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Ex-mayor Williams touts Obama jobs bill in visit to Valley
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Michelle Hagan, left, and her husband, state Rep. Bob Hagan of Youngstown, D-60th district, greet Jay Williams and his wife, Sonja, before a dinner at Mr. Anthony’s in Boardman. The Youngstown Warren Black Caucus hosted the dinner to honor Williams.
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Youngstown’s former mayor Jay Williams and Mayor Chuck Sammarone chat at Mr. Anthony’s in Boardman. The Youngstown Warren Black Caucus hosted a dinner Friday to honor Williams.
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The Williamses pose for a photo with Jaladah Aslam, president of the Youngstown Warren Black Caucus. The event is the organization’s main fundraiser.
BOARDMAN
Jay Williams, who resigned last month as Youngstown mayor to take a job in the Barack Obama administration, said his No. 1 priority is helping get the president’s proposed $447 billion jobs bill passed.
Williams is the director of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Recovery for Auto Communities and Workers.
When fully implemented, the jobs bill will help the economies of urban industrial cities, such as Youngstown, Cleveland and Detroit, Williams said.
“There isn’t any city [like those] that wouldn’t have significant benefits from infrastructure investments and the immediate benefit of more jobs as well as tax cuts for small businesses,” Williams said of the Obama proposal.
The bill would increase federal spending on public-works projects, give a tax break to small businesses who hire the unemployed, extend and expand the Social Security payroll cut, and extend unemployment benefits.
Republican leadership and some congressional Democrats aren’t sold on the bill, saying it’s too costly and more details are needed.
“The fact that the president is crisscrossing the country explaining the bill, how it gets funded and trying to make sure it doesn’t get bogged down shows how important it is,” Williams said.
Williams was at Mr. Anthony’s in Boardman on Friday at a dinner in his honor, sponsored by the Youngstown Warren Black Caucus, a regional political organization.
It was his first public appearance in the Mahoning Valley since he started working in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 8.
“There’s no place like home,” Williams told The Vindicator. “Just driving on [Interstate] 680 and seeing the familiar signs and being on Midlothian and seeing the Bottom Dollar [food grocery store under construction] and seeing city workers leaving work is great.”
The main responsibilities of Williams’ office are to coordinate a federal response to factors that adversely impact automotive communities and workers, provide advice to high-level government officials on the potential impact pending legislation could have on those communities and workers, make recommendations on executive-policy proposals to help those communities and workers, and conduct outreach programs and develop policies to revitalize those areas.
Before the dinner started, he talked with Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson about a problem that city is having with a project that’s stalled because of different opinions from U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development officials in Washington, Chicago and Columbus.
“I can go back to D.C. and tell them about this,” Williams said. “These are the issues that frustrate cities. They need a consistent answer. That’s what I’m here for.”
Williams said he’s spent time in Washington meeting various federal officials, and having strategy sessions on what he can do in his new role.
He’s also traveling to areas in need of assistance such as Merrillville in northwest Indiana last week and Detroit next week to discuss specifics on what the federal government can offer to help their economies.
“We’re so proud of him,” said Jaladah Aslam, caucus president. “This Valley has been known for corruption and problems. So having him in such an important position sheds a good light on the Valley for a change.”
Friday’s dinner is the main fundraising event for the organization.