Gov. Kasich has high praise for area in State of the State

In a wide-ranging State of the State speech Tuesday, Ohio Gov. John Kasich tipped his hat to the Mahoning Valley — again — for the strides being taken on the job-creation front. He also offered some hope to area residents worried about the environmental effects of the oil and gas drilling boom.

Kasich chose Wells Academy in Steubenville to deliver the annual governor’s address to a joint session of the House and Senate. It was the first time in history the speech was given outside of Columbus. He highlighted the success of Wells, the top-ranked public elementary school in the state, but also talked about the high dropout rate in urban school districts and the fact that many high school graduates require remedial education when they begin college.

He pledged to spend the next year finding a way to fix public education in Ohio.

But it was when he talked about the good things occurring in the state that the Valley took center stage — just as it did in the governor’s first State of the State speech in 2011.

“Let me tell you about some of the recent things that have happened in this state that are good. Talk about autos to start, because Ohio does have a base industry in auto. No question about it. General Motors put out a letter, they don’t put out a letter praising their mom, let alone some government, saying things were getting better. … I’m writing right now an op-ed piece with the CEO of General Motors talking about Ohio and manufacturing in America. They have a continued commitment to Toledo, Defiance and, of course, Lordstown. Chevy Cruze, baby, it’s selling. And it’s working.”

Last year, the governor, commenting on his visit to the GM assembly plant in Lordstown, told legislators, “We cannot let Lordstown fail. It is the center of the Valley. We’ve got to make sure we work closely with auto officials, and we must do what we have to do to make sure that plant is up to date. And while we have the Cruze, I always think in the future: What do we get next in Lordstown. The union and management have worked well together.”

In the past year, GM announced that the diesel version of the top-selling, highly rated Cruze will be built at Lordstown.

We wholeheartedly agree with the governor that the assembly plant’s future must be secured, which is why we would urge his administration to work with GM on the next generation of the compact car and another model.

The plant is now one of the automakers’ top producers.

In his speech Tuesday, the governor also mentioned V&M Star and its huge expansion project.

“V&M Star in Youngstown, advanced manufacturing,” he said. “What are they doing? It’s energy.”

Major investment

Last year, the governor mentioned V&M Star, which is building a $650 million state of the art steel pipe making facility in Girard/Youngstown; a subsidiary is investing another $57 million in a pipe finishing facility.

Finally, Kasich pointed to the unemployment rate in this area.

“Listen to this, folks, I mean, I just don’t even — I can’t believe it. The unemployment rate in Youngstown has gone from 11.6 to 8.3 percent in the last year. The Mahoning Valley is alive again. And they deserve it.”

This region certainly does deserve an economic rebirth after more than three decades of struggle following the collapse of the steel industry. A lot of hard work by a lot of people, both in the private and public sectors, is finally beginning to pay off. The role of the state and federal governments should not be ignored, especially now that the region is in the midst of the oil and gas boom.

Valley residents, while welcoming the jobs expected to be created, are worried about the environmental fallout. The governor sought to reassure Ohioans, saying the state does not need to choose between a developing shale energy industry and a clean environment.

He said he is committed to environmentally safe oil and natural gas development. Kasich insisted that major drillers are responsible and that he won’t let an irresponsible “yahoo” ruin the industry’s reputation.

The residents of the Valley will hold him to his word.