McNally and Miller are two flies in Valley’s political ointment

There are two flies in the Mahoning Valley’s political ointment. For the Republicans, it’s the Queen of Racist Rants, Kathy Miller. For the Democrats, it’s the King of Public Corruption, John A. McNally. But while the Democrats have been effective in keeping McNally at bay with their unmistakable “Shoo, Fly,” the Republicans just can’t seem to get rid of their buzzing pest.

Although Miller, a former Boardman Township trustee and long-time Valley Realtor, was unceremoniously drummed out of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, she refuses to disappear.

Two weeks ago, her blatantly racist comments about blacks, in general, and President Barack Obama, in particular, spread like wildfire around the world via a story in The Guardian newspaper of Britain. Operatives of GOP presidential nominee Trump demanded that she relinquish her position as chairwoman of the campaign in Mahoning County. She also stepped down as an elector for Trump.

Miller issued an apology – but not for her condemnation of blacks and her ridiculous contention that there was no racism in America before Obama entered the White House as the first black president in the history of the United States.

Rather, she said she was sorry for being a distraction and placing the Trump campaign in a negative light.

But she wasn’t so sorry as to steer clear of the Trump-Mike Pence team. Last Thursday, Miller was again on the front page of The Vindicator, this time in a picture with GOP vice presidential nominee Pence. The governor of Indiana was shown signing a red cap emblazoned with “Make America Great Again” – a slogan that sparked the New York City billionaire’s unexpected Republican primary victory.

There should be no doubt that Republican Party insiders in the Mahoning Valley and Trump’s operatives would be thrilled to see Miller disappear altogether.

Democrats are having a field day with her continued presence in the campaign. They contend that Miller’s racist comments reflect the core beliefs of the Republican presidential nominee, which is why she has not been swatted away – the way the Democratic Party insiders have done to McNally, the mayor of the city of Youngstown.

PERSONA NON GRATA

The Democrat is persona non grata as far as the campaign of presidential nominee Hillary Clinton is concerned. He has not played a role in any of the campaign-related events in Youngstown or elsewhere in the Mahoning Valley.

McNally’s absence is significant given that Youngstown is the largest community in the region. But it is also justified.

Last March, the mayor pleaded guilty in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court in Cleveland to four misdemeanor counts for his participation in the Oakhill Renaissance Place public corruption scandal. He was a Mahoning County commissioner at the time, and the charges were related to his involvement in a criminal conspiracy to block the purchase of the former Southside Medical Center.

The other two commissioners at the time, Anthony Traficanti and David Ludt, voted in favor of the deal. Ludt lost his re-election bid to Youngstown City Councilwoman Carol Rimedio-Righetti. Traficanti is seeking another term in office this year.

McNally and other participants in the conspiracy were acting at the behest of wealthy Valley businessman Anthony M. Cafaro Sr., the retired president of the Cafaro Co.

Cafaro, who has not been charged, was identified in court documents as the mastermind of the criminal conspiracy.

Although McNally was convicted and sentenced to a year’s probation, he was allowed to remain in office. He was elected in 2013 and has made it clear that he intends to seek re-election next year.

After the mayor’s conviction, Mahoning County Democratic Party Chairman David Betras demanded that he resign, but McNally has stubbornly held on to power.

Indeed, The Vindicator pointed out that the criminal conviction is another black eye for this region’s politics. The newspaper warned that McNally’s presence in City Hall would hurt Youngstown’s reputation and undermine its redevelopment effort.

That warning was not an exaggeration.

Consider this: In July, Hillary Clinton, the former U.S. secretary of state, former U.S. senator from New York and former first lady, brought her campaign for president to East High School in Youngstown. The entourage included her husband, former President Bill Clinton, and vice-presidential nominee Tim Kaine, U.S. senator from Virginia, and his wife.

Under normal circumstances, the Democratic mayor of the city would have formally welcomed the party’s standard-bearer. But Betras and the national campaign weren’t willing to let an officeholder with a criminal record share the spotlight with Clinton.

McNally’s absence meant that the city’s chief spokesman missed an opportunity to make a pitch for Washington’s help in solving the myriad problems confronting the old urban community. Population loss, an increase in the number of residents on fixed incomes, the erosion of the tax base and deteriorating neighborhoods necessitate a partnership with the federal government.

That partnership is normally bolstered by a relationship between City Hall and the White House.

If Clinton were elected president, McNally’s criminal record would still be a barrier to his establishing ties with the new administration. Republicans would pounce on the fact that the White House was dealing with a mayor who pleaded guilty to charges related to government corruption.

The seriousness of McNally’s criminal record was driven home last month when Vice President Joe Biden visited the Valley and then made a stop in a West Side neighborhood before going to the Canfield Fair.

When you have the vice president of the United States in your community, you pull out all the stops to make him feel at home.

More recently, a couple of mayors from outside the Valley paid a visit to tout Clinton’s position on cities such as Youngstown that are fighting to keep afloat. They went to Warren.

When you have a mayor who is hamstrung by his criminal record, it’s almost impossible to get Clinton’s inner circle to commit to anything.

The Democratic establishment in Mahoning County has cut the mayor loose, in a manner of speaking.

On the other hand, county Republicans continue to treat Kathy Miller with kid gloves. What they really need is a fly swatter.