Cong. OH-1st: Chabot (R) Ready for 2004

If you go to the campaign web site of 1st Congressional District incumbent Rep. Steve Chabot (R-Cincinnati), you will find the remarkable statement that "[t]he Chabot for Congress campaign is already working hard on Congressman Chabot's 2004 re-election effort." Good to know.

Ohio House 14th: Foley (D) District Swearing-In Monday

Newly appointed State Rep. Mike Foley (D-Cleveland), sworn in at a ceremony in Columbus last week, will have a second swearing-in ceremony for residents of his district on Monday, June 5, at Massimo da Milano, 1400 W. 25th Street, at 5:00 p.m.

Gov: Progress Reported in Talks Between Strickland (D), Tubbs Jones (D) & Mayors [UPDATED]

Anxious Democrats are advised to remain patient, because progress is being made. That's the subtext of a report from Jesse Taylor, Internet Communications Director for the gubernatorial campaign of Rep. Ted Strickland (D-Lisbon), who writes:

"Ted had a great meeting with Stephanie and the mayors on Friday. Ted’s been meeting with them continuously, and things are progressing in the right direction."

The meeting to which he refers was described yesterday in the Cleveland Plain Dealer:

Rep. Tubbs Jones (D-Cleveland) "met with Strickland Friday. Tubbs Jones was joined by the following black leaders, who thus far have also withheld formal endorsements: Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman, Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson, Dayton Mayor Rhine McLin, and Youngstown Mayor Jay Williams. Political consultant Arnold Pinkney also attended the meeting."

This wrangling over public endorsement of Strickland's campaign has been going on for quite a long time, leading to outbursts such as this post on Dayton Politics today. However, based on Rep. Tubbs Jones' statement that she is seeking specific commitments for the benefit of her constituents as a condition of her support, I believe that the issues being hammered out are substantive and worthy of the time spent. Whole-hearted support by Rep. Tubbs Jones and the mayors for a campaign that is fully committed to an urban agenda will ultimately benefit everyone concerned.

UPDATE: The Cleveland Plain Dealer is reporting that "Cleveland Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones and Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson will formally endorse Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ted Strickland Thursday afternoon on the steps of Cleveland City Hall." Columbus Mayor Mike Coleman is also expected to endorse Strickland, his one-time gubernatorial rival, according to the report.

2nd UPDATE: Well, they're making quite the production of it. How's Ted going to get from one event to the next in time? Who's his driver, Jeff Gordon? Here is the schedule:

WHO: Mayor Michael Coleman, Congressman Ted Strickland & Lee Fisher
WHEN: 11:00 AM
WHERE: Ohio Democratic Party Headquarters, 271 E. State St., Columbus, Ohio 43215

WHO: Mayor Rhine McLin, Congressman Ted Strickland & Lee Fisher
WHEN: 1:30 PM
WHERE: Dayton Cultural Center, 40 S. Edwin C. Moses Blvd., Dayton, Ohio 45402

WHO: Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones, Mayor Frank Jackson, Mayor Marcia Fudge and Congressman Ted Strickland
WHEN: 4:30 PM
WHERE: Arbor Park Village, 3750 Fleming Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44115

Anticipating Obama

Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) will headline Saturday's Ohio Democratic Party 2006 State Dinner. Obama will meet briefly with bloggers at a table he is sponsoring for them. Just to set the record straight (more on that later), Obama has met with bloggers in several other states recently, including Nebraska, Kansas, and Minnesota. Obama gets it about the significance and potential of the political blogosphere.

He also gets it about leadership, and politics. Check out this excerpt from Kansas blogger Josh Rosenau's interview with the Senator:

Q. ... You are an unabashedly progressive, and in your campaign, you did very well in areas that are not that dissimilar from the politics of Kansas. So, what is there that we can learn ... from your example?

A. Well, you know, a couple of things. One, I think you can promote progressive values if you describe those values in pragmatic, common sense terms as opposed to ideological terms.

Q. So, for example…

A. If you're talking about an issue like health care, it's not necessary to rail against drug companies and insurance companies because a lot of people work at insurance companies. It is sensible to talk about the fact that the system right now is not working for people, and that we're wasting a lot of money in the system, and there's no reason that people should be bankrupt if they get sick. Those kinds of common sense attitudes cross party lines, cross divides of class and race. I think that's important.

The second thing that's important is that you don't shy away from the so-called values debate. Being willing to talk about faith and family and the challenges of raising children. Those are things that people feel very intimately. I think sometimes Democrats are a little patronizing about those issues, but those are in fact issues that people feel very deeply. They want meaning in their life, they want a sense of community in their life, they feel overwhelmed with all the different forces coming at them. Not all those problems are amenable to legislation, but if you recognize them and talk about them people feel that at least you're identifying with their experience. Those would be the two main pieces of advice. (emphasis mine)

There's a certain prominent Democratic candidate who would do well to tape that last part on his bathoom mirror and repeat it out loud every morning from now to November.

Now, to setting the record straight. Columbus Dispatch columnist Ann Fisher writes in today's edition about political bloggers. She does not fall completely into the common misperceptions about who we are and what we do, but she makes some statements that fall somewhere between misleading and wrong, and I want to respond.

Fisher recounts how Ohio Democratic Party Communications Director Brian Rothenberg declined to provide free admission to the dinner to a few bloggers who asked, and Obama subsequently offered to host a blogger table. Her focus, however, is her sympathetic portrayal of Rothenberg's "baptism by fire to the blogosphere." You see, Rothenberg has been "forced to navigate an unformed landscape" with few "real names" and where "ethics are just beginning to become an issue," and "he’s been burned." Oh yes, he has "felt the wrath of the blog." Rothenberg "is troubled," warning that in time, bloggers "are going to start self-policing or they are going to be policed."

Nonsense. Bloggers weren't happy about Rothenberg's decision not to grant access to the dinner, but by blogospheric standards their reaction was muted and short-lived. If he paid any real attention to blogs he would know what real blog wrath looks like. The story isn't that bloggers are bullies, but that Obama appreciates the value of granting bloggers access and Rothenberg does not. And Rothenberg's counterpart at the Ohio Republican Party, John McClelland, appears to get it too, since he is quoted as saying that bloggers "are not the traditional media, but we’ve tried to be open with them in terms of having access to our events, taking phone calls, answering any questions." Can we expect to begin receiving that kind of treatment from the ODP any time soon, please?

To the extent that Fisher's column implies that Obama bought a table for bloggers just to rescue Rothenberg or the ODP from the "wrath of the blog," see the first paragraph above about Obama meeting with bloggers during recent appearances in other states. This is something that he does because he wants to, and because he understands the value of the blogosphere, and the Ohio Democratic establishment has something important to learn from his example.

Ohio House 90th: Collier (R) Sued for Libel by Founder of Ohio Taxpayers Association

As reported in the Mount Vernon News here, Mount Vernon attorney Scott A. Pullins, the founder and head of the Ohio Taxpayers Association, has filed a $1 million libel lawsuit against State Rep. Thomas Collier (R-Mount Vernon), based on Collier's statement in a May 21 news report in the Canton Repository that Pullins is "a scoundrel, liar and cheat."

The Repository story chiefly concerned the employment of Pullins by the city of Canal Fulton at $200 per hour plus expenses to advise it on dealings with the Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma, which desires to establish a casino in Stark County. The story recounts that Pullins founded the Ohio Taxpayers Association in 2001 after breaking with the National Taxpayers Union. After a long career as a lobbyist, he earned his law degree from Capital University three years ago. He is the law director for the village of Brinkhaven on the Holmes-Knox county line, and a member of the Federalist Society.

Pullins was associated with Larry Householder when the latter was speaker of the Ohio House. The animosity between Pullins and Collier goes back to 2000, when Pullins and Collier each sought appointment to the same vacant seat in the Ohio House. Pullins attacked Collier at that time for allegedly owing back taxes and writing bad checks. Pullins now contends that the appointment process was flawed and a special election should have been held. That animosity led to these quotes in the Repository:

“Householder had him as puppet,” Collier said. “This guy’s in trouble every week. He attacked me in the newspaper. He sent information to members (of the Legislature) to try to keep the appointment from taking place. He helped my Democratic opponent. He helps who pays him. He proved himself for who he is. He’s a scoundrel, liar and cheat.”

“He can call me those names,” Pullins said, “but I’ve never cheated anyone or anything. He has.”

The libel case against Collier is not Pullins' only foray into litigation:

In February, Pullins forced the removal of Knox County’s only common pleas judge from a case involving a company suing Pullins and his wife over a disputed $6,950 home-repair bill. Pullins countersued for $431,000 and the company, Complete Comfort System, then sued Pullins for libel.

Pullins and his wife also are engaged in litigation against their neighborhood association, and claim Attorney General Petro succumbed to pressure from campaign contributors to drop an investigation of the association.

Mark Anthony, a spokesman for Petro, said no investigation was ever launched and Pulllins “remains seriously confused. We don’t have jurisdiction. He’s obviously trying to draw other people into this personal beef.”

In his libel complaint, Pullins calls Collier's statements “patently false” and made with malice and in an attempt to harm his reputation. He alleges that Collier’s comments caused him “physical and mental anguish, humiliation, embarrassment and great loss of reputation.” He also alleges lost earnings and requests $1 million in compensatory damages, punitive damages, attorneys fees and costs.

Seeking to unseat Collier in the November general election is dairy farmer and entrepreneur Duane Grassbaugh (D-Howard), who also ran against Collier in 2004.

Memorial Day Parade

Today is Memorial Day. I join with all Americans of every political persuasion in honoring the sacrifice of our fallen heroes, who gave their lives in service to our country.

This is a bitter holiday for all of us who perceive (and are willing to admit, a much smaller group) that this deadly and protracted war in Iraq was not necessary, was not properly planned, has alienated our allies, has made our country less safe, and is not likely to result in a stable country of Iraq, much less a stable Middle East. We support and honor our troops, and pray for their safety and their quick return, and we also pray for a speedy end to this travesty of a war.

Today I marched in a Memorial Day Parade in University Heights, Ohio. I wore a Sherrod Brown tee shirt and a straw hat and walked with one of my dogs, the real yellow dog Sammy, who wore a red bandana with a Sherrod Brown sticker on it. We accompanied a car festooned with Sherrod Brown signs. We handed out Sherrod Brown stickers, tossed candy to children, and waved. Quite a few people cheered and applauded specifically for Sherrod. I was giving stickers mainly to kids, but a tall white-haired man asked for one. I said "Voting for Sherrod?" and he gave me a funny sideways look. "I've got a brain," he replied.


The Strickland people had a terrific banner, and lots of volunteers, even with other parades going on in other locations at the same time. It seemed like a lot of people along the street called out to them, saying things like "Go, Ted!," "He's our guy!" and in one instance "Better than what we got now, that's for sure!"


Stephanie Tubbs Jones was represented by three supporters and a decorated car. I thought I caught a glimpse of her later in a different car, which was following along after the parade, so perhaps she arrived a little late. The man on the right is Chris Nance, a Tubbs Jones aide. A Strickland guy came over before the parade and asked Nance if he could put a Strickland sticker on their car. He said, "No, we can't do that." I asked him later if there were any developments that he could tell me about as a result of the meeting on Friday between Strickland, Tubbs Jones, and Arnold Pinkney. He said no, but discussions are continuing.


This is former representative Barbara Boyd, who is running for her old 9th District seat, in her brother's black Corvette. She usually drives a big red minivan. "You get more respect in a Corvette," she said.


Boyd is running against Rev. Jimmie Hicks Jr, a long time Democrat and Cleveland Heights city council member who is running as a Republican. You can see for yourself how many times it says "Republican" on his sign.


Suzanne Bretz Blum, running for Common Pleas Judge, posed with members of Team Blum while they were getting everything ready.

Unfortunately, it was very hot and during the parade Sammy began to suffer too much to continue. So, I had to leave the parade about half way through and take the poor pup home, where he recovered quickly and is doing fine.

Gov & US Sen: Strickland (D) and DeWine (R) Lead in New Poll

Faminehorse at Psychobilly Democrat has just posted the results of a new poll from the University of Cincinnati:

Governor:
Ted Strickland (D) 50
Ken Blackwell (R) 44
Other 2
Undecided 5

U.S. Senate:
Mike DeWine (R) 52
Sherrod Brown (D) 42
Other 1
Undecided 5

These results contrast sharply with the last Rasmussen poll, which showed Strickland with a 16 point lead and DeWine trailing Brown by 3 points.

UPDATE: The Cleveland Plain Dealer "blog" Openers looks a little deeper, noting that Strickland and Brown both trail their rivals in name recognition, and despite his labor backing Brown trails DeWine in union households 54-43. Democracy Guy is all over it.

2nd UPDATE: The AP story on this poll, as reported in the Akron Beacon Journal, takes a closer look at the favorability ratings:

When asked whether they had a positive opinion of the candidates, people of all parties gave Strickland a 10 percent favorability rating. Blackwell's was lower at just 3 percent, fueled by a heavy unfavorable sentiment among registered Democrats. The rating measures the percentage difference between voters with positive and negative opinions of the candidate.

