahoning, Shenango valley congressional delegation are centrists, survey shows

YOUNGSTOWN — The members of Congress representing the Mahoning and Shenango valleys are largely centralists with two notable exceptions, according to a review by the National Journal of key 2009 congressional votes.

The exemptions are:

U.S. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat from Avon, is in a five-way tie for being the most liberal member of the Senate.

U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Niles, D-17th, isn’t as liberal as Brown, but is far more liberal as the four other House members who represent the Mahoning and Shenango valleys.

Ryan is the 143rd most liberal member of the House, according to the publication’s ratings that were released today.

Ryan, who represents portions of Mahoning and Trumbull counties, received a score of 70 as a liberal and 30 as a conservative. That means he was more liberal than 70 percent of the House’s 435 members on key votes.

The National Journal used 99 key Senate votes and 92 key House votes to base its liberal-conservative ratings. The publication has ranked congressional members annually since 1981.

Brown’s scores were 88 as a liberal and 12 as a conservative.

Among those in the House representing the area, all but Ryan made it on to the list of “centrists,” those at the ideological center of the House. They are the members who came closest to 50-50 on their liberal-conservative votes.

For the complete story, read Saturday’s Vindicator and Vindy.com