Thrusday, January 07, 1999
Voinovich is no stranger to challenges
BY PAUL BARTON
Enquirer Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON — In the shadow of the first presidential impeachment trial in 130 years, Republican George Voinvoich was sworn in as Ohio's newest U.S. senator.
For Mr. Voinovich, like other Capitol Hill newcomers, it was a day for celebrating with family one moment and dealing with the looming impeachment trial of President Clinton the next.
All knew they would participate in a different kind of swearing-in today — as jurors in the president's trial.
Mr. Voinovich, 62, arrives in Washington as successor to the seat held for 24 years by Democrat John Glenn. Mr. Glenn, 77, did not run for re-election.
As Ohio governor for the past eight years and before that mayor of Cleveland, Mr. Voinovich said he knows what it's like to step into a difficult situation.
“It reminds me of taking over the city of Cleveland when it was the first city since the Great Depression to go into default,” he said.
At noon on the Senate floor, Mr. Voinovich and other newly elected senators were sworn in in groups of four. Because he is near the end of the Senate roster alphabetically, Mr. Voinovich was in the last group.
Mr. Voinovich was accompanied to the well of the Senate by Sen. Mike DeWine, R-Ohio, who was once his lieutenant governor.
After taking the oath, which is highlighted by the pledge to uphold and defend the Constitution, Mr. Voinovich softly spoke the words, “I do,” while holding a family Bible in one hand.
Executive to legislative
Mr. Voinovich said he has no illusions about his Senate job.
“I understand that it's a heavy responsibility, and I knew that when I ran for the Senate,” he said after his swearing-in. “It will be a real challenge, a different kind of challenge than I had as governor of Ohio.”
His newest political post represents substantial change in that he is moving from the executive branch of government to being a legislator.
In addition to taking office during the height of the impeachment-trial saga, Mr. Voinovich is dogged by an investigation by the Ohio Board of Election that his 1994 gubernatorial re-election campaign illegally paid $60,000 to a supporter. Mr. Voinovich and his staff adamantly deny it.
He was quick to point out Wednesday some of the differences between his old job and his new one, saying that when he was sworn in as governor twice, “it was my show,” but now he is just one of many.
“You don't control your own schedule anymore,” he said.
Mr. Voinovich, a devout Roman Catholic, said he reflected on Chapter 12 of the book of Romans as he went to the Senate Wednesday morning from his apartment in a Capitol Hill neighborhood.
The biblical chapter deals with “life in God's service,” Mr. Voinovich said.
“I'm being sworn in today to do what I think God wants me to do,” he said.
Mr. Voinovich was accompanied Wednesday by his wife, Janet, and his grown children, Betsy, Peter and George.
While he enjoyed “hugging my wife and kids,” the mood inside the Capitol was undeniably mixed as those taking the oath of office could not help but think of what lies ahead.
One of Mr. Voinovich's Republican colleagues, Sen. Judd Gregg of New Hampshire, said of the swearing-in ceremony, “It's a second-fiddle event to the main issue, which is how we proceed with a serious constitutional question — impeachment.”
Mr. Voinovich joined other Republican senators in a caucus meeting that took up 21/2 hours before the noon swearing-in.
Afterward, he reiterated his position, and the position of a growing majority of GOP senators, that the impeachment trial should not be rushed.
“We shouldn't be constrained by some deadline that we set,” he said.
He added, “I would like to say that I am for a fair procedure.”
Mr. Voinovich has also urged that the Senate operate on two tracks — handling the impeachment trial while also making it clear to the American people that they are dealing with other issues.
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