43
VIC RUBENSTEIN, 72, longtime political consultant, was 'bigger than life'
LIBERTY
Vic Rubenstein, longtime Mahoning Valley marketing and political consultant who died late Tuesday, will be fondly remembered by friends, family and clients for his hard work, loyalty, creativity and energy.
“He was bigger than life,” said Emily Love, a senior copywriter at VCRubenstein Associates Inc., who worked for Rubenstein from 1985 to 1989, and then since 1999. “He was an extremely intelligent and hardworking man. No matter how he was feeling, he gave his attention to anyone who needed him. He wasn’t judgmental.”
Rubenstein, 72, died at 11:15 p.m. Tuesday at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center from complications after surgery.
Rubenstein was the first Pete the Penguin mascot at Youngstown State University, where he graduated in 1966 with a bachelor’s degree in education. He was also his senior-class president and managing editor of The Jambar, the school’s newspaper.
After graduating, he worked as a junior high school English teacher, publisher and editor of three area weekly newspapers, and WYTV’s public-relations director.
He founded VCRubenstein in 1970, serving as its chairman for the next 46 years. He married his wife, Carolyn, in 1978, and she joined him and helped run the business.
“He was a trailblazer and a pioneer in the profession, and the best ad man,” said Jennifer Saul-Campbell, a partner at the firm.
“His passions were his family, his work and this Valley,” she said. “To know him was to love him. He was a joy. He was one in a million. He’d extend his hand to help anybody, and he never lost that zeal over 40 years. He was eccentric and wonderful and a true character. It’s a great loss to the Valley.”
Rubenstein was one of the Valley’s most-prominent political consultants. While he largely worked for Democrats, he would also help Republicans including Mahoning County Auditor Ralph T. Meacham. One of his earliest clients was Mike DeWine, currently Ohio’s attorney general, who also served as a U.S. House member, lieutenant governor and a U.S. senator.
DeWine knew Rubenstein for decades.
“We became very good friends,” DeWine said. “He did brochure work and video work, TV commercials for different campaigns. I always looked at Vic as an artist. He was very creative with his work. He was able to touch an emotional part of people [with his work]. He was a highly talented guy. I’m very sad that this happened.”
He also helped organize events for Presidents Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush.
Rubenstein helped Mahoning County Prosecutor Paul J. Gains, a Democrat, during his successful run for office in 1996, and was with him for three of his other four re-election bids.
“He was a genius when it came to ideas for campaign commercials,” Gains said. “He was an incredibly honest man. I’m going to miss him terribly. The world’s going to be a lesser place without him.”
Rubenstein led the effort to bring Allegiant Air to the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport, and he helped package the deal that brought Avanti Motors to Youngstown in the late 1980s.
One of his final projects was to help get a Congressional Gold Medal for Simeon Booker Jr., a pioneering black journalist from Youngstown.
“Vic’s energy was refreshing as he learned of our efforts to honor” Booker, said Todd Franko, The Vindicator’s editor. “He joined us this fall and by December, had some major enhancements to our vision. He was so excited with this project and this citizen. He kept bringing up new ideas. Our last call was right after the holidays, and it was a cheerful ‘Let’s get together soon on Simeon.’”