Tuesday, February 17, 2015
There’s much work to be done to keep the Mahoning Valley on the road to economic recovery, and without the direct involvement of the federal government that work will be even more challenging.
It, therefore, pays to have a veteran member of Congress on your side, which is what the 13th Congressional District has in Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Howland. Ryan won a seventh, two-year term handily in the November 2014 election, and it is his strength at the polls and his standing in the House Democratic caucus that have put him on the short list of Democrats in Ohio with the political credentials for higher office.
Ryan is obviously being influenced by such accolades, as evidenced by his announcement after the November election that he was considering running in 2016 for the U.S. Senate seat now occupied by Rob Portman, R-Ohio. Portman was elected in 2010, and has built an impressive record on Capitol Hill.
Portman also has a campaign war chest of more than $5.8 million and is expecting a lot more in his re-election bid next year because he played a major role in 2014 in raising money for Republican congressional candidates. The GOP not only increased its majority in the U.S. House but took over the Senate.
Portman is aware of the Democratic Party’s predominance in the Mahoning Valley, and he has gone to great lengths to work with Ohio’s senior senator, Democrat Sherrod Brown, and with Ryan and area Rep. Bill Johnson of Marietta.
With several crucial issues on the horizon, the Valley needs all the political muscle in Washington it can muster.
Ryan’s possible bid for the Senate left us disappointed because we had strongly endorsed him last year with the belief that he understood the crucial role he will play in the development of this region.
Thus, when the congressman announced last week that he was not running for the Senate in 2016, we breathed a sigh of relief. Having a representative on the powerful House Appropriations Committee makes the 13th District the envy of many other regions.
Had Ryan run for the Senate, he would have had to give up his House seat, and that would have been disastrous for the Valley.
Given his political strength and the fact that the 13th District is solidly Democratic, Ryan should have little trouble winning re-election.
Air base’s future
The future of the Youngstown Air Reserve Station, the continuing fight against unfair trade practices that are jeopardizing Vallourec Star and other steel makers in the Valley, the viability of General Motors’ Lordstown assembly plant, the federal government’s commitment to expanding America Makes, formerly the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute, and the unending fight to get the Delphi retirees the pensions they deserve are some of the issues that need the involvement of a veteran congressman like Ryan.
But of all the challenges confronting the Mahoning Valley, none is greater than keeping the Youngstown Air Reserve Station open and expanding its mission so the Pentagon would find it economically untenable to shut it down.
Ryan’s decision not to run for the Senate next year is deserving of the Valley’s appreciation and support.
It is not an exaggeration that he has established a reputation on Capitol Hill that will benefit this region.
It is also a sign of Ryan’s maturity that he made the decision about his political future on the basis of what’s in the best interest of his family — which includes an 8-month-old son.