We now almost have a complete sweep of indicted Mahoning County elected officials. This past year we have seen a respected judge hauled off to jail, and indictments issued against the county auditor and a county commissioner. Yesterday’s resignation of county treasurer Lisa Antonini coinciding with the issuance of the federal prosecutor’s bill of information relating to illegal campaign contributions is just another nail in the county coffin.
Corruption seems endemic to this area. One would think with the massive clean-up of local politicians just 10 to 15 years ago involving our congressman, commissioners, numerous judges, untold other county and city officials, and untold numbers of lawyers who either went to jail, left the area, or committed suicide, we would learn our lesson. Apparently not! And let’s not forget the fiasco surrounding the disgraced former Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann, who demonstrated to the rest of the state what we have to deal with up here.
Couple this with the "interesting" behavior of the Mahoning County Democratic Party chairman relating to Ohio Senate Bill 5, it’s a wonder that we have anyone left willing to live here let alone move businesses here. He single handedly set out to destroy the local Chamber of Commerce for doing what it is supposed to do, lobby for business. The attack on the Chamber bordered on bizarre, and affects all of us who are working hard to make this a better place to live.
There is plenty of blame to go around. Political corruption in the local Democratic Party is commonplace…so what else is new! But complicit in what is happening in this one party county is the local press, currently dominated by the Brown family who owns the Vindicator, the only local paper of mass distribution, and WFMJ television, the number one news station in the Mahoning Valley.
The Vindicator continues to endorse these people for office, and then complains when things go wrong. It continues to refuse any local Republican candidates for office a fair shake with smarmy dismissiveness. More disturbing is the tie it has developed with Attorney Dave Betras, the local Democratic Party Chairman. The Betras law firm is a heavy advertiser on WFMJ television. In exchange for the advertising dollars, WFMJ gives him feature spots on its local morning and evening news shows…showcasing him as “one of the best political minds” in the Mahoning Valley. As late as last week, Vindicator columnist Bertram de Souza told him to “take a bow” after his destructive efforts directed at the Chamber and the disruptive tactics aimed at Governor Kasich during several recent visits to the area. Attorney Betras is a fine man and good lawyer. He should know better than to play for cheap headlines.
There are those of us who work quietly behind the scenes to make the Mahoning Valley a better place to live. It gets discouraging, but we keep going and doing our best. Just recently Youngstown was named one of the top five places in the country for manufacturing jobs, as well as one of the best places in America to start a business notwithstanding the corruption rooted in the local Democratic Party and its office holders. That gives us some hope.
It’s time for the Vindicator, WFMJ, and their editorial staffs to take a look at those of us who are trying to do the area some good rather than endorsing and showcasing those who all too willingly dance down the path of destruction and corruption.
This is our home. As the saying goes..."Don't Sh__ where you eat!"
This is our home. As the saying goes..."Don't Sh__ where you eat!"
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