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Journal Opinion
The Spoils of DefeatIf President George W. Bush and Mahoning County commissioners have anything in common, it's that both face similar challenges in bringing together divided electorates as they address the challenges they face.Despite winning both the popular vote and the Electoral College, Bush has the responsibility of leading a nation nearly as divided as when he took office. Nearly half of those who went to the polls cast votes against him -- hardly the "mandate" his supporters claim. It remains to be seen whether Bush can overcome the rancor of the long campaign and be the uniter he promised to be in 2000, not the divider he became.Unity, or at least a consensus on sources of revenue, may be similarly elusive in Mahoning County, where officeholders -- including commissioners-elect John McNally and Anthony Traficanti -- will have to cope with the failure Nov. 2 of a half-percent sales tax. Voters narrowly rejected the tax despite a campaign of support conducted by the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber -- hardly an organization famous for its sympathy for unwarranted taxation -- and dire projections from the state.Last August, Ohio Auditor Betty Montgomery issued a report warning that without the tax, which would have replaced the half-percent five-year tax expiring Dec. 31, Mahoning County faces a $12.6 million deficit next year, and a staggering $70.5 million shortfall by 2008. The margin of defeat -- 50.67% against to 49.33% for, a difference of barely 1,700 votes -- suggests a sharp divide in voter confidence in the elected county officials. As a result, there is no question of doing more with less -- with a loss of some $13 million annually, Mahoning County will be doing less with less. To make the consequences anything less than temporary, commissioners must reach out to a skeptical electorate and make the case for the tax. The prospect of commissioners imposing the levy should be discarded out of hand -- the anti-tax forces would certainly seek a referendum and, almost as certain, put the measure on the ballot next spring. As outgoing Commissioner Ed Reese can attest, they would retaliate against officeholders. It is no small irony that come January the senior commissioner will be Dave Ludt, who was first elected to the board by riding the anti-tax wave.Perhaps the most useful tool available to county officials as they seek to form a consensus will be a sense of shared sacrifice -- and pain. Few won't be hurt. The damage from the loss of income will affect every aspect of county operations, from criminal justice (no more road patrols in unincorporated areas) and issuing building permits to the county's ability to borrow money and sell bonds. Widespread cutbacks in county employment are inevitable and have begun. It may not be the easy way to bring the residents of Mahoning County together, but right now, it looks like the only way. And the necessary one."