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Mahoning Valley Prepares for Kerry Campaign's Arrival
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- The bleachers are being erected, television stations are getting set for live coverage and the candidate's local supporters are writing their checks. John Kerry's presidential campaign comes to the Mahoning Valley Monday night, seeking to solidify support among his party's core voters in this heavily Democratic region.Local television stations have been alerted by the campaign to have their reporters and photographers standing by at 6 p.m. Monday at a staging point near the Hampton Inn on Route 46 in Austintown -- where Kerry will spend the night. The campaign will transport the media personnel to an undisclosed location for one-on-on interviews with Kerry. The Youngstown television stations are also planning live coverage of Tuesday's main event -- a rally downtown at the intersection of Federal and Hazel streets that begins at 10 a.m.Kerry is scheduled to address the rally at 10:30 a.m. It is the lead-off event in the second day of a six-city bus tour the campaign has dubbed the "Jobs First Express -- On the Road to a Stronger Economy.""We'll go live from the rally site tomorrow on our morning show," says Pat Livingston, news director at WYTV, "and we'll go live during the rally but we're still not sure if we're going to take the whole speech or just part of it."Gary Coursen, news director at WKBN-TV, says his station will decide how much of the rally will be covered as it transpires. " We're going to play it by ear," he says. "That's a lot of commercial time to pre-empt."A Kerry spokeswoman acknowledged the message he brings to the Mahoning Valley is not unique to this area. "It resonates in Ohio and across the country," said Kathy Roeder during a telephone interview this morning.Kerry will discuss how the Bush Administration's failure to enforce trade agreements has led to a decline of good jobs in America, she said. "You can give that speech anywhere pretty much anywhere these days, unfortunately," Roeder observed.Kerry kicked off the three-day bus tour this morning in West Virginia, where he went 1,000 feet underground into a coal mine, and was headed for a brief stop in Canonsburg, Pa., to meet with workers at a plant that manufactures pots and pans.In Wheeling, W.Va., the presidential candidate sounded themes that can be expected to play well in regions like the Mahoning Valley.The senator from Massachusetts said it was time to "get our economy back in line with our values," and not reward companies that send jobs overseas, "but reward those that keep jobs here. Just because we live in a global economy, it does not mean that we leave our standards and values and ideals at our nation's shores," he said.In Youngstown, Kerry will similarly discuss enforcing trade agreements, closing tax loopholes that encourage companies to keep capital offshore, and providing tax credits to encourage manufacturers to stay in America, his spokeswoman said.Ohio is considered a battleground state in the presidential race. No Republican has ever lost Ohio and won the White House. With the loss in Ohio of more than 160,000 manufacturing jobs since George W. Bush took office, the Kerry campaign is investing lots of time -- and money -- in Ohio, and is expected to return to the Mahoning Valley at least once before election day.Kerry last visited the Mahoning Valley Feb. 24, one week before the Ohio Democratic Party primary (which he won), and discussed health care issues during a private meeting with workers at the Astro Shapes plant in Struthers.After Tuesday's Youngstown rally, Kerry is scheduled to go to Cleveland for an afternoon summit with Ohio's mayors on the economy, followed by a fund-raiser in the evening. On Wednesday, the bus tour will be in Toledo for another public event and then travel to Ann Arbor, Mich.To kick off the bus tour, the Kerry campaign today released a report that charged the Bush Administration with failing to stand up for U.S. workers in the global economy. Among other things, the report stated:On average, the Clinton Administration brought more trade enforcement cases to the World Trade Organization each year than the Bush Administration has brought in more than three years in office; After finding scores of Chinese WTO rule violations in 2001, 2002, and again in 2003, the Bush Administration waited until March 2004 to file its first case against China; President Bush is likely to become the first president since the Great Depression to preside over a loss in real-dollar exports during his term.Kerry called for the immediate reinstatement of the "Super 301" process to address the foreign trade barriers that are hurting American industries and their workers. He said he will order an immediate 120-day review of all existing trade agreements to ensure U.S. trade partners are living up to their obligations and that trade agreements are being enforced. He also pledged to not sign any new agreements until the review is complete and its recommendations are put in place.In addition, Kerry said he wills step-up action to strengthen workers rights and stamp out child labor. To do this, he will call for an immediate investigation into China's repression of workers' rights, create an annual review that will establish core labor rights around the world and increase funding for the Bureau of International Labor Affairs."