Manning is best choice in GOP race in 59th District

In another sign of the slow but sure re-emergence of the Republican Party as a force to be reckoned with in Mahoning County politics, voters in the 59th Ohio House District next week face a rare contested GOP primary in the race to nominate a candidate to represent them in the Ohio General Assembly.

And because thousands of Democrats in the county are opting to request a Republican ballot – largely to vote for Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump or Ohio’s favorite son Gov. John Kasich for president – this primary race for state legislator takes on added significance.

The 59th District includes about 110,000 people living in a wide swath of suburban and rural communities in Mahoning County including Boardman, Poland, Canfield, Springfield and parts of Austintown.

Seeking to represent them in the Statehouse are Don Manning of New Middletown, a veteran Republican Party organizer and leader, and Jim Murphy, a Boardman resident and sergeant in the U.S. Army now completing his service in Georgia.

Based on their responses to questionnaires sent out by this newspaper and a personal interview with Manning before The Vindicator Editorial Board, both share similar conservative Republican goals and platforms. For example, both seek to abolish the standardized Common Core academic curriculum for U.S. public school students, both are staunch gun-rights proponents, and both seek to put the House seat in Republican control as one means to strengthen the district’s clout in the GOP-domanant lawmaking chamber .

Because Murphy remains stationed out of state for the primary campaign, he did not participate in a face-to-face endorsement interview with members of the Editorial Board. As a result, he is disqualified from consideration for this newspaper’s endorsement.

Even so, however, considering the depth and breadth of Manning’s political experience, The Vindicator has no qualms in ranking him as the superior candidate in this race and endorsing him in the Republican primary.

Military veteran

Manning, a military veteran who served in the U.S. Navy aboard the USS Forestall during Operation Desert Shield, has a legacy of working actively in the GOP. That history dates back to his campaign volunteerism for the Valley’s last Republican congressman, Lyle Williams, more than three decades ago. Since then, he has worked on or led campaigns for former President George W. Bush and a host of successful statewide executive-office candidates. He has thrown himself into the political ring – albeit unsuccessfully – as a candidates for boards of commissioner in Mahoning and Trumbull counties and for the U.S. House of Representatives.

Those years in the trenches of politics and his alliances with Republican movers and shakers in state government likely would serve Manning well in hitting the ground running in the Statehouse. “The 59th District has not gotten our fair share of economic growth, and I put the blame squarely on Democrats being in control of the area for the past 50 years,” he said.

Manning, however, does not give blind allegiance to all of his party’s ideas and policies. For example, he told members of the Editorial Board that some of the state’s $3 billion Rainy Day fund should be used to assist communities that are struggling.

Manning, employed as a group leader at the Mahoning County Juvenile Justice Center, also places an accent on curbing the massive heroin epidemic plaguing the Mahoning Valley. He seeks to hold dealers and suppliers to stricter standards of justice while offering more and more easily available treatment programs for users.

The winner of this primary will face a formidable foe in veteran politician state Rep. John Boccieri of Poland in the fall. Democrat Boccieri was appointed to the post last year after the forced resignation of former Rep. Ronald Gerberry under a cloud of corruption.

Manning’s vast experience in political party leadership and his adherence to bedrock Republican principles make him the stronger opponent to Boccieri and the best bet for those casting GOP ballots Tuesday.