Congressman-elect Johnson will have to deliver on pledge

The record shows that Congress- man Tim Ryan of Niles, D-17th, saw the value of using his position as a member of the House of Representatives in ways that would directly benefit the Mahoning Valley.

And we know that Congressman Charlie Wilson of St. Clairsville, D-6th, was similarly inclined. But, we don’t know that about the man who defeated Wilson in Tuesday’s general election, political newcomer Bill Johnson, a Republican from Poland. He’s voiced a pledge to work for all residents of this region, but he’s hinted at putting a higher priority on broader, more ideological goals in his post-election statements.

By any measure, Johnson’s victory over Wilson was impressive. Even more so, given that he’s not originally from the meandering 6th District, which includes a good portion of Mahoning County and all of Columbiana County, while the incumbent is home-grown.

But without a political r sum , it’s difficult to predict what Johnson will do once he’s in office.

So, we repeat a comment he made in an interview with The Vindicator about working with his Democratic counterpart, Congressman Ryan: “We need to work together for the Valley, and I’m sure we’ll have dialogue about that. ... You better believe I’ll be working hard to give the Valley a voice.”

We aren’t expecting Johnson to establish the kind of close relationship that Wilson had with Ryan, but we would hope the Republican congressman-elect’s conservative philosophy does not prevent him from listening to his Democratic colleague about practical ways to help constituents of the 17th and 6th districts.

Ryan, who will be starting his fifth term in office, cruised to victory Tuesday over Republican Jim Graham and ex-congressman and ex-federal prison inmate James A. Traficant Jr. Ryan has established himself as one of the relatively young stars of the Democratic caucus and has found a way of parlaying his connections on Capitol Hill into federal dollars for Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties. As a member of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, he has been able to funnel millions of dollars to the 17th District in the midst of an economic recession.

Republican gains

Although Ryan will be in the minority in January, he is still expected to retain his Appropriations Committee assignment. The congressman could lose his seat on the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, which would be unfortunate given the importance of the U.S. Air Reserve Base in Vienna to the economy of the Mahoning Valley.

Johnson says he would like to serve on the Armed Services, Veterans Affairs, Science and Technology and Energy and Commerce committees, which are all important to this region.

The new Republican congressman and the somewhat senior Democratic congressman have both committed to working together in the interest of this region.

We hope party politics and partisanship do not hinder such cooperation.