DeWine was viewed most positively, receiving a 15 percent favorability rating, compared to 7 percent for Brown.

The poll also revealed a significant lack of information about the candidates among registered voters. Forty-five percent of voters surveyed - and particularly independents - said they know too little about Blackwell to judge him. Fifty-one percent said they still need more information about Strickland, with only those in his southeastern Ohio congressional district claiming adequate knowledge.

3rd UPDATE: Okay, so now I've studied the internal numbers myself and this is what jumps out at me:

* Among African-American voters, Strickland leads Blackwell 55% to 32%, less than Brown's lead over DeWine among this group (67% to 17%), with a relatively large 13% undecided in each race. However, Blackwell's favorability rating among African-American respondents is -13 (26% to 39%), while Strickland's is even (12% to 12%), and notice how many fewer responded at all as to Strickland. Strickland has work to do, but there's plenty of hope here.

* Strickland leads Blackwell among Independents 46% to 27%, and among Moderates 47% to 36%. That's huge. Brown trails among Independents 38% to 47%, and among Moderates 31% to 57%.

* Unfortunately for Brown, DeWine's numbers don't show as much of a problem with his ideological base as I would expect. DeWine's support among Conservatives is 67%, only four points lower than Brown's support among Liberals (71%).

* Brown leads 50% to 43% among those 65 or older. He trails by 6% among those 46 to 64, and by double-digits among those in younger brackets. However, this is a poll of registered voters, not likely voters, and older voters are more reliable.

* Brown is merely tied in his geographic base of NE Ohio (47% to 47%), but leads in SE Ohio (53% to 44%), while trailing elsewhere, especially in DeWine's SW Ohio base (34% to 61%). What's the deal with SE Ohio -- is it a Strickland effect?

Ohio House 58th: White (R) Sworn In Today

Retired executive Dan White (R-Bronson Township), winner of the Republican nomination in the Ohio House 58th District, has been appointed as interim Representative to replace resigning incumbent Kathleen Reed (R-Norwalk) and will be sworn in today, along with 14th District appointee Mike Foley (D-Cleveland). The 58th District is in Seneca, Huron and Lorain Counties. White will face Matthew Barrett (D-Amherst), who received 46.01% of the vote in 2004, in the general election.

Rep. Reed was named Kathleen Walcher in 2004 when she reported strange incidents of harassment to the Norwalk police, which she blamed on "trial attorneys and Democrats" determined to drive her from office.

Ohio House 61st: Luther (R) Certified as Winner by Thirteen Votes

According to the web site of former county auditor and Ohio House of Representatives candidate Brant Luther (R-Alliance), all four counties in the 61st District (Carroll, Mahoning, Tuscarawas and Stark) have now certified and released their official election results, and Luther has defeated city councilman and three-time candidate Randy Pope (R-Alliance) by thirteen votes. Luther had led by ten votes according to unofficial results. Because the margin of victory is less than 0.5%, there will be an automatic recount.

In a statement, Luther says:

"I am very grateful for the trust of the Republican voters of the 61st District. Merrilee and I and our team worked extremely hard to get the word out about what I stand for, and what I believe. I am so pleased that the voters heard our message, and I am honored to be the Republican nominee. This has been a spirited Primary campaign, but it is now time to set our differences aside and begin the serious work to make sure we elect a consistent Conservative Representative to speak for us in Columbus. . . . I will be getting the word out about my plan to fight for tax cuts; slash wasteful spending in Columbus; and reduce job-killing frivolous lawsuits and rebuild our economy so families in the 61st District can pursue the American dream. We will never get Ohio back onto its feet and begin to attract new jobs if we don't get our taxing and spending problem under control.

This campaign will be about ideas, and who has the best ones to turn Ohio around so that we can get Ohio back on track. . . . There is a lot of work to do between now and November, but I am confident that when the voters have the opportunity to research my record of serving the public with integrity and backbone, they will choose Brant Luther to stand up on their behalf as a voice for much-needed reform at the State House."

Luther faces Canton attorney Mark D. Okey (D-Carrollton) in the general election. Incumbent Rep. John Boccieri (D-New Middletown), who is running for Ohio Senate in the 33rd District, won this seat with 65.66% of the vote against Pope in 2004.

US Sen: Brown (D) Demands Action on Stem Cell Research

One year ago today, the House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved a bill co-sponsored by Senate candidate Rep. Sherrod Brown (D-Avon) that would repeal the restriction placed on stem cell research by George W. Bush. Broadening the scope of stem cell research is supported by 72% of the American public, and by a majority of each major Christian denomination, and the measure would pass if brought before the Senate today. Nevertheless, this legislation has been blocked by a small group of conservative Senators, including Brown's opponent Sen. Mike DeWine (R-Cedarville).

Brown is marking the anniversary by posting a call to action on The Huffington Post, urging readers to sign an online petition to end the standoff.

In his post, Brown says that the House vote "gave hope to the 100 million Americans who suffer from serious medical conditions" by holding out "the promise to cure and treat cancer, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, cancer, Lou Gehrig's Disease, and spinal cord injuries." Crediting the "courageous work of the late Dana and Christopher Reeve and many other patient advocates" with building public support for the bill, Brown notes that conservatives such as Orrin Hatch, Gordon Smith, and Nancy Reagan support expanding stem cell research. As for his opponent, Brown says:

"Senator DeWine has changed his position on other issues. I don't see any reason why he can't do the same for stem cell research. Ohio families shouldn't have to wait till next January for a new U.S. Senator to vote the right way. We need to change course today."

Please join me in signing the petition today.

Ohio Sen. 5th: McLaurin (R) Financial Troubles Reported

The blog Dayton Politics is reporting that Ohio Senate 5th District candidate Donald McLaurin (R), pictured, who is the mayor of Trotwood, Ohio, appears to be in serious financial straits. This link to the web site of the Montgomery County Clerk of Courts reveals that a judgment for $242,835.37 with 15% interest has been entered against McLaurin in favor of Pramco III, LLC, with the result that judgment enforcement proceedings (including a foreclosure action on McLaurin's residence) are underway.

Dayton Politics previously reported that McLaurin's property taxes on his residence are delinquent.

The Ohio Senate 5th District encompasses parts of Darke and Montgomery Counties and all of Miami County. McLaurin opposes incumbent Sen. Tom Roberts (D-Trotwood), who won this seat with 52.46% of the vote in 2002.

Cong. OH-15th: GOP Seeks to Remove Morrison (I) From Ballot

Trying to prevent incumbent Rep. Deborah Pryce (R) from losing votes to a challenger on the right, GOP officials from three counties are trying to have ultra-conservative independent candidate Charles Morrison II (pictured) removed from the ballot, as reported in the Columbus Dispatch here:

Charles R. Morrison II, who ran unsuccessfully against Pryce in GOP primaries in 2002 and 2004, filed to run as an independent this year against the incumbent and Democrat Mary Jo Kilroy.

He can’t do it, Republicans contend, because he’s one of them.

Ohio law defines independent candidates as those who claim no party affiliation, and Morrison voted in the Republican primary one day after filing his nomination papers on May 1.

"Charles Morrison was, is and remains a Republican," said Franklin County GOP Chairman Doug Preisse, who filed the protest along with his counterparts in Madison and Union counties.

Morrison filed plenty of valid signatures by the May 1 deadline, but the GOP contends that he has affirmed his GOP party affiliation by circulating petitions to run for the GOP state central committee and for a county GOP central committee at the same time that he was collecting signatures for his independent candidacy.

The campaign of Franklin County Commissioner Mary Jo Kilroy (D) has issued a statement calling this a sign that Pryce is running scared:

This is a desperate attempt by Deborah Pryce and Ohio Republicans to shield voters from Deborah Pryce's record of fiscal irresponsibility and record spending. It looks like the 'little deficit hole' has turned into a big political problem for Deborah Pryce with her conservative base, and she knows it.

US Sen: Brown (D) and Reid Announce Clean EDGE Plan

On Saturday I went to a press conference held by U.S. Senate candidate Rep. Sherrod Brown (D-Avon) and Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) in front of the Great Lakes Science Center on Cleveland's waterfront, standing at the base of the new wind turbine that is expected to provide 7% of the GLSC's electricity once it is up and running. It was one of those crisp, breezy, brilliantly sunny days we get, where the lake-chilled wind battles the sunlight's warmth for supremacy. A gaggle of reporters, camera crews, campaign aides, political activists, and at least two bloggers (Bill of Callahan's Cleveland Diary and I) milled about on the plaza waiting for the event to begin. A pair of placard-bedecked LaRouchies tried to call attention to the Great Ethanol Swindle and how Nuclear and Fusion Are Our Only Hope - sorry, I did not accept their xeroxed information packet and cannot provide details on those topics.

Brown and Reid arrived with additional speakers Rev. Lois Annich, a Presbyterian minister, and Jennifer Tucker, a graduate student in nursing, each a wife and mother whose families are adversely impacted by high gas prices. They clustered around a small sign on a stand that said "Lower Gas Prices - Secure America." The rest of us stood in a semi-circle, just far enough away to make it very difficult to hear their unamplified voices in the breeze (especially Reid, who speaks rather softly).

Sherrod Brown spoke first and explained that the purpose of the event was to unveil the Clean EDGE Initiative, the Democratic plan to lower gas prices and move America toward energy independence. "EDGE" stands for Energy Development for a Growing Economy -- not a bad acronym at all. Senate Democrats had introduced the Clean Edge Act of 2006 a few days before. The plan combines immediate actions and long-term responses to the gas price crisis. In the short term, motorists would get a "gas tax vacation," suspending the 18.4 cents-per-gallon federal tax on gasoline (24 cents on diesel) for 60 days, paid for by repealing the obscenely huge subsidies for oil companies instituted by the GOP; the Federal Trade Commission would get the authority to fine big oil companies for gas gouging; and to make that authority more effective the FTC would also get immediate access to oil company books and records. Long term, the plan would build a regional reserve system to stabilize prices; increase investment in bio-fuels (like ethanol) and the facilities for distributing it (25% of new vehicles must be flex-fuel capable by 2010, 50% by 2020, and a goal would be set of selling alternative fuel at 10% of gas stations by 2015); and invest in hybrid and fuel cell development. The overall goal is to reduce U.S. petroleum consumption by 6 million barrels per day (40% of what we import) by 2020, with the federal government leading the way by reducing its own oil consumption. Brown emphasized the hardship of high gas prices on Ohio families, and said "it is time for Congress to stand up to oil companies and on the side of middle class families." He also stressed the role that Ohio could play in the development and production of alternative fuel technologies, which would bring jobs back to the state, and warned that we can expect no improvement in gas prices and foreign oil dependency from a Congress and a President whose campaigns are funded by big contributions from oil companies. Brown's opponent, Sen. Mike DeWine (R-Cedarville), has received more than $330,000 in campaign contributions from oil companies over his political career.

Harry Reid started by saying that he has had many good and bad days in Washington DC, but "no day was better than when Sherrod Brown announced he would run for the Senate." Then he said that the wind turbine behind them "represents the future of Ohio just like LeBron James represents the future of baskeball," which was a big applause line. He pointed out that America consumes 21 million barrels of oil every day, 60% of it imported, and "we cannot produce our way out of this crisis" because only 3% of world oil reserves are in the United States. "Benjamin Franklin wrote that the definition of insanity is to keep doing the same thing over and over hoping that something will change," he continued, and "this is what the Republicans do -- drill, drill, drill." America needs to be weaned off foreign oil, and alternative fuel technology is the way to do it. He talked about the importance of requiring service stations to sell ethanol and other alternative fuels, and the federal government must "set an example" by reducing its own gasoline consumption. He also said that he had just left New Orleans (Reid is on a speaking tour of red states), and that "most people gloss over the reason" why the terrible hurricane destruction there occurred. "Global warming is here," he said, and storms like Katrina "are not an accident." We "have at our fingertips" the technology to stop using so much oil, but "until we try something different, we will keep doing the same thing."

Rev. Annich, who is a counselor as well as a minister, followed by talking about how "good, decent, hard-working people are feeling the stress of high gas prices." She invoked the "tradition in scripture" of fighting for social justice, and said that record oil company profits from soaring prices "is a social injustice of the highest order." Jennifer Tucker talked about how she commutes from Medina to Case Western Reserve University and downtown hospitals for her graduate program, and her husband commutes to Mayfield Heights for his job, with the result that they spend between $300 and $500 per month on gasoline, financed through student loans.

