As the fourth Democratic debate nears at nearby Otterbein University in Westerville, the New York Times published a story on Saturday that looks at how Ohio’s economy is faring.
To answer that question, the Times chose a representative city on which to focus much of its article.
They chose Mansfield.
In a post entitled “How Well Off Is Ohio, Site Democratic Debate? It’s Debatable,” Campbell Robertson, National Correspondent for the Times introduced Mansfield this way:
“Mansfield, where part of the abandoned Westinghouse factory, once the pillar of a boomtown, now sits as a colossal ruin just outside the city center. The litany of plant closings over the past few decades, culminating in the shutdown of a GM plant in 2010, was positively brutal
These days “Help Wanted” signs line the road into a pretty downtown of boutique shops, salons and a winery-restaurant. It is not quite the Mansfield of 1965, nor the Columbus of 2019. But it is better than it has been for a while.”
Among Mansfielders quoted in the piece are: Representative Mark Romanchuk; Jay Allred of Richland Source; Heidi Spade of NECIC; and Senator Sherrod Brown.
The New York Times article can be read here.
