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Leaders to ‘speak with 1 voice’ during ‘Drive-In’

WARREN — More than 70 business, community and other local leaders will travel to Columbus today to “speak with one voice” on behalf of the Mahoning Valley and advocate for public policy priorities that will benefit the three-county region.

This is the fourth Columbus Drive-In put on by the Youngstown Warren Regional Chamber to put economic and business partners face-to-face with influential law and policymakers.

“The importance I think is to help the Mahoning Valley better compete with the three Cs (Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati) and other areas of the state when it comes to favorable public policy and favorable state funding,” Guy Coviello, chamber president / CEO, said.

Top priorities this year include the Valley’s military economy, additive manufacturing and transportation logistics, including electric, autonomous and connected mobility. The chamber is seeking more than $40 million in state budget dollars.

“If there was a fourth priority, it would be congressional redistricting,” Coviello said. “The only reason it’s not No. 1 is because of timing. We are down there timing the trip in April to coincide with operating budget discussions, so the congressional issue will become a No. 1 issue for us after the operating budget is settled.”

The event at the downtown Sheraton Inn on Capitol Square will include about 75 local officials. They are scheduled to meet with, among others, Lt. Gov. Jon Husted; Ohio House Speaker Pro Tem, state Rep. Tim Ginter, R-Salem; and Lydia Mihalik, director of the state’s Development Services Agency.

A reception is planned in the afternoon to host the statewide elected officials. Meetings are planned with the Valley’s local delegation of state lawmakers, too.

“Business leaders, government leaders, community leaders are all going down there, speaking with one voice on behalf of the Valley to let lawmakers know we are unified as a community, that we are here to encourage them to help us help the state’s economy,” Coviello said.

Vito Abruzzino is director of the Eastern Ohio Military Affairs Commission, an advocacy group for the Valley’s two military installations — the Youngstown Air Reserve Station in Vienna and Camp James A. Garfield Joint Military Training Center near Newton Falls.

“If you consider this to be our big in-person advocacy push to the leaders in Columbus, then it’s critical there is a strong message and voice from the Valley’s third-largest employer and largest employer in Trumbull County (the air reserve station),” Abruzzino said. “If not, who would be there then? This is exactly the type of thing you have got to do to keep that status.”

It’s to show the federal government and U.S. Department of Defense the local community and state have “skin in the game” relative to the installations, especially as budgets have gotten tighter, and are“putting their money where their mouth is” as far as taking care of the troops and equipment.

“So we have to show the Mahoning Valley and the state of Ohio are 100 percent behind our troops and we are doing everything we can to succeed in those missions (at the installations),” Abruzzino said.

rselak@tribtoday.com

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