A U.S. Senate hopeful made several campaign stops in the area Wednesday, including one at V&M Star, one of the few local businesses in the Mahoning Valley in the process of a major expansion.
Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, who is also seeking the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate, stopped at the plant to spend a few minutes speaking to Girard Mayor Jim Melfi and Niles Mayor Ralph Infante.
"We've lost a lot over a decade, and we are tired of cutting back," Melfi said. "We want to give people the services they deserve."
The mayors said they want federal elected officials to get more dollars to this area and help get more people working.
While V&M Star is one of the more positive business stories to happen in the area, in recent years there have been plenty of negative ones, like in Niles, where their major employer just pulled out.
"We just lost G.E., and we now have a big building we need to get filled," said Infante.
Brunner said the Mahoning Valley is an area she won't forget if she is elected and that she will do what she can to help the area grow.
Brunner also made stops in Youngstown and at the Girard Multigenerational Center.
