Wilson to resign, take job with administration

Wilson to resign, take job with administration

Jason Wilson, who was going to lose his Ohio Senate seat next year because of redistricting, is resigning to take a job with the John Kasich administration as director of the governor’s office of Appalachia.

Wilson, a Democrat from Columbiana, said today that he was approached by members of the Republican governor’s administration shortly after the redistricting map was unveiled in late September.

Redistricting put Columbiana County in the same Senate district as Mahoning County. The latter county is represented by state Sen. Joe Schiavoni, a Democrat from Canfield, elected to a four-year term last year. Because of that, Wilson couldn’t challenge Schiavoni for the new Senate seat until 2014 or move south to a new Senate district.

Wilson didn’t want to move his family so he opted not to run for re-election.

While Wilson’s office will be based in Columbus, he said he only has to be there once every two weeks. He’ll remain in Columbiana and travel the state’s Appalachian counties, which include Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana.

Wilson starts the new job next week.

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