Valley lawmakers mostly centrists

By David Skolnick

The report lists Sherrod Brown as the most liberal member of the U.S. Senate.

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

The exceptions are:

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

UU.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Niles, D-17th, isn’t as liberal as Brown, but is far more liberal than 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, which were released Friday.

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.

At the top of the centrists list for this area is U.S. Rep. Kathy Dahlkemper of Erie, Pa., D-3rd, whose liberal-conservative rating was 48.7-51.3. Dahlkemper, ranked the eighth most centrist member of the House, represents a portion of Mercer County.

Not far behind is U.S. Rep. Jason Altmire of McCandless, Pa., D-4th, with a 46.5-53.5 rating. Altmire, ranked the 15th most centrist, represents all of Lawrence County and a portion of Mercer County.

In a National Journal article that accompanied the list, Altmire said: “I represent my district, and the district clearly didn’t support health reform or cap-and trade. It’s a hard case for my opponent to articulate that I am a lapdog for [Speaker] Nancy Pelosi. ... Your voting record does matter.”

U.S. Rep. Charlie Wilson of St. Clairsville, D-6th, also is listed as a centrist receiving a score of 57.7 as a liberal and 42.3 as a conservative. Wilson is ranked the 29th most centrist member of the House.

“I ran as a moderate, and Washington hasn’t changed that,” said Wilson, who represents all of Columbiana County and a portion of Mahoning County. “I vote my district and I always will. Ohioans are pretty frustrated with politics as usual. They deserve someone who’s not afraid to take hard votes in their best interest. I feel that my voting ranking in Congress shows that’s exactly what I do.”

U.S. Rep. Steven C. LaTourette of Bainbridge, R-14th, received a 37.8 score as a liberal and a 62.2 as a conservative. The ranking has LaTourette, who represents seven northern townships in Trumbull County, as the 45th most centrist member of the House.

Though Brown was the most liberal Senate member, U.S. Sen. George V. Voinovich, a Republican from Cleveland, was ranked the 62nd-most- liberal member of the Senate.

Voinovich’s 38.3 liberal score and 61.7 conservative score makes him one of the most centrist members of the Senate.

skolnick@vindy.com