Ryan: Staying in House is better

By David Skolnick

The four-term congressman was interested in being the governor’s running mate next year.

YOUNGSTOWN — Two politicians who wanted to succeed Tim Ryan in the U.S. House if he didn’t seek re-election say the congressman made the right decision to seek re-election.

Ryan, of Niles, D-17th, had expressed interest in being Gov. Ted Strickland’s lieutenant governor running mate next year.

But Ryan, a four-term congressman, has decided he will seek re-election to Congress. Strickland has not announced his running mate.

Ryan said the decision came down to how to best serve the Mahoning Valley.

In the end, Ryan decided remaining a member of the powerful House Appropriations Committee and staying in the House was a better fit.

“The opportunities for future economic growth are in health care, education and green energy,” Ryan said in a brief statement released by his office Tuesday. “The appropriations committee, and my subcommittees in particular, allow me to not only shape national policy in those areas, but to steer critical federal dollars back home and give us a jump on the rest of the country.”

Mahoning County Commissioner Anthony Traficanti of Poland and state Rep. Robert F. Hagan of Youngstown said they were going to run for the seat if Ryan decided to vacate it.

With Ryan planning to seek another term in the House next year, Traficanti and Hagan will not challenge him.

Both Democrats said they were pleased Ryan is staying in the House because his position on the appropriations committee helps this area more than if he was lieutenant governor.

“For him to leave the House would have been detrimental to funding for the Mahoning Valley,” Traficanti said. “I’ll stay as commissioner. I’m not disappointed. I’m happy he chose to do this. I thought it was a bad mistake for him to leave.”

Hagan, who unsuccessfully ran for Congress in 2000, also said he’s not disappointed that Ryan is seeking re-election.

“He’s able to better serve in that position.”

The Washington Post and Roll Call, which covers federal politics, published reports about a month ago that Ryan had decided to run for lieutenant governor.

A few days before those reports, Ryan told The Vindicator that “it’s a possibility that my being [lieutenant governor] could be really great for this community.” He added: “Sometimes you get called to do things to serve in a bigger way.”

Ryan also said at the time that regardless of his decision for 2010, a 2014 gubernatorial run is a “possibility.”

Diane T. di Carlo Murphy of Youngstown said Ryan should expect her to challenge him in the May 2010 Democratic primary for his seat. Murphy ran in the 2004 Democratic primary for a different congressional seat against Strickland, then a House member. She received 17 percent of the vote.

skolnick@vindy.com