During the Q and A, Reid was asked about the Democrats' plans for when they have control of Congress. If the election were held today, he said, the Democrats would take control of the Senate. Rather than talk about "what" Democrats stand for, however, he said he wanted to talk about "who" Democrats stand for, such as the 46 million Americans without health insurance, the many more who are underinsured, and the victims of cuts to veterans benefits and student loan programs. "When we take over Congress, we aren't going to spend all our time on investigations," he said, "we are going to pass legislation." Bush hasn't vetoed a single law in five years "because he hasn't had to -- there has been no functioning third branch of government." Asked about Democratic plans for investment in mass transit, Reid really warmed to the topic. He lamented that the U.S. has not invested in train facilities and talked about taking a hard look at high speed rail technologies like magnetic rail.

The press kit for the event included additional information about the scope of the gas crisis and how Republicans are "addicted to oil company cash." Since 1997, the Senate Judiciary Committee's subcommittee in charge of overseeing mergers, chaired by DeWine, has held just one hearing to examine high gas prices, and it was two years ago. Oil companies have contributed $73 million to Bush and the Republican Congress since 2000, with Bush receiving $2.6 million in 2004. DeWine voted with the Republican majority for $10 billion in targeted tax breaks to oil and gas companies, which Brown opposed.

The gas crisis and reducing energy dependence is a great issue for Democratic candidates, and putting forward a concrete plan for dealing with it is a big boost for their campaigns. Brown is hitting the link between DeWine and oil company contibutions hard. As pointed out in the press kit, DeWine is # 13 on the list of Senate recipients of oil company contributions so far this election cycle (all 13 are Republicans; DeWine has so far received $34,150). With industry observers predicting that gas prices could continue to rise (possibly as high as $5.00 per gallon), this issue will get much more traction as the campaign goes along.

UPDATE: Video of the event, hosted on YouTube, is here. Listening to the audio, I realize just how much of the remarks I couldn't hear in person due to the breeze. Go check it out to get the full story!

Ohio House 14th: Foley (D) Wins After Recount

The brother of Ohio House 14th District candidate Mike Foley (D-Cleveland) contacted Staff at Buckeye State Blog yesterday to report that, following a recount, the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections has certified Foley as the winner over Bill Ritter (D-Cleveland) by 115 votes out of about 12,000 votes cast. Official results have been posted at the Board of Elections site here.

As previously reported on this blog, Ritter angered the Cleveland Stonewall Democrats and progressive bloggers by sending out a gay-baiting campaign newsletter shortly before the election. Foley, director of the Cleveland Tenants Organization, was also backed by the SEIU.

UPDATE: As reported in the Plain Dealer "blog" Openers here, Foley will be sworn in on Thursday, May 25, as the replacement for Dale Miller (D-Cleveland), who vacated this seat when appointed to the Ohio Senate earlier this year. In a press release Foley says:

"It has been a long roller-coaster ride to get to this point. I'm relieved and excited about the results. I'm ready to roll up my sleeves and represent the people of the 14th District."

Week in Review at "American Street"

Friday is my day for guest blogging at American Street, so hop over there to read my Notes from Ohio for this week: Blackwell Dumps TEL, Strickland's Hard Sell, Montgomery Unwell and Mixing Religion and Politics, Lefty Style.

Congratulations, HeightsMom!

Ohio blogger Cindy Zawadzki of HeightsMom has given birth to a 7 lb. 12oz Democrat named Konrad! Stop by her blog and leave a note of congratulations in the comments!

Atty Gen: Montgomery (R) in ICU With Serious Nerve Illness

As reported in the Columbus Dispatch here, attorney general candidate and State Auditor Betty Montgomery (R) is in the intensive-care unit at Ohio State University Medical Center, diagnosed with a paralyzing nerve disease called Guillain-Barre syndrome. She is reportedly on a respirator. More information about this serious illness can be found at the web site of the Guillan-Barre Syndrome Foundation International.

The range of recovery time from Guillain-Barre varies radically, from a few weeks to over a year. The use of a ventilator does not necessarily indicate that Montgomery's recovery will be slow, according to the news report: "One-quarter to one-third of Guillain-Barre sufferers are placed on respirators and the need for one has little bearing on the rate of recovery." Additional information on Montgomery's condition will be forthcoming after tests and observation.

UPDATE (5/31): After several days of marked improvement, Montgomery has been moved from the ICU to a regular treatment ward, according to a report on her website. We wish her a continued speedy recovery.

Ohio Sen. 3rd: Knocking on Doors with Emily Kreider (D)

I'm a political blogger. I comment on elections from the outside. So I was startled when Ohio Senate 3rd District candidate Emily Kreider (D-Westerville) sent me an email recently, inviting me to join her as she knocks on doors in her district, something she does five days per week. I had posted a profile of Ohio Senate races with Republican incumbents, including the 3rd District, about which I wrote that "Kreider seems like an appealing candidate for this district. Her status as a small business owner, calling for strengthening communities and helping business, and her moderately pro-life position should help her. Her personal charisma may help make up for her lack of campaign experience." So I was intrigued and accepted the invitation.

Emily Kreider lives with her husband (and campaign treasurer) Tim and teen daughters Barbara and Rachel on a residential cul-de-sac tucked behind the retail businesses on a commercial street. Kreider's campaign headquarters are located in her dining room and den. On the dining room wall is a large map of the district, while heaps of notebooks and papers occupy the dining room table. The den is the center of computer and internet operations, including a customized data base for tracking voter contacts by Kreider and her host of over 200 volunteers. In addition to door-to-door canvassing, Kreider's grass-roots campaign includes weekly phone-banking.

We talked a bit about how she got into politics while waiting for her regional volunteer coordinator, Roger Moore, to arrive. Kreider worked as a volunteer in the 2004 presidential election, and afterward she and her co-workers decided that it was important to get Democrats elected locally. Laughing, she told me that when she first approached the Ohio Democratic Party about running for the Ohio House of Representatives, she really didn't know much about it. However, she points out, her supporters don't want a career politician, they want an average person to whom they can relate. The thing she hears most often from voters, she says, is that they're disgusted with politics. Too much corruption, too much scandal.

I asked about her switch from running for the Ohio House 19th District (where long-time political activist and grandmother of three Marian Harris (D-Columbus) is now taking on incumbent Larry L. Flowers (R-Canal Winchester)) to seeking the Ohio Senate seat of incumbent David Goodman (R-New Albany). She replied that she jumped at the chance when Democratic Party leaders suggested it, because "I'll represent more people." The 3rd District cast 48.7% of its votes for John Kerry in 2004, so the potential support for a Democratic candidate exists. (Kreider added that 70% percent of the district's voters are officially listed as independents, although that number includes many who consider themselves Republicans.) Although she hasn't run for office before, she prides herself on her organizational skills (she has run a specialty toys store and a consulting business) and her one-on-one people skills (she has completed a postgraduate program for psychotherapists and worked on a child abuse and neglect prevention program for the Homeless Families Foundation and at a private psychotherapy practice). Plus, she has help from campaign aides who have worked on other campaigns, including at least one who has run campaigns for Republicans.

Trying to pinpoint her position on the ideological spectrum, I learned that this is a complicated question and not one she enjoys discussing, although she's happy to talk about particular issues. She considers herself pro-life and is the drafter of the Ohio 95-10 Plan, a seven-point proposal for state legislation to reduce the number of abortions in Ohio by 95% in the next 10 years, comparable to a national plan sponsored by Democrats for Life. On the other hand, she is endorsed by the Stonewall Democrats of Central Ohio, she's a strong supporter of labor unions ("we need them more than ever"), and she supports raising the minimum wage (which she is quick to insist will not hurt small businesses). On her campaign web site she emphasizes reducing reliance on property taxes for school funding, making health insurance more affordable for small business owners and their employees, and bringing manufacturing jobs back to Ohio.

Kreider says that the number one issue that 3rd District voters bring up is school funding. This focus is heightened by recent school levies that passed in Westerville and failed in Worthington. The number two issue is the economy, frequently expressed in terms of the high price of gasoline and the outsourcing of jobs. When I asked about the issue of abortion she said that voters don't often bring it up, but she is aware that there is an image of Democrats as being pro-abortion and "this matters, especially if people don't know much about either candidate."

With the arrival of Moore, a Navy veteran who sports a NASCAR hat and talks fondly of his days as a Reagan Republican (before George W. Bush soured him on the GOP), we set out a little after 5:30 pm to knock on doors. As we approached each house, Moore consulted the walk list on his clipboard and announced the political affiliations of the registered voters at that address. "Two 'U's and a 'D'," he might say, meaning that two residents are unaffiliated and one votes a Republican ballot in primary elections. We did not stop at all-'R' houses -- not a good use of campaign resources -- but houses with one D and one R seemed to be Kreider's special favorite. "I really like those," she said, "they're very interesting."

At the first several houses we got no answer. ("Too early," Kreider advised, "more people will be getting home around six or six-thirty.") Whenever that happened, the candidate carefully wrote out a note on a Post-It, signed it "Emily," and left it on her campaign flyer hanging on the door handle. I was impressed, even more so when she told me that she sends a hand-written follow-up postcard to every voter she actually meets.

The first person to answer was a tall, thin man with a mischievous smile under a big gray mustache. "Hi, I'm Emily Kreider and I'm the Democratic candidate for the Ohio Senate in our district," the candidate said, "May I leave some literature with you?" This was the point where I would have expected the man's smile to fade but it didn't happen. Kreider's manner is personable and disarming, her smile is very genuine, and at house after house people were happy to talk to her. In this case, the voter was a retired administrator for a school bus system. Kreider asked him about the effect of privatization on school bus operations and they spoke at some length, with the candidate mostly listening. When she happened to refer again to being a Democrat, he froze and jokingly made to hand back the flyer. (Apparently he didn't hear the word earlier.) "I've consistently voted Republican," he said, but added after a slight pause, "I didn't vote this last time [in the primary], though. Nope, it was just down there at the school, but I didn't go over there." Asked why, he spoke of his perception that legislation has come to be passed by a big consortium of interests who don't care about what people like him want. After a bit more discussion he announced, "Well, you're my neighbor, I'll vote for you. I'll talk to my wife, maybe she'll vote for you too." After a few pleasantries we turned to go and he said, "Unless your opponent comes and promises me pie in the sky, I'll vote for you." Then he revised his position. "Actually, if he promises me pie in the sky, then I'm definitely voting for you."

We spoke to about eight more people before I had to leave to drive back to Cleveland. There were two women sitting on their porch, registered Democrats, one of whom asked "Now, what party is Bush in again?" The other woman suggested addresses for finding more registered Democrats. There was a young man who accepted the flyer but said that he doesn't know how he will vote until he "figures it out by watching stuff on TV." (Moore gave him an "Emily" sticker for his pickup truck.) A young couple followed their dog out onto the front porch, where the man said they were "issue-driven" conservatives. "Particularly the right to life," he said, "I would never vote for a candidate who is for abortion." Kreider referred him to the part of her flyer that says she is pro-life. At that house Kreider casually asked the woman if she went to church nearby, and invited her to attend Kreider's church. (I asked later if she did this often and she blushed, saying that she does not, the question just came out naturally in that instance.) There was an elderly retired man who spoke of how he and his emphysema-stricken wife could barely pay their expenses due to rising property taxes. Kreider listened sympathetically and mentioned her idea for revising the homestead exemption to reduce property taxes for senior adults and disabled people. Only one person shooed us away, saying that she had guests for dinner, although another looked so grim that Kreider merely offered him her flyer, thanked him, and left. "Do you think I did the right thing?" she asked me. I admitted that I thought she interpreted his body language correctly.

By the end of my visit I was convinced that Emily Kreider is, as she said, very good at one-to-one interactions. People responded positively to her. She is an excellent listener, a rare and under-rated quality, and my sense was that people relate to her as a concerned friend and neighbor rather than as a mere politician.

Before I left we spoke a bit more about the role of faith in politics. "Rod Parsley is in my district," she pointed out. (Rev. Rod Parsley of the World Harvest Church in Canal Winchester is a co-founder of the Ohio Restoration Project.) Kreider is up-front about her active membership in the Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church in Westerville, and believes it is a good thing for an elected official's religious faith to inform decision-making, but she says that she "doesn't feel it's necessary to bring it up on the doorstep." The real danger of mixing religion and politics, she added, is the diluting of faith. She recommended the book "God's Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn't Get It," by Jim Wallis, as something that influenced her thinking on the question.

As I drove away they were walking on to the next house.

Gov: Blackwell (R) Blinks

In the game of chicken between gubernatorial candidate Secretary of State Ken Blackwell (R-Cincinnati) and the crushing groundswell of opposition to his campaign's signature initiative, the frighteningly draconian Tax & Expenditure Limitation Amendment (TEL), Blackwell has flinched.

Helping Blackwell to bail in order to avoid the collision, Republican lawmakers agreed to pass a watered-down version of TEL as a state statute (it would not affect local and municipal spending), and to pass a law permitting the sponsors of the TEL constitutional amendment to withdraw it from the ballot, as reported in the Columbus Dispatch:

Although Blackwell had insisted for more than a year that the state needs the amendment, he agreed to the move in the face of fierce criticism from local-government officials that the TEL plan was flawed and the fear among some Republicans that it would be a political albatross. ...

