When I last wrote about James Traficant, the former Congressman who went to ClubFed after being convicted on ten counts of tax evasion, bribery, racketeering, and obstruction of justice, Mr. Traficant was debating whether or not to run for Congress next year. Well, the wait is over.
Yesterday, Mr. Traficant attended a meeting of the Biz Society in Youngstown, Ohio. He told the meeting, “I’m going to run.” The only question is which of three districts he will run in: the 17th, 16th, or 6th Congressional Districts (in Ohio). The 17th encompasses Youngstown and surrounding areas in the Mahoning Valley; the Akron/Canton area is in the 16th District; and Poland, Boardman, and Columbiana County are in the 6th District. Mr. Traficant is circulating nominating petitions in all three districts.
Mr. Traficant hasn’t decided if he’ll run as a Democrat, Republican or Independent. He doesn’t plan on raising much money (that’s probably a good thing given his prior legal troubles).
Scott Harker, who has co-authored two books with me, lives in Youngstown. He believes that Mr. Traficant will win if he runs; Mr. Traficant is still extremely popular in Youngstown. “I want to get these suckers!” Traficant thundered. “You are being addressed by a very bitter guy.”
Tags: Traficant
This might seem odd to you, but here, Traficant is a local legend. I’ve met him several times, and he’s always been cordial. People around here just love him. If he runs as an independent in the 17th district, he will have my vote.
My wife works part-time at Home Depot. he comes into the store often (he’s a bit of a handy man) and he wears a “disguise” so people won’t know who he is. But if you’ve seen him, you know that’s pretty impossible.