Valley’s interests require protection and nurturing

The election of Republican Donald Trump as the 45th president of the United States has given rise to political uncertainty in the nation’s capital.

While it has been just five days since the billionaire businessman from New York City scored a breath-taking victory over Democrat Hillary Clinton, a former U.S. secretary of state, the economic well-being of the Mahoning Valley cannot be put on hold.

It’s unclear how much attention this region will receive from a Trump administration, but we do remain optimistic given that there are two important Republican members of Congress and a prominent Democratic member who are committed to making sure that the area’s economic engine is well oiled.

In Tuesday’s election, the three lawmakers who received our endorsement had little trouble putting away their challengers.

Republican U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, who sought a second six-year term, defeated former Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland by a wide margin statewide: 3,048,467 to 1,929,873. Here are the results for the tri-county area: Mahoning – 54,862 votes for Portman, 50,154 for Strickland; Trumbull – 49,497 to 37,702; Columbiana – 29,941 to 11,415.

Mahoning and Trumbull counties are predominantly Democratic, while Columbiana County is heavily Republican.

The vote for Portman is an acknow-ledgement that the senator has worked closely with the area’s two members of the House of Representatives, Tim Ryan of Howland, D-13th, and Bill Johnson of Marietta, R-6th.

We made note of this spirit of cooperation in our endorsement of Portman.

As for Ryan, who will begin his eighth two-year term in January, our unequivocal support was reflected in the overwhelming vote he received Tuesday night. Districtwide, Ryan garnered 203,430 votes to 97,312 for Republican Richard Morckel.

As a member of the important House Appropriations Committee, Ryan has led the effort on Capitol Hill to ensure that the district not only gets its fair share of federal dollars, but that three crucial pillars of the Valley’s economy, the Youngstown Air Reserve Station, the General Motors Lordstown assembly plant and the America Makes additive manufacturing initiative in downtown Youngstown continue to receive financial and other support from Washington.

Johnson, who will begin his fourth term in January, also had little trouble Tuesday. He received 209,177 votes, to 86,938 votes for Democrat Michael Lorentz.

A part of Johnson’s district includes southern Mahoning County, which is why he has joined with Ryan and others to ensure that the region’s economy continues to grow. The congressman, who served in the U.S. Air Force for more than two decades, is committed to ensuring that the Air Force Reserve base in Vienna Township remains an important part of the nation’s military capability.

Strong alliance

While we are pleased with the alliance that Sen. Portman and Reps. Ryan and Johnson have formed, we are concerned that with all the changes taking place in Washington, partisan politics will rear its ugly head and undermine the economic progress being made in the tri-county area.

Last week’s announcement that General Motors is doing away with the third shift at its Lordstown assembly plant is of concern. We, therefore, urge the federal legislators to meet with local officeholders and development officials to determine if there’s anything that can be done to reverse GM’s decision. In addition, the area needs a clear understanding of what lies ahead for the plant and the top-selling car that’s being manufactured there.

The Chevrolet Cruze has consistently topped GM’s charts, which is why the decision to eliminate the third shift is troubling.

As we said in an editorial Friday, this region has faced similar challenges that have threatened its economic well with the loss of good-paying jobs. But the Valley has been able to weather those storms by the public and private sectors joining forces.

Such a coming together of government officials, business and community leaders and economic development specialists is again required.