But he had insisted throughout the primary campaign that he would not back away from the TEL amendment and would wage an aggressive campaign for it.

"The fact is that a half a million people signed a petition saying that they want this to be before the people for a vote. I happen to believe in it," Blackwell told The Dispatch in April. "I’m prepared to make our public case (for the amendment), and I’m prepared to run on making that public case this fall."

Blackwell also ridiculed GOP primary opponent Jim Petro throughout the campaign for changing positions on issues, saying, "I can hold a position on an issue longer than six months without getting exhausted."

Democrats are all over it. ODP Chairman Chris Redfern said, "I’m just floored that we just witnessed the entire political underpinnings of a campaign being ripped away." Gubernatorial candidate Rep. Ted Strickland (D-Lisbon) says Blackwell’s willingness to back away from the amendment makes it difficult to believe anything Blackwell says he supports. "For him, in the face of political pressure, to so quickly abandon what he has said for months was so important to the future of Ohio, I think it does represent weakness," Strickland said. In a written statement to the press, Strickland elaborates:

This is one for the history books. I suppose Mr. Blackwell will be able to say he was for the TEL ballot initiative before he was against it.

I think it’s becoming clearer every day that Mr. Blackwell will say and do anything in order to try to win an election. Mr. Blackwell built his entire campaign for governor on the TEL amendment and now he is folding in the face of massive opposition. Mr. Blackwell’s flip-flop on the TEL begs the question: If voters can’t trust him to stand up for his own ideas, how can they trust Mr. Blackwell to stand up for them?

My position on the TEL amendment has been and will remain solid. I am opposed to this unwise approach to our state government, as are business leaders, educators, health care providers, fire departments, libraries and local governments across Ohio.

How will the anti-tax extremists in Blackwell's base react to this retreat by their man of principle, the rock-solid anti-tax champion? Maybe not so well:

David Hansen, president of the conservative Buckeye Institute for Public Policy Solutions, said it’s not good enough to pass a state law that doesn’t limit spending by local governments and doesn’t apply to fees and other revenue. "A statute referring only to state (general-revenue funding) is only addressing part of the problem and not even the worst part of the problem," he said.

Additional coverage from the Toledo Blade is here.

Religious Leaders Launch "We Believe - Cleveland"

Late this morning an SRO crowd of clergy and laity packed the Brooks Theater at The Cleveland Play House to witness the launching of "We Believe - Cleveland," an extension of Columbus-based We Believe Ohio, described as a faith-based movement for compassion, inclusion and social justice. Dozens of Cleveland-area religious leaders, including pastors, priests, rabbis, cantors, imams and active lay leaders, surrounded the principal speakers during the program. Although the movement is said to have its origins in discussions among faith leaders that have been going on for many years, it has moved into the public spotlight in reaction to the activities of the Ohio Restoration Project, founded by Columbus-area right-wing evangelical ministers Rod Parsley and Russell Johnson, whose stated intention is to recruit hundreds of "Patriot Pastors" to encourage hundreds of thousands of evangelical Christians to vote according to conservative positions on certain social issues, particularly abortion and gay marriage.

The event was led by Rabbi Richard Block of The Temple-Tifereth Israel in Beachwood, who said that the gathered clergy represented "diverse faiths, traditions, and backgrounds," but "share an understanding of God as One who loves, unites, and embraces, not as one who rejects, divides, and excludes." He cited religious diversity as a source of strength and vitality, and declared that freedom of religion must be protected. "The separation of church and state is not hostile to religion, but guarantees that religion will flourish in all its rich variety." It is not a coincidence, he continued, that America is the leading defender of separation of church and state, and is the most religious country in the world. He also said that the group is not aware of any major religious tradition that is not concerned about the plight of the underprivileged, or that tolerates indifference to their suffering.

Rev. Tim Ahrens of the First Conregational Church (UCC) in Columbus described the movement as beginning with certain religious leaders asking themselves whether the Christian church that is being presented in the public square is the one that they revere, to which the answer was a resounding "No." The first decision they made was that the movement should involve not just the Christian church, but other faiths as well. "We need to enter the public square focused on the moral issues of poverty, jobs, education, and health care for all Ohioans."

Rev. Dr. Otis Moss, Jr. of the Olivet Institutional Baptist Church in Cleveland, who was once co-pastor with Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Sr. at Ebeneezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, linked the launching of We Believe-Cleveland to the struggle for civil rights, noting that May 17 marks the 52nd anniversity of the unanimous declaration by the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of Brown vs. Board of Education that "segregation or apartheid has no place in the field of education," and to opposition to the Vietnam War by clergy in the 1960s. He said that the nation is drifting back into segregated, isolated, and inadequate public education, and needs to recommit itself to decent public education as the cornerstone of a free and democratic society. Every American deserves comprehensive health care, he continued, "not just some complicated, difficult to interpret, hard to understand set of regulations that is set to expire at midnight one evening in May." The fact that fifty million Americans are without health insurance, he said, is a kind of weapon of mass destruction. Patriotism is a "quest for a more perfect union," not "a demand that you agree with me, and if you disagree then you are unpatriotic." He called for a theology of love, of justice, of inclusion, of non-violence, of forgiveness, and of reconciliation, closing by invoking the words of Dr. King:

"Vanity asks, is it popular? Cowardice asks, is it safe? Politics asks, is it expedient? But there comes a time when we must be prepared to say and do that which is not popular, which is not necessarily safe, which is not considered expedient, but which is right."

Rev. Tracey Lind of Trinity Episcopal Cathedral and Rev. Dr. Marvin McMickle of the Antioch Baptist Church, both of Cleveland, then led the gathering in a responsive reading of the movement's mission statement, which expresses support for justice for all, for diverse religious expression, for the common good, and for the voice of religious traditions informing public policy, but opposes prosperity for only a few, self-righteous certainty, "discrimination against any of God's people," and crossing the lines that separate the institutions of religion and government.

Rev. Dr. Joan Campbell of the Chautauqua Institution and Rev. Dr. Ken Chalker of the First United Methodist Church followed by announcing the movement's "action steps," which include educating congregations on the moral and social issues of education, child welfare, poverty, health care, inclusion, regional equity and housing, "engaging members of our congregations in the democratic process, including voting," working with other communities to build a statewide movement, and promoting civility and respect, especially during the electoral season. Under the heading of educating congregations, the movement pledges to support the upcoming NOAH Regional Equity Summit on May 26 and InterAct Cleveland's Forum on Pluralism and Civility in June, and promises to "host an educational event on the TEL/TABOR amendment" in the fall. At this point in the proceedings Rev. Chalker departed from the carefully circumspect rhetoric of other participants and said that he was there to "kick butt and name names," referring specifically (for the only time in the event) to the Ohio Restoration Project and Patriot Pastors. He stressed the importance of letting people know that "their vote is so important for issues about which we all care - our kids, education, health care, equity in housing, and accepting diversity," and of standing "against voices saying that if you believe in God, there is only one way to vote - that is wrong!"

During the Q and A, representatives of the group denied any intention to endorse specific candidates, saying that they will "address policies" and that "policies will determine the leaders"; resisted the idea that the movement sprang up solely in reaction to the Ohio Restoration Project; denied that the movement would contribute to the nastiness of election campaigns; disputed the claim of right-wing religious leaders that their opposition to abortion and gay marriage is no different from past clergy's opposition to slavery or support for civil rights; and acknowledged as a boundary to their activities that they would not explicitly, or by obvious implication, endorse any particular candidate for office. In connection with the last answer, Rabbi Block made the point that "God is not affiliated with a political party," and that "religion should not be the servant of the state, but the conscience of the state, and the state should not be the tool of any sectarian group."

Gov: Strickland (D) Warmly Received at Cleveland Campaign Stop

A mostly African-American crowd of at least 150 roared their approval yesterday at the Harvard Community Services Center in Cleveland's southeastern 1st Ward as gubernatorial candidate Rep. Ted Strickland (D-Lisbon) promised a state government that is inclusive and committed to an "urban agenda" of improving economic opportunity, safety, and schools.

City Councilwoman Nina Turner (D-Cleveland) fired up the listeners with a rousing introduction. Opening with a theme of "carpe diem," she called on voters to "seize this time" and accept the "challenge of turning Ohio around" by using the "tool in your toolbox" of voting for the Strickland/Fisher ticket. Speaking specifically to her "African-American brothers and sisters," Turner warned:

"The other side is going to run a race about race -- but this race should be about the quality of services, about education, and about jobs. This race is about electing someone who genuinely cares about your family and it's future.

Turner also linked the race to 2008, igniting the audience by declaring that "we can pick a Governor who will serve the state, but more importantly, we're on the way to the White House." Reviewing Strickland's background as a teacher and his humble beginnings as the son of a steelmill worker, Turner asserted that his rural experience puts him in touch with the urban experience. She said that Strickland came and said that he might not understand the urban agenda, but that he sought the help he needed to understand and improve urban conditions.

Handed an energized crowd, Strickland responded with equal enthusiasm. After praising and thanking Turner, he joked that he was late because he had been meeting with "a bunch of ministers," and one "can't tell when they will stop talking." (I overheard someone saying later that the meeting featured 52 ministers.) He then said that the meeting with ministers included Strickland, running mate Lee Fisher (D-Cleveland), and "the Congresswoman" (presumably Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-Cleveland)), and that the pastors "put their hands on us and blessed us," which had Strickland feeling "I can do anything today!" I took this to mean that Strickland and Tubbs Jones have resolved their differences and have publicly signalled their intention to work together, particularly since an AP reporter later mentioned that he had attended the meeting. If my understanding is correct, this is very welcome news.

"Ohio needs a brighter future," Strickland proclaimed, because jobs are leaving the state, too many young people who are incarcerated have no jobs when they come out (tremendous applause), and young people are neglected. The only way to solve these problems, he said, is to "join together, to bring heads and hearts together." He decried the prevailing "individualistic" attitude of expecting each person to fend for him or herself, pointing out how "none of us get through this world alone," using examples of how we all "depend on our fellow man" throughout our lives. "We're in this together," he asserted, echoing the campaign theme of U.S. Senate candidate Sherrod Brown (D-Avon), "and we need to get back to where we cared about each other." Bringing up the politically charged idea of "values" as a campaign issue, Strickland tied his theme to the Golden Rule: "We need to treat others the way we'd like to be treated." In Ohio, he said, "some are doing really well, but the middle class and those struggling to get by aren't doing well at all." (Loud cheering and applause). Pointing out that millions in funds available for social programs remain unspent by the state, Strickland said that "the kind of administration we want is about people caring about each other."

Saying "we're in trouble in America," Strickland turned briefly to national issues: the tragedy of Iraq casualties and of veterans who return to face cuts in veterans benefits, the cutting of Medicare and Medicaid benefits, federal borrowing from China to pay for the deficit, and "union and non-union workers" who can't depend on their pension benefits. "Things are bad in America, but they are worse in Ohio," he continued, zeroing in on the sorry condition of school funding in this state. Probably the loudest applause of the afternoon, however, greeting his next few points:

"People are losing confidence that when they go to the polling place, they'll be able to vote, and their vote will be accurately counted."

This is a government characterized by incompetence and corruption, he continued:

"People in Ohio are sick and tired of being sick and tired, and they're ready for a change. Lee and I have a plan to start turning Ohio around. We want to include everybody, regardless of where they live, the color of their skin, or their religious belief. We want a government that is inclusive. We want a government that has African-Americans in the cabinet [and on boards and commissions]. We want to include everyone."

When the wild cheering subsided, Strickland turned to urban conditions, saying "we can't have a healthy state unless we have healthy cities," and further that we won't have healthy cities without economic opportunity, personal safety, and better schools. He announced his determination to have an administration "that is committed to working for you, and for people in communities like this one all over Ohio."

Strickland concluded by linking the 2006 election in Ohio to the presidency. "We're fighting for the presidency in 2008," he said, and "we're running against the man who went to Florida in 2000" to help Katherine Harris give that election to George W. Bush. "I don't need to remind you" what that opponent did in 2004 to put Bush back in the Oval Office, he continued, and even the election two weeks ago "had problems." Continuing, he said "we're going to put in a fair apparatus" for the election in 2008.

Running mate Lee Fisher, the former attorney general, echoed Strickland's themes. He praised Strickland as a tireless worker who will be a "24/7 Governor." Recalling the advice of Ruby McCullough, former director of the Harvard Community Services Center, that "when things are going tough, follow your heart," Fisher proclaimed that Strickland lives this credo. "Yes, we have a plan, but what we want most is a leader who speaks what he believes, not what he thinks people want to hear." Saying that Strickland took his impoverished upbringing as an "opportunity" to spend his life "lifting others up" as a minister, teacher, psychologist and Congressman, Fisher contrasted that with their opponent, whom Fisher described as having "spent his entire career turning people against each other." Their opponent "believes that if he can divide people, enough will vote for him out of fear." Strickland, on the other hand, says "No - we don't divide, we bring people together." Strickland will "hang up a sign saying 'Everyone is Welcome Here.'" Fisher concluded with a stirring refrain, to resounding applause: "The stakes could not be higher, the choice could not be clearer, and the candidate could not be better!"

