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Mayor McKelvey Likely to Resign, 'Valley Voice' Reports"
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- Mayor George M. McKelvey is expected to resign -- possibly as soon as next month -- to accept a position in the Bush or Taft administrations, reports The Valley Voice.The copyrighted story appears in today's edition of the strike newspaper published by members of the Youngstown Newspaper Guild. Written by reporter David Skolnick, who covered politics for The Vindicator before the union went on strike Nov. 16, the story quotes McKelvey as saying, "My desire is to finish my term, but I can't tell you that it will definitely happen. How many times can you say 'no' to the president of the United States?"According to The Valley Voice, "McKelvey wouldn't disclose if he's received an offer from Bush or Taft to join their administrations. If he took a job at the federal level, it probably would be as an undersecretary, those close to the issue say," the newspaper reported.The story speculates that McKelvey could also be appointed director of the state commerce department or to a state committee post that "pays about $75,000 annually."The Valley Voice story immediately was picked up by Youngstown television stations who quickly contacted McKelvey for confirmation. One station, WYTV, reported at 6 p.m. that McKelvey denied the report; another station, WKBN, reported that he sort-of denied it. According to the TV reports, McKelvey downplayed the story as "speculation by a political columnist."McKelvey, a Democrat, held a news conference Aug. 23 to endorse the re-election of President George W. Bush. He subsequently appeared at campaign rallies on behalf of the president and was featured on conservative news programs such as Hannity and Colmes on Fox News and Rush Limbaugh's radio talk show.Bush invited McKelvey to a White House dinner in May and throughout the presidential campaign, the mayor referred to Bush as his friend.McKelvey has served as Youngstown mayor since 1997. The city charter prohibits him from serving a third four-year term. Political insiders have speculated since the day the mayor endorsed Bush that he was jockeying for a job in Washington or Columbus.Should McKelvey resign, the president of Youngstown City Council, James Fortune, would automatically succeed him as mayor. As an incumbent, Fortune would have a tall leg up in the 2005 Democratic primary race, The Valley Voice pointed out. That contest is expected to be crowded, with possibly as many as seven contenders. "There's a whole new dynamic behind this if Fortune is appointed mayor," one of the likely mayoral candidates, John Swierz, told the newspaper. Swierz is the former council president defeated last year by Fortune.The Valley Voice is distributed by the Youngstown Newspaper Guild to 42,000 homes in Mahoning and Trumbull counties. The guild represents 175 reporters, photographers, page designers, classified ad sales people and truck drivers. Since the strike began, the guild has published six editions of its newspaper. This week's publication is expected to be available online Dec. 27 at www.valleyvoiceonline.com."