Candidates in JD Vance’s hometown say Trump admin is ‘harming’ city

MIDDLETOWN, OH ‒ Some City Council candidates in JD Vance’s hometown said the city hasn’t benefited from Vance becoming vice president.

Middletown’s four City Council candidates answered questions from residents and The Enquirer’s Kevin Aldridge, who moderated, at the Robert “Sonny” Hill Community Center on Monday, Oct. 6.

One question candidates were asked was how City Council could leverage Middletown’s tie to Vance, who was born and raised in the Southwest Ohio city.

“Policies that have come from this administration are disproportionately harming Middletown,” said candidate Scotty Robertson, who has participated in anti-Trump protests in Middletown this year. “What we don’t need is a federal government that is hostile toward us.”

A funding recall from the U.S. Department of Education clawed back $5.6 million from Middletown City Schools, which the district was using to build a new bus center, in May.

Cleveland-Cliffs, the city’s steel plant, abandoned plans to make its Middletown facility more environmentally friendly, a project partly funded by a $500 million Biden-era federal grant, after the Trump administration rolled back support for some clean energy projects. However, Cleveland-Cliffs’ CEO suggested the company may still be able to use the grant for traditional steelmaking, and said the Trump administration’s tariffs were good for the steel industry.

‘We’re being brushed aside’

Middletown’s four council candidates are running for two council seats in a nonpartisan race.

“We’re struggling because of the administration you’re a part of,” candidate Larri Silas said of Vance. “We’re being brushed aside even though this is his hometown.”

Paul Lolli, who was appointed to City Council last year, said residents shouldn’t rely on Vance or the Trump administration to fix city problems.

“Middletown needs to help Middletown,” he said. “We can’t rely on the federal government to save us.”

But Lolli did point to the Robert “Sonny” Hill Community Center’s ongoing renovation, which was funded in part by a federal COVID-19-era relief program.

Joe Mulligan, who has served two terms on council, said there’s no “magic ticket” in appealing to Vance.

“I would not look to Washington, D.C. to solve my problems, and I would not look to them to solve yours,” he said.

A majority of Middletown voters, 62%, voted for Vance and President Donald Trump in November 2024.