This was a rousing and successful campaign stop. Strickland was obviously comfortable with his message and very personal and genuine in delivering it. It seemed to me that Strickland had a tremendous rapport with the crowd, and that his speech sounded themes that resonated very well. This was not a merely polite reception, or an audience applauding out of a sense of duty, but an audience that really loved the speech and was ready to embrace the speaker.

UPDATE: Moments after posting this account I spoke to Strickland's communications director Jess Goode, who confirmed that the meeting with pastors was "very positive," but indicated that they had no public announcement to make, and referred me to Tubbs Jones on the matter of her willingness to make an endorsement. He also referred me to an entry today on the Plain Dealer "blog" Openers, which provides more detail on the pastors meeting:

"A group of Cleveland's influential black clergy interviewed Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ted Strickland today for about 60 minutes, asking him several questions about how he will help blacks as governor.

United Pastors in Mission, which represents more than 50 Cleveland-area churches, wanted to size up Strickland before the group endorses a candidate in the fall. The group interviewed Republican candidate Ken Blackwell in March. ...

[T]he group asked Strickland, among other questions, how he will improve school funding and access to health care and help blacks find jobs after prison [and] about its feeling that the Democratic Party has shut out black leaders.

The meeting was closed to reporters but [Rev. C. Jay] Matthews and others said Strickland responded candidly and offered specific plans.

Asked for his impression of Strickland’s performance, Matthews said: “Great response. Good response. Well-ordered response. Addressed the concerns head on. A good meeting.” ...

U.S. Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, a powerful black official and fellow Democrat who has refused to endorse Strickland thus far, spoke to the group before Strickland. ...

Tubbs Jones said that Strickland has apologized on behalf of his supporters and that she is comfortable with his attempts to mend fences. But she did not say when and whether she will endorse his campaign."

Ohio House 90th: Grassbaugh (D) Promises Change; Collier (R) Backs Bob Ney

Duane Grassbaugh (D-Howard) has a campaign website up in support of his second bid to unseat incumbent Thom Collier (R-Mt. Vernon) in the Ohio House 90th District, which serves Morrow, Knox, Richland and Ashland Counties. Grassbaugh's campaign is a forthright call for rejecting the corrupt Republican status quo:

"[T]he Republican majority in this state has managed, many times over, to only serve themselves, special interests, big business and big money. They are party to ethical impropriety in governance both nationwide and in Ohio. Our sitting governor is a convicted felon. ... Ohio cannot afford such a reckless "I-ME-MINE" philosophy any longer. It is TIME for CHANGE. ... If YOU are sick and tired of this daily mis-management at the state level by a Republican majority, then listen to what my campaign has to say. I want to serve YOU. I want to help re-invent the Ohio economy, attract 21st century jobs. As 90th District Representative, I serve you, NOT special interests, big business and big money."

Meanwhile, the incumbent has put himself squarely on the side of public corruption by coming out strongly in support of embattled Rep. Bob Ney (R-Heath). Speaking at GOP candidates forum earlier this year, Collier spoke up for Ney, as reported in the Mount Vernon News:

Saying Ney was one of the No. 1 targets of the Democrats in the November election, Collier cautioned the committee to not let the media be Ney’s "judge, jury and executioner."

"The man needs a chance to get his views heard and out in the public," said Collier. "We need to get behind Bob Ney and support him and encourage him."

Great quote! Doesn't leave much doubt about who is for clean government in the 90th District.

Atty Gen: Dann (D) Seeks In Camera Review of "Privileged" Documents

Attorney general candidate State Sen. Marc Dann (D-Youngstown) continues to hammer away at the Republicans' defenses in their ongoing effort to minimize and cover up the Tom Noe/Coingate scandal. Reacting to the Republican-dominated Supreme Court's dubious executive privilege ruling, which allows Governor Taft (R) to refuse access to certain government records relating to investments by the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation despite the lack of any Constitutional or statutory provision directly authorizing such action, Dann is calling on the Justices to conduct an in camera (literally, in chambers) review of the records in dispute. This procedure, frequently employed when litigants seek to invoke attorney-client privilege, requires the court to inspect the records privately and determine whether they are indeed privileged, and whether there is a compelling need for disclosure that overcomes the privilege.

All five Republican Justices who joined in the executive privilege decision received campaign money from Tom Noe. Chief Justice Thomas Moyer, Justice Judith Lanzinger, and Justice Terrence O'Donnell (up for reelection this year) have put into escrow some of that money, which had been laundered through Taft's former aide Douglas Talbot.

Even if Dann's strategy is not successful in gaining access to the disputed records, it is an excellent remedy to pursue because it continues to put the ugly problem of public corruption and cover-ups in public view where it belongs. Visit Dann's campaign blog and leave a comment expressing your encouragement and support! Better yet, contribute to his campaign.

Gov: Blackwell (R) Hounded by New Blog

An intriguing new blog called Onward Christian Soldier has appeared, with the avowed purpose of "following the political meanderings of Kenneth J. Blackwell, Ohio's Republican gubernatorial candidate--and God's." The first half-dozen posts are lengthy and thoughtful comments on such Blackwell foibles as waffling on his own TEL Amendment, the Blackwell-Dispatch feud, and the aftermath of the Blackwell-Petro scorched-earth primary. [UPDATE: As noted in the comments, check out this very cool stained-glass window graphic!]

The author is identifed only as Pope Urban II, and his or her blogger profile is worth a visit just to peruse the "location" and "interests" entries. This is a blog worth following.

Hat tip to Lisa Renee for mentioning this blog in a comment on BSB.

Ohio House 63rd: Cassell (D) Pleads No Contest to DUI Charge

The Dayton Daily News is reporting that 63rd District State Rep. Tim Cassell (D-Madison) pleaded no contest to a drunken driving charge on Friday after rear-ending another car, causing a minor neck injury to the other driver, after midnight near an entrance ramp to Ohio Highway 2. Cassell failed a field sobriety test. He was sentenced to a year of probation and two days of community service, was fined about $1,000, and his driver's license was suspended for six months, with work privileges after 15 days.

Cassel apologized in a statement: "I made a big error in judgment, and I am taking responsibility for my actions."

This news is potentially devastating to Cassell's reelection bid. He won his Lake County district in 2004 by the tiny margin of 0.9% over Republican B.J. Kresnye. He faces accountant Carol-Ann Schindel (R-Painesville) in November.

Cong. 13th: Cheney (R) Fundraising for Foltin (R) in Cleveland Today

Lorain Mayor Craig Foltin (R), who likes to pretend that he's not tied in with the dismally unpopular Bush administration, will see that fantasy squashed today when Vice President Dick Cheney speaks at a fund-raising luncheon for Foltin at Cleveland's Renaissance Hotel, as reported in the Akron Beacon Journal here. Opponent Betty Sutton (D-Barberton) will waste no opportunity to remind 13th Congressional District voters of the connection. In fact, while in Washington on Friday to attend events organized by Emily's List, Sutton did just that, as noted on the Cleveland Plain Dealer "blog" Openers:

Sutton said the fact that Vice President Dick Cheney is holding a fundraiser next Monday for her GOP opponent, Lorain Mayor Craig Foltin, shows Foltin is aligned with the special interests that Cheney represents, like the oil companies Cheney assembled behind closed doors to craft the nation's energy policy.

"It is clear to me that the people of the 13th District are not interested in having business continue in the way that Dick Cheney has been conducting it," Sutton said. "They are looking for people who will stand up to the special interests as opposed to people who will stand up for the special interests."

UPDATE: Sutton is all over this one. Shortly after Cheney left the Renaissance Hotel, she was on the scene to score points: "The events of today make it clear that there's a stark contrast between the candidates in this race. We don't need another yes-man for George Bush and Dick Cheney in Washington." You go, Betty!

Rove (R) Indictment is Reported

Jason Leopold at Truthout.com is reporting that Karl Rove has been indicted.
UPDATE: No confirmation from any other source. Some doubts and some support on DailyKos.com here.

Gov & US Sen: Strickland (D) and Brown (D) Lead in New Rasmussen Poll

New numbers about to be released by Rasmussen show a wide lead for Rep. Ted Strickland (D-Lisbon) over Secretary of State Ken Blackwell (R-Cincinnati) in the gubernatorial race and a small (statistically insignificant) lead for Rep. Sherrod Brown (D-Avon) over Sen. Mike Dewine (R-Cedarville) in the U.S. Senate race (4.5% margin of error):

52% Strickland
36% Blackwell
6% Some other candidate
10% Not sure

44% Brown
41% DeWine
6% Some other candidate
10% Not sure

Lt Gov: Fisher (D) Makes a Good Impression

Last night I attended a meeting of the Cleveland Heights Democratic Club, at which former Attorney General and candidate for Lieutenant Governor Lee Fisher (D-Cleveland) spoke. I sat near the front and scribbled notes furiously. During the Q and A, before responding to my query, Fisher asked me if I am a reporter. Unprepared for the question, I just said I was not, not attempting to bring up or try to explain my status as a blogger. Regrettably, under the circumstances, it would be inappropriate for me to proceed to act like a reporter and provide an account here of what the candidate had to say.

Nevertheless, I feel comfortable with at least recording my personal reaction to the gentleman, whom I have not previously seen. Fisher is an elegantly tall and distinguished looking man, who speaks in an easy and comfortable manner, although he tends to be a bit wordy. He conveys a sense of humility along with intelligence and competence, which is rare and very appealing. His speaking style signals education and refinement. His remarks weren't fiery or rousing, although in fairness the occasion didn't really call for that. He spoke at considerable length without referring any notes, yet his talk was clear, well organized, and coherent. I loved that he answered hard questions very directly, and that he accepted comments and criticisms thoughtfully. I left with the sense that he is an asset to the ticket and would be an exceptionally capable chief executive.

I plan to attend a public appearance by gubernatorial candidate Rep. Ted Strickland at the Harvard Community Center next Tuesday, May 16, at 12:30 p.m., which will be my first chance to hear him in person, and I plan to provide a detailed account of his remarks on these pages.

Roundup of Statewide Primaries at "American Street"

Friday is my day for guest blogging at American Street, so head over there to read my roundup of last week's primaries for statewide offices.

Atty Gen: Dann (D) Issues Strong Statement on Noe

Attorney general candidate State Sen. Marc Dann (D-Youngstown) shows how it's done, as far as a political campaign staying on top of breaking news. Reacting to the report that disgraced Toledo Republican money man Tom Noe plans to change his not-guilty plea in the federal prosecution against him, Dann stood in the rain in front of the statehouse around 11:00 pm last night in order to do an interview with NBC-4. Here is the text of his statement to the press:

Guilty pleas would only serve to accelerate the march toward ultimate accountability for one of the biggest crooks in Ohio history. Tom Noe's illegal funneling of $45,400 in contributions to President Bush was a shameless perversion of the American political system and the worst crime of its kind in the history of modern election law. Yet shockingly, it is the least of Tom Noe's problems. No plea deal will be enough to escape the 53-count indictment he faces for his crimes at the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation. Given his closeness to Bob Taft, Betty Montgomery, and other prominent Republican leaders, I suspect that Mr. Noe may not be the biggest fish to fry in this corruption scandal.

Gov: Blacks' Biggest Problem with Blackwell (R) Isn't Taft or TEL, it's Bush

Sam Fulwood III has a must-read column in today's Cleveland Plain Dealer entitled "Blackwell Not a Friend to Blacks." Keying off George Will's "ignorant comment" that gubernatorial candidate and Secretary of State Ken Blackwell (R-Cincinnati) "appeals to blacks by being black," Fulwood blasts the Republican fantasy that Blackwell will ride the African-American vote to the Ohio governor's mansion and then take his crossover magic nationwide as a vice presidential candidate in 2008.

First, Fulwood reviews the short and unhappy history of previous GOP "Great Black Hopes" J.C. Watts, Alan Keyes, and Colin Powell. Then he asserts that "black people across Ohio haven't climbed aboard [Blackwell's] wobbly bandwagon," and "Cleveland's black ministers aren't going to push this Trojan horse candidate on their congregations." Why? Because Blackwell "frightens" Fulwood and other blacks who have paid attention to his career. "His entire political career has been inside the cozy club of conservatives who stand in opposition to what rank-and-file black voters say they value most." Many black voters agree with Blackwell on abortion and gay rights, but they "won't overlook that Blackwell and his right-wing cronies want to cut taxes without regard to the violence that would do to public education, health-care and social-service programs."

But the most striking roadblock for Blackwell is that blacks won't forget that he delivered Ohio and therefore the nation to George Bush:

"Few black voters will forgive Blackwell for trying to suppress the black turnout in the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections. As Ohio's Secretary of State, he served as the Republican National Committee's leading storm trooper in the state, paving the way for George Bush to seize control of the White House. ...

