Political heavyweights eye seats

November 19, 2021

Michael J. O’Brien, Frank Fuda and Dan Polivka have more than 100 years of elected experience between them, and are three of the most successful Democratic politicians in the Mahoning Valley. And all three have big decisions to make soon about their political futures. At least two of them will run next year for Trumbull County commissioner with an outside chance that all three will seek the office. Fuda, who is in his fourth four-year term, said he definitely will seek re-election next year — but he’s undecided whether it’ll be as a Democrat or independent. “I have a ...

GOP not seeking bipartisanship

November 12, 2021

Undoubtedly the congressional map Republicans in the state Legislature will approve by the end of this month won’t get enough support from Democrats to enact it for 10 years. Republicans aren’t interested in that — and based on how the process is going, they believe they don’t need to be bipartisan. The Republican majority on the Ohio Redistricting Commission in September approved a four-year state legislative map that continues to give its party a supermajority rather than make compromises to get Democratic support for a 10-year map. The House and Senate Republicans ...

Legal fireworks about to happen

November 5, 2021

Anyone who lives in Ohio knows the state’s current fireworks law rarely is enforced. Neighborhoods can sound like war zones around July 4 — as well as the week before and, if there are leftover fireworks, the week after. The existing Ohio law permits the purchase of consumer-grade fireworks, but not their detonation within the state’s borders. Yeah, right. The only permissible items in Ohio are novelties that produce smoke, pop and / or sparkle. Otherwise, it’s a first-degree misdemeanor to explode fireworks in the state. Ohio and Massachusetts are the only states in the ...

Do not ignore this election

October 29, 2021

There’s no way to sugarcoat it: This isn’t an exciting election year. There’s no presidential or statewide candidates on Tuesday’s ballot. There’s no congressional campaigns, even though several Senate candidates in the 2022 races already are campaigning actively. There isn’t a statewide ballot initiative as there have been in previous years. There’s not even countywide races and no countywide issues in Trumbull County on the ballot. There are two Mahoning County issues: a new 0.25 percent sales tax to raise about $9 million to pave more roads and improve bridges ...

It’s boom time for Tim Ryan fundraising

October 22, 2021

The ability of U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan’s Senate campaign to raise more money from donors and increase the amounts compared to others in the race is a surprisingly impressive feat. Over the years, I’ve mentioned Ryan’s struggles to attract donors despite being in the U.S. House for almost 19 years and during his failed presidential bid. When I asked about his impressive $2,511,219 haul in the third quarter, Ryan, D-Howland, said: “We’re going to be able to compete (with Republicans). We get less money per donor, but we have a lot more donors than they do. To be in this position, ...

2 Dems seek governor’s seat

October 15, 2021

While Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley and Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley Qare political allies and friends, they stand in each other’s way of achieving their shared goal: getting elected governor next year. The race between the two Democrats has been cordial so far, but the possibility of it turning into something else exists. Whaley was first to announce her candidacy April 19, but both she and Cranley had been moving in that direction for several months prior. When Whaley announced, I asked her about Cranley. She said: “We have very different leadership styles. That will all be ...