If he runs for Congress, I'll leave the state

I posted this 6 months ago when he first started talking about it. I repost it today because it still feels the same way:

In what can best be described as a giant step backward for mankind, Jim Traficant has announced a major press conference for Thursday morning. As reported in the Vindicator, “He’ll be talking about Congress,” said Dennis Malloy, Traficant’s communications director. It pains me to think that Traficant may run for Congress, representing either the 17th or 6th congressional districts and speaking for the people of the Mahoning Valley.

And really, a crook representing the Mahoning Valley in any government seat? Been there, done that, got the t-shirt. When Traficant got tossed from Congress and went to jail, we had just finished putting a county commissioner, a couple of judges, a sheriff and the county engineer away for corruption. The mid and late 1990's were about cleaning house in Youngstown. The 2000's have been about rebuilding that house.

What Jim Traficant can't understand is that we've moved past Jim Traficant. The Youngstown he left isn't the Youngstown to which he returned. While there are some people stuck in the past who would love to see him in office, most of the rational people in Youngstown see the damage he has done to our image and our city. There is substantive and positive change occurring in the Youngstown area. An entirely new model of urban renewal has been created around Youngstown's 'shrinking city' concept. People are moving back to Youngstown, dollars are turning some shovels, and there is significant hope being instilled in a lot of people who call Youngstown home. A 'Traficant for (insert political office here)' sign in people's front yards can destroy much of that in an instant.

Couldn't have said it better...

The New York Times editorial page spreads the word on what I've been saying (with many others) for a long time now:

• Youngstown Yawns

The article's lead doesn't necessarily reflect the topic of the rest of the op-ed, but it fits with the hearts of so many people I know.

"Anyone who’s spent time in Youngstown, Ohio, is entitled to nagging affection for the gritty old steeltown that has long struggled with lost jobs and serial political corruption."

The Morning Read

There are several great articles out there worth reading this morning:

• The Washington Post has a long feature about the struggles many are facing in the Mahoning Valley. We talk so much about the progressive change occurring in Youngstown but there are real people with real struggles to survive in this economy. This article does a great job capturing this pain experienced by our friends and neighbors. See the slide show here.
• Some sprucing up is occuring at 20 Federal Place. The Business Journal has the details.
• A couple of articles on the proposed V&M Star expansion in Brier Hill in both the Business Journal and the Vindicator, with mentions here, here and here.
• Last and certainly worth being least, Jim Traficant is circulating petitions to run for Congress. Help us if he does this, as the national media attention will be anything but positive. I was able to watch the first 10 minutes of the press conference that he held this morning. Possible casino deals, a shout-out to Kelly Pavlik and some random comments about bears defecating in the woods were the early highlights. The Vindicator has a summary here and you can find the press conference video here (later today) courtesy of WFMJ.

Tidbits

A few random things for the day. First, where did http://www.downtownyoungstown.com/ disappear to?

Second, on this date 25 years ago, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development granted $2.8 million for refurbishing the Kimmel Brook Homes in Youngstown and Sheriff James A. Traficant Jr. met with famed Boston defense lawyer F. Lee Bailey to discuss the possibility of Bailey representing Traficant in his bribery trial.

The city has come a long way in 25 years. Kimmel Brook has been demolished with the new Rockford Village built in its place. Traficant is in jail and Bailey was disbarred in 2001. Of course, we all know Jimbo went on to defend himself without counsel and actually beat that particular rap (not so in 2002). This all comes from the Vindicator's "On this Day" column. There are some great historical tidbits in there.

Additional reading:
Will today's boomtown eventually go bust? - Campbell, Ohio, offers example of how fast trouble can strike (Atlanta Journal-Constitution 9/16/07)
Emerging from Black Monday (Tribune-Chronicle 9/17/07)