"Black voters would be wise to recall the late Justice Thurgood Marshall Jr., who warned of Negroes who suck up to the enemies of their people.

"'There's no difference between a black snake and a white snake,' Marshall said. 'They both bite.'"

Ssssss-ss-ss-sss!

Well, I have to admit, I had been assuming that Blackwell's biggest problems with black voters were going to be things like his ties to Taft, his role in permitting the Noe/Coingate scandal, and his draconian Tax and Expenditure Limitation (TEL) amendment, but Fulwood reminds me that those pale in comparison to Blackwell's Bush problem. As Bush's campaign manager for Ohio, there's no way that Blackwell can wriggle out of being the man who wrought Bush upon us, and he did it by suppressing the black vote in Ohio's tainted elections. So how do Ohio's black voters feel about Bush? A Cleveland Plain Dealer/Mason Dixon poll in late April showed that 98% of African-Americans in Ohio disapprove of Bush's job performance. That is not a typo! That's 98% as in virtually every single person. White Ohioans disapproved of Bush by the less dramatic proportion of 67%.

So Taft and TEL aren't the biggies, it's Bush.

Volz Contributions to Ohio Republicans

Hat tip to Dayton Politics for this link to a list of contributions made by Neil Volz, the former top aide to Rep. Bob Ney (R-Heath) who yesterday pleaded guilty to conspiracy to corrupt that public servant, from 2002 to 2006. Here are the Ohioans on the list, all Republicans:

$3,735 - Rep. Bob Ney (18th)

$1,000 - Rep. Steven C. LaTourette (14th)

$1,000 - Former Rep. Rob Portman (2nd)

$1,000 - Rep. Patrick J. Tiberi (12th)

$1,000 - Rep. Michael G. Oxley (4th)

$500 - Rep. Steve Chabot (1st)

$500 - Sen. Mike DeWine

$500 - Lucas County Auditor and former 9th District candidate for Congress Larry A. Kaczala

$300 - Rep. John A. Boehner (8th)

$250 - Deborah Pryce (15th)

$ 250 - Insurance Director and former 15th District candidate for Congress Ann Womer Benjamin

Cong. OH-18th: Noose Tightens Around Ney (R)

With today's news that Neil Volz, former aide to Rep. Bob Ney (R-Heath), has pleaded guilty to a conspiracy to corrupt the embattled Congressman, it appears that Ney's remaining days in office are numbered, and the number is very small. As reported in the Columbus Dispatch:

Volz, 35, a longtime Ney confidant who joined Abramoff’s lobbying firm in February 2002, has told prosecutors that he helped provide Ney with free trips to Scotland and Lake George, N.Y.; tickets to pro basketball, baseball and football games; and free meals in exchange for Ney’s promise to help Abramoff’s business clients.

By doing so, Volz added details to the case against Ney and confirmed key testimony by Abramoff, former lobbyist Tony Rudy and one-time public-relations executive Michael Scanlon. Abramoff, Rudy and Scanlon have pleaded guilty of trying to bribe Ney.

Additional main stream media coverage appears in the Akron Beacon Journal and the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Coverage in the blogs appears on Buckeye State Blog, Dayton Politics, Ohio 15th, and the LICOPAC Blog.

Atty Gen: Dann (D) Responds

The following reply by Attorney General candidate State Sen. Marc Dann (D-Youngstown) to my open letter was forwarded to me today by Alex Goepfert, a Dann press staffer who has recently taken on responsibility for coordinating online communications:

Dear Ohio Progressives, Bloggers, and Grassroots Democrats,

Recently, I read several posts reaching out and encouraging me to increase my dialogue with the progressive community. I enthusiastically welcome this conversation and I want to take a moment to respond.

We face a critical battle in this election. Betty Montgomery is the poster child for everything that is wrong with the GOP’s pay to play culture. With Jim Petro gone, she is the most corrupt candidate on the ballot.

Betty Montgomery’s corruption comes with a shocking price tag for Ohio taxpayers. According to independent auditors, if the State Insurance Fund of the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation had been properly invested, “it would have realized an annualized return of 8.1% per year and would be nearly $1 billion greater in value than it is today.”

That is the stunning price of Betty Montgomery’s incompetence and appalling lack of oversight.

The stakes of this race for Attorney General are enormous. Big oil and drug companies, credit card issuers, predatory lenders, and other opponents of change have no greater friend than Betty Montgomery. She is the ultimate champion of the status quo. As long as Betty Montgomery continues to shuffle from office to office, ordinary Ohioans will be locked out and ignored.

I promise you, I will hold Betty Montgomery’s feet to the fire each and every day from now until November 7th. I will take on the tough fights necessary to pry the Attorney General’s office out of the hands of corrupt campaign contributors and narrow-minded special interests. I am willing to take on these fights alone, as I have in the past. But I’d much rather stand with the Democratic Party and with all of you.

In this spirit, I look forward to a productive dialogue with the progressive community. You’ll be hearing more from me and from my campaign. For my part, I welcome your ideas, your energy, and your support. The stakes are high for all of us. Let’s get to work.

Sincerely,

Marc Dann

Absurd "Investigation" of Election Fiasco Fails the Straight-Face Test

Announced plans for a purportedly independent and complete investigation of the election fiasco in Cuyahoga County during last week's primary are so patently ridiculous they cannot be taken seriously.

The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports today that during a special meeting Monday the Election Board sought to shift blame for the mess to Diebold Elections, Inc., manufacturer of the touch-screen voting machines and optical scan counting machines used in the election, ignoring mounting evidence of the board's own negligent and inadequate planning, training, and testing of equipment. (Indeed, the same edition of the paper includes an important guest editorial column by Election Day technician Megan Leigh, detailing the gaps and errors in the training provided to her.) As PD reporter Joan Mazzolini points out, "voter advocates reminded the board that they had warned well before the election that poll-worker training was inadequate and that confusion would reign at the polls," and little attention was paid at the meeting to the fact that "poll workers lost 70 computer memory cards holding vote totals from hundreds of precincts."

This horrendous display of incompetence demands a truly independent and thorough investigation. So what do we get? One of the two members of the investigating committee announced by the elections board so far is Ohio Lottery director Tom Hayes, identified in the PD article as a former "director of the elections board in the mid-1990s" and a "running buddy" of current director Michael Vu. Independent investigations are not what you get when a person so closely associated with a potential target is named to the investigating body. But then, the chairman of the elections board is Bob Bennett, who ought to step aside and let someone else choose the investigators since he is simultaneously chairman of one of the two major political parties involved in the bungled election.

Of course, the state official ultimately responsible for the conduct of elections is Secretary of State Ken Blackwell (R-Cincinnati). Since he is also a major political candidate in the affected election, the Ohio Democratic Party has called on him to step aside and appoint someone else to oversee the investigation of what went wrong in Cuyahoga County. In what ought to become a major issue in the gubernatorial election, Blackwell has flatly refused to consider doing so. The power-drunk arrogance, the blinking away of conflict of interest, and the sheer hubris of this announcement take my breath away.

So, no credible investigation is to be expected from the county board of elections or the secretary of state. Ideally it would now be time to call for the voters rights section of the U.S. Department of Justice to step in, but since the Bush administration has quietly converted that unit into a mechanism of voter suppression there is little reason to do so.

Ohio House 10th: Cintron (D) and Newsome (D) to Seek Recount

Columnist Sam Fulwood III writes in the Cleveland Plain Dealer today that the apparent victory of former campaign coordinator Eugene R. Miller (D-Cleveland) in the Ohio House of Representatives 10th District is not yet final. The latest unofficial tally has Miller with 1095 votes, former city council member Nelson Cintron Jr with 1025, Bill Newsome with 1002, and four other candidates further back. According to Fulwood, Cintron and Newsome have both indicated that they intend to seek a recount:

"The Board of Elections is going to have to get its act together," said Cintron. "All of these errors raises a lot of suspicions about whether the election was fair." Newsome agreed, saying he wants answers to reports that his name didn't even appear on some ballots in his own precinct. "Absolutely, I want a recount," he said. "We need to find out what really went on before I say the race is over."

So, the waiting continues.

Gov: Tubbs Jones (D) "In Discussions" on Endorsement

At a meeting last night of her political organization, the 11th Congressional District Caucus, Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-Cleveland) told a crowd of supporters that she is "in discussions" on making an endorsement in the gubernatorial race, which pits Rep. Ted Stickland (D-Lisbon) against Secretary of State Ken Blackwell (R-Cincinnati). Noting that she had made no endorsement in the Democratic primary for the office, she said that people were saying it was about whether or not she liked a particular candidate. "It's not about whether I 'like' someone," she insisted. "When I make an endorsement, I make it on behalf of my constituents," and therefore she need commitments to address her constituents' needs before proceeding. She said that "we've all seen it happen before that we make an endorsement" and then after the election "it's like nothing happened." Therefore, she continued, she is "negotiating" to obtain commitments by the endorsed candidate before issuing an endorsement. However, she told the audience, "Don't be voting a Blackwell ballot!", an allusion to Blackwell's urban radio ad during the primary in which it was suggested that African-Americans should vote for Blackwell on a Republican ballot in order to prevent supposed interference with urban radio stations' playlist by opposing candidate Jim Petro (R-Rocky River). During Tubbs Jones' remarks, State Treasurer candidate Rich Cordray (D-Columbus) was seated in the front row next to political strategist and long-time Tubbs Jones friend Arnold Pinkney.

Tubbs Jones' comments on the gubernatorial endorsement came toward the end of a one-and-a-half hour meeting, conducted largely by new executive director Greg Groves, that covered both substantive issues and procedural matters relating to rebuilding the caucus. Lillian Davis, President of the Progressive Action Council, and Cleo Busby, now with the Cleveland Tenants Organization but formerly with the National Public Housing Alliance, and a primary candidate for the Ohio House of Representatives this year, discussed circulating a petition to Sen. Mike DeWine (R) and George Voinvovich (R) to protest massive cuts in funding to public housing-related programs in George W. Bush's proposed budget for next year. Attorney Leslie Huff and Tubbs Jones staffer Chris Nance talked about the Voter Protection Project, an effort to avoid election problems in the fall like those that plagued the primary election last week. This effort will include public seessions throughout the area to collect voters' statements about their experiences in the primary. This part of the meeting included hair-raising accounts of voting machine malfunctions and general confusion, including a description of a polling place in East Cleveland where hundreds of voters were turned away because voting machines would only display Republican ballots, and there were not enough paper ballots on hand to accomodate the voters. During this part of the meeting there were numerous comments to the effect that the problems were most prevalent in African-American areas, and several direct and indirect references to Blackwell as the ultimate cause of the voting problems.

During the meeting Tubbs Jones acknowledged current officeholders and candidates for office in attendance. In addition to Cordray, the candidates on hand included former representative Barbara Boyd (D-Cleveland Heights), running in the Ohio House 9th District; Common Pleas Judge candidate Suzanne Bretz Blum (D), who will oppose Judge Kathleen Sutula (R) in the general election; Eugene R. Miller (D), who has coordinated several political campaigns in the past and is now the apparent primary winner in the Ohio House 10th District; and Ohio Senate 21st District candidate Rep. Shirley Smith. In his brief remarks to the crowd, Cordray emphasized the need for state government to shift its focus to Ohio's big cities. He said that people in the current Republican administation have been heard to say of the cities, "That's not where our voters are." Cordray pointed out that 9 million out of Ohio's 11 million residents live in cities, and that the state's economic future is bound up with the condition of its large urban centers.

After the meeting I participated in a revealing discussion with a few acquaintances in attendance. One commented that she was dismayed that Tubbs Jones did not come right out and express support for Strickland now, asking "What else is she going to do, anyway?" and pointing out that voter education takes a long time, and that the Blackwell campaign is already at work trying to influence African-American voters to support his candidacy. Another suggested that the primary vote did not reflect disaffection on the part of African-Americans, but a third sharply disagreed with that assertion, claiming that voting in heavily African-American areas did indeed reflect antipathy toward gubernatorial candidate Strickland. She framed the question of African-American support for Blackwell in a striking way. "Who was the first white governor of Ohio?" she asked. The question made me realize the extent to which I take it for granted that the governor is and always has been white. "Now think how much it would mean to blacks to be able to answer that question if you turn it around and ask who was the first African-American governor." The symbolism of having an African-American governor is extremely powerful, she continued, so African-American voters are going to need a very strong reason not to vote for Blackwell. "We're Democrats," she continued, "and we can and will get it done," but it's going to take a big effort on the part of the Democratic Party.

A Good Primary for Current and Former Officeholders [Updated]

In covering this year's primaries I couldn't help noticing how many current officeholders were running for different positions (mostly due to term limits), and how many former officeholders were returning to the campaign trail. How did they do?

