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Traficant was one of a kind
On the side
‘Wake Up the Vote’: Mahoning County Democrats will have a “Wake Up the Vote” press conference at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday — the first day of early voting — at the board of elections. In an email to supporters, county Democratic Chairman David Betras wrote: “We need to send a message to the GOP that no matter how hard they try, they can’t stop us from casting our ballots.”
Political forum: The Community Mobilization Coalition and the Junior Civic League are sponsoring a candidates and issues forum at 6:30 p.m. Monday at New Bethel Baptist Church’s Fellowship Hall, 1507 Hillman St., in Youngstown. The forum will feature candidates running for various offices on the fall ballot as well as the Mahoning County sales tax and the Youngstown charter amendment to reduce the number of wards from seven to five.
BSTN debate: Candidates running for Mahoning County Probate Court judge and an open seat on the 7th District Court of Appeals will debate Thursday, starting at 7 p.m. at the studio of the Boardman School Television Network. The debate will be broadcast live on Armstrong cable channel 204, and rebroadcast Oct. 11 and 12.
“When the legend becomes fact, print the legend.”
The classic quote from the film “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance” sums up what many in the media did during the colorful and controversial political career of ex-U.S. Rep. James A. Traficant Jr., who died Saturday as a result of injuries sustained in a tractor accident four days prior.
Traficant was a big man with a booming voice, a bad toupee and a wardrobe out of the 1970s who seemed at ease discussing the threat of China to our economy, the IRS and various government conspiracies as he was about farting, rectal examinations, and kicking someone in the crotch.
He had the sense of humor of a 15-year-old boy. Of course, most adult males, including myself, have that same sense of humor.
During his four years as Mahoning County sheriff and then 17 years in Congress, he was beloved by the people of the Mahoning Valley.
He publicly stated he was being criminally investigated by the federal government and was still re-elected in 2000.
Over the years, I heard many excuses from his supporters that everyone else in politics is corrupt and what he did wasn’t as bad as what many do, or a shrug of their shoulders and a “that’s our Jimbo.”
By the time I began covering politics for The Vindicator in 2000 — though I dealt with him extensively a few years prior when I was in Niles and he was working to bring a minor-league baseball team to that city — there was already a long and tense history between him and the newspaper.
The reason? Unlike most other media, we printed the facts and not the legend.
Traficant wanted to be accepted by The Vindicator — and would often mention to me the times the newspaper supported him through editorials — but we didn’t blindly go along with everything he proposed.
Our relationship was a mixed bag depending on his mood.
Traficant never once spoke to me on the phone, but he would keep me for lengthy periods of time after press conferences to discuss various things. Sometimes I ended up staying because he wanted to yell at me more.
He would tell me it wasn’t anything personal and that he liked me (at least at times), but he hated the newspaper.
When he got out of federal prison after seven years in September 2009, he was warmly greeted by a packed crowd for a welcome-home celebration. I was covering the event. He was mobbed by people, but walked over to me to shake my hand and give me a little hug.
He could be funny and cutting at the same time. After hosting a radio show shortly after his release, his only comment to me was: “How the hell can some of these big newspapers fail and you guys are still in business?”
After losing a 2010 congressional bid, he largely faded from the local spotlight.
Traficant wanted his privacy and certainly didn’t want to talk to me, and I respected that.
There was no one quite like Traficant.
That’s a good thing because I don’t think the world could have handled two of him.