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David Skolnick

Quiet primary in Mahoning

There are some intriguing primaries in Trumbull County and, incredibly, no primaries for any Mahoning County executive or judicial branch position. This is the first time this has happened in Mahoning in likely decades. Republicans rarely have primaries in the county as the party often struggles to even fill out a slate of candidates. For Democrats, it’s different. There’s always someone challenging the incumbent in the Democratic-controlled county. Several Democratic officeholders have been there for a long time such as Prosecutor Paul J. Gains, county Commissioner Anthony ...

Quiet primary in Mahoning

There are some intriguing primaries in Trumbull County and, incredibly, no primaries for any Mahoning County executive or judicial branch position. This is the first time this has happened in Mahoning in likely decades. Republicans rarely have primaries in the county as the party often struggles to even fill out a slate of candidates. For Democrats, it’s different. There’s always someone challenging the incumbent in the Democratic-controlled county. Several Democratic officeholders have been there for a long time such as Prosecutor Paul J. Gains, county Commissioner Anthony ...

Republicans to challenge Tim Ryan

The number of Republican candidates interested in taking on U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan next year is quite remarkable. So far, four have pulled nominating petitions from the board of elections in Summit County, the most populous county in the 13th Congressional District, with one filing — and at least two more are campaigning and almost certainly will file by the Dec. 18 deadline. There’s obviously a great deal of dissatisfaction among Republicans with Ryan, D-Howland, who was first elected to Congress in 2002. But a jam-packed primary in which the candidates will have to use the ...

Ready on stand-your-ground bill

Ohio Senate President Larry Obhof, in the Mahoning Valley earlier this week, left me with the impression that a stand-your-ground law is probably going to move quicker in the General Assembly than the governor's gun reform plan. Obhof, R-Medina, didn't come right out and say that, but when I asked about both issues, he seemed much more interested in stand-your-ground. "I'm a co-sponsor of a bill to change our rules on duty to retreat," he said. "That would put us in line with a large majority of the states now. Not always a reliable source, but if you go to Wikipedia and take a look ...

Local Trump enthusiasm high

The enthusiasm level for Donald Trump in the Mahoning Valley remains high as evidenced by a packed crowd hanging on every word spoken by U.S. Rep. Devin Nunes, the ranking Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, as he praised the president and compared Democrats to cockroaches. Nunes, R-Tulare, Calif., spoke last week to an audience of 560 at a Mahoning County Republican Party dinner at the Maronite Center in Youngstown. This came on the second day of the committee’s impeachment inquiry into Trump. Before Nunes arrived, I spoke with a number of people at the dinner to get ...

Tim Ryan poised for key House role

A recent announcement from a Gary, Ind., congressman that he wouldn’t seek re-election next year could result in a huge benefit to the Mahoning Valley. That Democratic congressman, U.S. Rep. Pete Visclosky, heads the powerful House Appropriations Committee’s Defense Subcommittee. It’s the largest appropriations subcommittee, with a $622 billion budget. Visclosky’s retirement means U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Howland — should he win re-election next year to his 10th two-year term — is poised to become defense’s vice chairman or possibly its chairman. Of course, the Democrats ...