Very well. It was a nearly perfect primary election for current state senators running for a different office. Marc Dann (D-Youngstown) won his primary for Attorney General by a huge margin, Charlie Wilson (D-St. Clairsville) won his write-in campaign in the 6th Congressional District in spectacular fashion, Jim Jordan (R-Urbana) prevailed comfortably over a crowded field in the Republican primary for the 4th Congressional District, Bob Hagan (D-Youngstown) defeated four primary opponents in the Ohio House 60th District quite handily, Lynn Wachtmann (R-Napoleon) sailed to a primary win in the Ohio House 75th District, and Jay Hottinger (R-Newark) breezed to the Ohio House 71st District nomination without primary opposition. The only state senators to fall short were Tim Grendell (R-Chesterland), who could not overcome former Attorney General Betty Montgomery in the Republican primary for that office, and Joy Padgett (R-Coshocton), who failed to gain the nomination for Lieutenant Governor.

It was also a fantastic primary election for current state representatives, unless they had the misfortune of competing against another state representative. House Speaker Charles Blasdel (R-East Liverpool) won his primary in the 6th Congressional District, Tom Raga (R-Mason) won the nomination for Lieutenant Governor, Barbara Sykes (D-Akron) and Mary Taylor (R-Uniontown) each gained nominations for State Auditor without primary opposition, and Lance Mason (D-Shaker Heights) and John Boccieri (D-Youngstown) likewise faced no primary opposition in winning the Ohio Senate 25th and 33rd District nominations, respectively. It was only when current state representatives faced each other that the spell was broken. Stephen Buehrer (R-Delta) beat James Hoops (R-Napoleon) in the Ohio Senate 1st District, Shirley Smith (D-Cleveland) beat Annie L. Key (D-Cleveland) in the Ohio Senate 21st District, and Tim Schaffer (R-Lancaster) beat Ron Hood (R-Ashville) in the Ohio Senate 31st District. To be fair, however, I should point out that a number of current state representatives pulled out of races: Claudette Woodard (D-Cleveland Heights) withdrew from the Ohio Senate 21st District primary, Jim Trakas (R-Independence) dropped out of the Secretary of State primary, Mike Gilb (R-Findlay) quit the 4th Congressional District primary, and Sylvester Patton (D-Youngstown) did not file for the Ohio Senate 33rd District primary after saying he would run.

Former state representatives returning to politics did not fare quite so well. Betty Sutton (D-Barberton) won the 13th Congressional District primary and Barbara Boyd (D-Cleveland Heights) and Vernon Sykes (D-Akron) each won primaries for their former seats (9th and 44th Districts), and William Batchelder (R-Medina) and Darrell Opfer (D-Oak Harbor) won nominations for the Ohio House without primary opposition (69th and 82nd Districts), but Bryan Flannery (D-Strongsville) couldn't win the gubernatorial nomination, Ron Mottl (who also served in Congress and the Ohio Senate) lost in the Ohio House 18th District, and Erin Sullivan Lally (D-Cleveland) finished third in the Ohio House 14th District.

As to current and former Congressmen and Mayors, in case you were wondering, it was a very mixed bag. Current Congressmen Ted Strickland (D-Lisbon) and Sherrod Brown (D-Avon) won nominations for Governor and Senator, and former Congressman Bob Shamansky (D-Columbus) won big in the 12th Congressional District primary, but former Congressmen Bob McEwen (R-Hillsboro) and Tom Sawyer (D-Akron) couldn't pull out a victory in the 2nd or 13th Congressional Districts. I'm not sure that I have complete information about mayors, but current mayor Joe Sulzer (D-Chillicothe) lost in the 18th Congressional District and former mayor Charles Sanders (D) finished last in the 3rd Congressional District, while current mayor Craig Foltin (R-Lorain) won in the 13th Congressional District, former mayor Dale Henry (D-Springfield) won in the Ohio House 72nd District, and current mayors Donald McLaurin (R-Trotwood) and Donald Gadd (R-Byesville) won nominations without primary opposition in the Ohio Senate 5th District and Ohio House 92nd District, respectively.

UPDATE: I have corrected the above text to reflect the fact that Joy Padgett (R-Coshocton) is a state senator, not a state representative as I had mistakenly indicated.

Thinking this over, the real subtext here is the ineffectiveness of term limits. If the point of term limits was to ease incumbents out of office in order to make way for fresh blood, it isn't exactly working out that way. It appears that most term-limited officeholders are simply running for different elected positions, where they enjoy much the same advantage over newcomers that incumbents do when running for reelection. The result is a swirling of veteran politicians from office to office. Just think for a second about the three current state senators who are running for the Ohio House of Representatives (Hagan, Hottinger and Wachtmann): not something we saw before term limits came in. And think of the musical chairs effect we've seen in the executive branch during the past decade. Did the proponents of term limits anticipate that? I doubt it.

Ohio House 46th: Dansack (D) Gets On the Ballot

Congratulations to Ohio House 46th District candidate Mark Dansack (D-Monclova Township), who succeeded in getting himself on the November general election ballot through a write-in campaign.

Dansack, who is 44, earned a B.S. in engineering and an M.P.A. in Public Administration from the University of Toledo. He worked for nearly eighteen years at General Mills, Inc. in Toledo, until the plant was closed in 2002. He now works at the law firm of Gallon, Takacs, Boissoneault, & Schaffer in Sylvania Township. Dansack previously lived in Oregon, Ohio, where he served as President and Treasurer of the Oregon Democratic Club and as chairman and treasurer for local campaigns. He and his wife Heather have two daughters. The are members of St. Joan of Arc Parish in Toledo.

Dansack decided to run after seeing that no Democrat had come forward, because he believes "the stakes are too high not to challenge the status quo." Dansack says that his campaign "will concentrate on ethical concerns spawned by 12 years of one party rule in Ohio; educational funding reform; job creation and retention; and the retraining of displaced workers."

Inspiration to run also came from speaking daily to injured workers, clients of the firm where he works, who are incensed that their benefits will be cut before there is a resolution regarding the failed investments and scandal within the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation. Also, the General Assembly's failure to reform the education funding process, declared unconstitutional a decade ago, fueled his candidacy. Dansack feels passionately about the need to shift the brunt of the funding burden away from property owners who are increasingly asked to bear responsibility, and knows from experience of the need for effective programming to retrain workers, as he was one of five-hundred employees displaced when a major manufacturer left the Toledo area:

"Ohio continues to lag behind the rest of the country with respect to employment as thousands of good-paying manufacturing jobs have been lost in the past five years. After 12 years of Republican dominance, controlling the executive and legislative branches, we continue to fall behind and there seems to be no sense of urgency from the current leadership. Ohioans deserve better."

Dansack is shocked by the recent passage of workers’ compensation legislative "reforms" that were railroaded through by the GOP-controlled House and State Senate:

"You would think that the legislature would at least wait for the fall-out from the failed investments and 'coingate' scandal before attempting to balance the Bureau’s budget on the backs of injured workers. I’m obviously more concerned with injured workers getting the care and compensation they are entitled to than seeing well-heeled insiders walk off with the public’s money. ... People I talk with every day, including Republicans, Democrats, and independents, are outraged that while they are working hard and playing by the rules, they continue to fall behind while the politically connected are taken care of."

Dansack faces first-term incumbent Mark J. Wagoner, Jr. (R-Toledo), who won in 2004 with 62.03% of the vote against Nancy Patrick Greeley (D).

Yellow Dogs Salute Dem Nominees

The real Yellow Dogs, Sam and Stella, offer the famous Golden Retriever Salute (big grin, long pink tongue) to all of the Democratic nominees in 2006 elections in Ohio. Best wishes for success, and we look forward to covering your campaigns here at Ohio2006.

Ohio House 14th: Ritter (D) Edges Foley (D) [UPDATED]

The Cleveland Plain Dealer is reporting that public school history teacher Bill Ritter (D-Cleveland) has narrowly defeated SEIU-backed tenants organization director Mike Foley (D-Cleveland) in the Democratic primary for the Ohio House 14th District, according to unofficial results with absentee ballots included. The margin is only 115 votes (4151 to 4036). Ritter had drawn fire from the Cleveland Stonewall Democrats and political bloggers for mailing a newsletter attacking Foley for saying that he supports gay marriage and for winning the Stonewall endorsement, an obvious and odious example of gay-bashing. The lead in the race had appeared to change as votes were gradually added in the bungled election, with Foley shifting into a narrow lead on Friday. However, after the hand-counting of about 15,000 absentee ballots, Ritter was declared the winner on Sunday night, five days after the election.

UPDATE: A reader emailed me to say that over 120 late-arriving absentee ballots are yet to be counted, making it premature to declare Ritter the winner even at this late date. Then Russell at Buckeye State Blog posted this note from Foley, containing his assessment of the race at this point. He is surprised that the absentee ballots went against him, as he "really worked those hard." He doesn't think the final tally will show him winning, but he's hoping that the result is within the 0.5% margin that triggers an automatic recount. Even if it doesn't, he will seriously look at asking for a recount on his own.

Dem County Central Comm, Clev Hts 2-G: Coryell (D) Wins

I surf into elected office on a wave of 49 votes:

CLEVELAND HEIGHTS-02-G Democrat County Central Committee
1 of 1 precincts reported (does not include absentee ballots)

JEFF CORYELL 49

Roundup of Congressional Primaries at "American Street"

Friday is my day for guest blogging at the national political blog American Street, so head over there to read my roundup of this week's Ohio Congressional primaries.

Ohio House 67th: Insider Jones (R) Narrowly Defeats Political Scion Nixon (R)

In a three-way primary in the heavily Republican 67th district, the candidate with connections to and support from current party leaders pulled off a close victory over a longtime officeholder's grandson, showing that (in this case anyway) its who you know that counts, not from whom you are descended.

This is the seat vacated by gubernatorial candidate Ken Blackwell's running mate, Rep. Tom Raga (R-Mason). The district covers half of Warren County just northeast of Cincinnati. For more than a decade it was represented by the late Corwin Nixon (R-Lebanon), who retired from the Ohio House of Representatives in 1992. In this year's primary election Corwin's grandson Corwin Keith Nixon, Jr (R-Lebanon), an attorney who as a youngster had served his grandfather as a page, was defeated by party insider Shannon Jones (R-Springsboro), a former legislative aide to Sen. Mike DeWine (R-Cedarville) among others. The margin of victory was only 203 votes, 0.82% of those cast, according to unofficial results from the Secretary of State. Jones received 4,943 votes, Nixon got 4,740, and 1,442 went to conservative activist John Meyer (R-Mason), who led a campaign against Mason school taxes last year.

Ohio House 37th: Fogle (D) Gets Himself On the Ballot

As reported by the excellent blog Dayton Politics, former TV news host Guy Fogle (D) has gotten himself onto the November ballot through a write-in campaign, foiling the disqualification of his ballot petition by the incumbent and Speaker of the House, Rep. John Husted (R-Kettering):

"... Fogle was successful in capturing the necessary votes to gain the Democrat nomination. Fogle will create the first real challenge for Husted at a time when Husted in highly vulerable. Husted will be forced to answer to the voters of the 37th District for his frequent ethical lapses and his penchant for raising taxes on small business owners and working families.

This race could be easily turn into the upset that catches everyone by surprise."

The 37th District in Montgomery County. Husted defeated Democratic candidate John "Bummer-Of-A-Name" Shady in 2004 by 65.01% to 34.99% of the vote.

Open Letter of Support to Sen. Marc Dann

Dear Sen. Dann:

Congratulations on your primary election victory! At hundreds of events around the state, large and small, you have outlined your vision for the Office of Attorney General and your record of achievement as an attorney and a legislator, and the Ohio voters have responded with resounding approval for your candidacy.

I'm writing you to address your relationship with the dozens of progressive political activists who publish Ohio political weblogs, and our readers. As you are aware, the preponderance of such bloggers gravitated to the campaign of your primary opponent. However, it is important to underscore two points which should prevent anyone from regarding your campaign and the blogging community as antagonists in any sense.

First, almost without exception, the bloggers who preferred your opponent also expressed enthusiasm for your qualifications as well. For example, blogger Scott Piepho wrote that "[b]oth Dann and Chandra have done great service to their party and to the public. Both have good ideas – not that far from each other – about how to use the Office of the Attorney General as a force for social and economic justice." Blogger Greg Richey wrote that he "saw Marc Dann speak last year about campaign finance reform and was very impressed." And on my blog I wrote "I was impressed with the intelligence and passion of each. Both were articulate, knowledgeable, and thoroughly prepared ... These are two excellent candidates." Also, it is important to remember that other bloggers have preferred you all along, such as Chris Geidner who wrote that you are "one of the most dedicated, passionate public servants at work." We bloggers have expressed admiration for your leadership in the uncovering of the Coingate scandal, and the commitment to public service that you have otherwise demonstrated throughout your career.

Second, although many progressive bloggers became enamored of your primary opponent, that sentiment pales in comparison to the burning desire that each and every one of us feel for ending the ruinous policies of the corrupt Republican administration in this state. Ending those policies includes installing an Attorney General who will truly serve the people and root out public corruption. Simply put, whatever the emotions and occasional harsh words that may have been stirred up during the primary season, the blogging community stands ready to coalesce behind your candidacy and to support your campaign in the general election.

