Breaking News

David Skolnick

If voting by mail, don’t delay

A record number of mail-in votes are expected for this election. The most pressing questions in Ohio, which could be a key state in the presidential election, deal with the preparedness of county boards of elections to process ballot requests, and the ability of the U.S. Postal Service to get all those ballots to voters and then back to boards to be counted. These are huge tasks that pose challenges under normal circumstances. Now consider that this is happening during a pandemic while postal workers are saying they’re being asked to overcome obstacles put in place by Postmaster ...

Trump, media, COVID-19 mix at Canfield GOP event

Support for President Donald Trump was strong, and speeches were often colorful at my first political fundraising event since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, a staunch Trump supporter, was the headliner at the Mahoning County Republican Party event at Waypoint 4180 in Canfield. The crowd seemed to love everything being said. The Mahoning County Republican Party has raised a lot of money during the past 18 months booking fundraisers with Trump loyalists including U.S. Rep. Devin Nunes, the ranking Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, and David ...

Plea deals smart move for all

The latest chapter in a voluminous collection of books on political corruption in the Mahoning Valley will be written Sept. 3 when a judge sentences ex-Youngstown Finance Director David Bozanich and downtown developer Dominic Marchionda. The two took plea deals late last week to avoid trials on much more serious charges. It was a smart move for all involved. Prosecutors got both to plead to felony convictions, which is always a goal. Marchionda and Bozanich avoided trials, and the deals they took are significantly reduced from the numerous felonies they faced, which included ...

Presidential race tightens

We’ve got a competitive presidential race in Ohio — and that can’t be good news for President Donald Trump, who would be in serious jeopardy of losing re-election if he can’t capture this state in November. The election is less than three months away, and the COVID-19 pandemic will make it the most unusual election many of us ever experienced, leaving everything up in the air. But current indicators must be concerning for Trump. Polls show Democrat Joe Biden very competitive in Ohio and prepared to spend a lot of money. Ohio has been a longtime swing state, but you ...

Ryan rebounds in fundraising

Raising money for elected office really hasn’t been U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan’s thing. Some politicians have no problem asking for money while others just aren’t that good at it. Ryan, D-Howland, hasn’t really needed to raise a lot of money over the years as he’s rarely had serious competition for his seat since he first won it in 2002. During his ill-conceived presidential bid, Ryan’s inexperience with raising money was highlighted. When he was an active candidate, he raised the second-least amount of money among those seeking the Democratic nomination. He even collected ...

Valley corruption seems puny

One lesson I’ve learned covering politics is when something leaves you wondering why, follow the money. That’s what federal prosecutors did in uncovering what they said could be the largest public bribery scheme in Ohio history. When the state Legislature chose last year to bail out two failing nuclear power plants with $1.3 billion coming from ratepayers while ending requirements that utility companies use more wind and solar, it made little sense. Some legislators told me they supported it to save jobs at two nuclear plants, but that was a flimsy argument because it cost ...