In that spirit, I hope that the lines of communication between your campaign and the blogging community remain open, so that we can keep the public informed about this important race as it develops. I expect progressive bloggers to help generate the public enthusiasm that your candidacy deserves. And, I look forward to meeting you again on the campaign trail, and to celebrating your victory in November.

Sincerely,

Jeff Coryell (Yellow Dog Sammy)

Ohio Sen. 19th: Griffith (D) Thanks Supporters

I received a very classy thank-you email from unsuccessful 19th District Ohio Senate candidate Jason Griffith (D), addressed to numerous people. I have never communicated with him, but I wrote a profile of his race some time ago:

Dear Friends,

I called to congratulate Thomas Burkhart on a well-earned campaign win tonight. He is a good man and has clear ideas about the direction in which our state should head. I am honored to have had the opportunity to run against him and I am proud of our desire to make Ohio a better place in which to live.

It is important to note that many people came to the assistance of the campaign over the last eight months and I would like to take the time to thank them right now. Most notably, Tina Davis, Jason Alberry, Bruce Walters, George Marsh, Bill Eagon, Chris Weatherbee, Rick Vogel, Ed Helvey, George Bringman, Steve Hughes, as well as the signifant support lended to me by Heather Griffith. I am humbled by those who so freely gave their time, treasure, and support in our campaign to make Ohio "something great" once again.

As for me, I will go back to the best job in the world tomorrow, teaching children. My desire to make Ohio a better place in which to live will never abate. The memories I have taken from my campaign will live with me forever. It has been a real delight to listen with and learn from the people within our senate district. Our citizens have already started helping put Ohio back on the right track, and for that, I couldn't ask more.

Thank you once again for your support.

Jason

Tom Burkhart (D-Danville) takes on Senate President Bill Harris (R-Ashland) in the general election.

Ohio House 61st: Luther (R) Ahead of Pope (R) by Only Ten Votes [UPDATED]

In the Republican primary in the 61st District, with 100% of the vote counted, the Secretary of State's unofficial results show former county auditor Brant Luther (R-Alliance) defeating city councilman Randy Pope (R-Alliance) by only ten votes, a razor-thin margin of 0.12%:

Brant Luther
3,952 - 50.06%
Randy Pope
3,942 - 49.94%

Pope ran for this office in 2002 and 2004 and lost each time to incumbent Rep. John Boccieri (D-New Middletown), who is running for the Ohio Senate. In 2004 he lost by 34.45% to 65.55% of the vote. This year he had the endorsement of successful gubernatorial candidate Ken Blackwell (R-Cincinnati).

UPDATE: According to the Youngstown Vindicator, this race will be decided by the provisional ballots:

"There are still about 100 to 200 provisional ballots to be counted. People vote on a provisional basis if they've recently moved before the primary. County elections boards have at least 10 days after a primary and no later than 15 days to begin verifying the eligibility of provisional voters."

Election Day (part 2): "Streams of Paper on the Floor."

More from my election day. A campaign volunteer named Rachel had turned her SUV into a Julianmobile by sticking signs in the windows. It made me think of cars with loudspeakers on top, a phenomenon I recall from elections long ago. Sure enough, such a car showed up later in the day (from the Shirley Smith for State Senate campaign).

Another volunteer named Jenna had a 300-watt smile, which never seemed to dim during three hours of talking to voters. I asked if her face was getting tired, but she assured me that it never goes away, that she smiles all the time. I don't know how she manages that, but in the middle of a very long day I certainly appreciated it.

Twice, Adele came by to ask voters about their experiences with the electronic voting machines, in connection with a study by the Greater Cleveland Voter Coalition.

She determined that the machines were started and restarted several times before they worked properly (one voter told her that there were "streams of paper on the floor," a sight sure to kill voter confidence), that two of the machines didn't work even in the afternoon (when the rest had finally been started up), that a shortage of voter cards caused long delays (presumably resulting from poll workers allowing voters to leave with their cards), and that many voters were not instructed properly about verifying their selections on the paper receipt before casting their vote.

In the afternoon it rained. Workers for Barbara Boyd, Annie Key, and Bryan Flannery fled to a car for a while, all ofthem smoking. A poll worker on break joined them, and soon the car windows acquired an opaque, grey look. I took no little pride in toughing it out in the downpour, under my umbrella -- I started greeting voters with "Hi, I'm standing in the rain for Julian." Another volunteer named Ashley arrived with her two daughters, who promptly brought over a puppy named Chester. I'm very sorry that my pictures of them did not turn out. Shortly after that a couple of voters arrived with two big, sweet golden retrievers, and then a car drove up with two more (it was my wife with Sam and Stella). It was a very damp and furry experience for a while.

I expected a big rush after work but there was never more than a steady stream. No sudden crowd at closing time, either. At 7:30 I was so exhausted it was difficult to walk the several blocks to our house, carrying my lawn chair and supplies.

How Powerful Are Party Endorsements, After All?

It's a puzzle. Close to home, in my Ohio House of Representatives district, a party-endorsed former legislator (Barbara Boyd-D) easily withstood a determined, energetic challenge from a promising young candidate with a big newspaper endorsement and many endorsements from area office-holders (Julian Rogers-D). And on the statewide level, a party-endorsed legislator (State Sen. Marc Dann-D) turned out to have little to fear from a brilliant, aggressive Attorney General candidate with many endorsements from newspapers and big-city mayors (Subodh Chandra-D). It makes party endorsement seem all-powerful. But how did prickly Court of Appeals Judge William O'Neill (D) win big (58%-42%) over ODP-endorsed and well-funded Common Pleas Judge A.J. Wagner (D)? And how did under-funded Ashtabula County Auditor Sandra O'Brien (R) oust GOP-endorsed incumbent State Treasurer Jennette Bradley (R)?

In O'Neill's case, he had name recognition from his previous Supreme Court campaign, but so did Juvenile Judge Peter Sikora in the other primary. It must have been O'Neill's more extensive judicial experience or his extreme stance on judicial independence (accepting no campaign conributions), or a combination of those, that overcame the endorsement.

In the O'Brien-Bradley case, it's clear that the wishes of the state GOP apparatus are trumped by the demands of extremist social ideology. We see that reflected in the gubernatorial race as well, where there was no formal endorsement but there were many signs of informal support for Petro from party officials.

So party endorsement overcomes all, except when it doesn't.

Ohio House 10th: Cintron Jr (D) Appears NOT Headed for Close Victory [UPDATED]

In a seven-person Democratic primary in the Ohio House 10th District, which includes downtown Cleveland and parts of the the east and west sides of the city, it looks like Nelson Cintron Jr will eke out a narrow victory, despite having been ousted from his City Council position last year(80.57% of precincts reporting):

Nelson Cintron Jr
722 - 18.27%

Bill Newsome
686 - 17.36%

Eugene R. Miller
648 - 16.40%

Marilyn Bagley
584 - 14.78%

Freddie Moore
489 - 12.38%

Jocelyn L. Travis
441 - 11.16%

Ronnie B. Jones
381 - 9.64%

The lowest vote-getter was the candidate endorsed by the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

An acquaintance suggested that Cintron won this race because he attracted Hispanic voters while the African-American vote was split aomng other candidates.

UPDATE: Appearances can be deceiving. New data from the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections turns the tables on Cintron (93 of 104 precincts reporting):

EUGENE R. MILLER 912
BILL NEWSOME 861
NELSON CINTRON, JR. 828
FREDDIE MOORE 810
MARILYN BAGLEY 645
JOCELYN L. TRAVIS 616
RONNIE B. JONES 461

I think this time I'll wait a bit before saying who appears to be winning.

2nd UPDATE: This is wild. With all precincts reporting, but absentee ballots not added, Cintron has dropped into fourth place:

EUGENE R. MILLER 1006
FREDDIE MOORE 942
BILL NEWSOME 940
NELSON CINTRON, JR. 892
MARILYN BAGLEY 695
JOCELYN L. TRAVIS 666
RONNIE B. JONES 496

3rd UPDATE: The numbers have changed somewhat, but absentee ballots are still not included:

EUGENE R. MILLER 1072
FREDDIE MOORE 984
BILL NEWSOME 979
NELSON CINTRON, JR. 956
MARILYN BAGLEY 730
JOCELYN L. TRAVIS 706
RONNIE B. JONES 522

Candidate List Updated

I have just uploaded a revised Candidate List (linked on sidebar), with primary results reflected except for two Ohio House of Representatives races that I deem too close to call just yet (10th and 21st Districts). I have also added some independents who filed on Monday.

I see that 178 people looked at the list last night, hoping I suppose that I was updating it in real time. Sorry to disappoint y'all!

Ohio House 26th: Incumbent Mitchell (D) Clobbered

It turns out that incumbency isn't much of an advatage when you alienate people as much as incumbent Rep. Mike Mitchell (D-Columbus) has. Unofficial results (100% of precincts reporting):

Tracy Heard
3,722 - 51.37%

Mike Mitchell
2,117 - 29.22%

Clarence E. Glover
1,407 - 19.42%

Ohio House 21st: Hernandez (D) Over Herendeen Ackerman (D) by 86 Votes

Unofficial results (100% of precincts reporting) show Dean Hernandez (D-Westerville) defeating Jean Herendeen Ackerman (D-Powell) by 86 votes:

Dean Hernandez
2,705 - 50.81%

Jean Herendeen-Ackerman
2,619 - 49.19%

UPDATE: Herendeen Ackerman has posted this classy thank-you letter at Buckeye State Blog. She says the margin was 83 votes. Also, I'm surprised and delighted that she thanks me for helping to keep the public informed about her campaign.

I'm hoping that after the disappointment fades she'll look for another opportunity to run for public office.

Ohio House 14th: Ritter (D) Defies Ire of Bloggers [UPDATED]

This really stinks. Despite the recent furor over his gay-baiting attack on worthy, SEIU-backed opponent Mike Foley (D-Cleveland), it looks like Bill Ritter (D-Cleveland) has won in the 14th Ohio House District Democratic primary (80.57% of precincts reporting):

Bill Ritter
2,931 37.17%

Mike Foley
2,638 33.46%

Erin Sullivan Lally
1,643 20.84%

Susan Mahon
673 8.54%

Well, I guess that shows how much influence we bloggers really have over elections.

UPDATE: New data from the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections shows Foley closing the gap to only 84 votes (97 of 105 precincts reporting):

BILL RITTER 3254
MIKE FOLEY 3170
ERIN SULLIVAN LALLY 2006
SUSAN MAHON 821

2nd UPDATE: Cool! With 101 of 105 precincts counted, Foley has closed the gap to just 29 votes:

BILL RITTER 3314
MIKE FOLEY 3285
ERIN SULLIVAN LALLY 2047
SUSAN MAHON 845

3rd UPDATE: Per the Secretary of State, it's now down to a margin of 15 votes, with 98.69 of precincts reporting:

Bill Ritter
3,560 - 34.55%
Mike Foley
3,545 - 34.40%
Erin Sullivan Lally
2,287 - 22.20%
Susan Mahon
912 - 8.85%

4th UPDATE: The Cuyahoga County Board of Elections is now reporting that with all precincts counted, but no absentee ballots counted yet, Foley leads by ten votes:

MIKE FOLEY 3583
BILL RITTER 3573
SUSAN MAHON 929
ERIN SULLIVAN LALLY 2303

The Ohio Republican Party Has No Center

I'm tired and probably should be sleeping, but I just had to say it. Like the middle letter in "G-O-P," the Ohio Republican Party has no center. Unlike that letter, it has nothing on the left, either, so I guess it's more like a backward "C".

Nope, no center, just right-wing extremism. How else do you explain the victory of Ashtabula County Auditor Sandra O'Brien (R) over the endorsed and well-funded incumbent Jennette Bradley (R)? O'Brien turned the primary into a referendum on God-guns-and-gays (issues certainly vital to State Treasury operations) and down goes Bradley. And concern about the political extremism of Secretary of State Ken Blackwell (R) and his dangerous Tax & Expenditure Limitation Amendment did nothing to provoke a backlash by "moderate Republicans" in the form of a groundswell for Attorney Geneeral Jim Petro (R), favored by the party higher-ups.

Nope, no center, just a big fat right wing. Just so we know who we're dealing with here.

Doesn't sound like a stable kind of structure to me.

Why I'm Celebrating This Morning

* Charlie Wilson (D-St.Clairsville) gained more write-in votes (43,692) than the total of regular votes cast for all three Republicans (37,596), and more than twice as many as the regular votes cast for Repubican nominee State Rep. Chuck Blasdel (R-East Liverpool)(18,356), despite all that national Republican money poured into stopping Wilson in the primary.

* Although it was ugly, former State Rep. Betty Sutton (D-Barberton) was the right person to win the Democratic primary in Ohio's 13th Congressional District.

* Our 3rd Congressional District candidate Dr. Stephanie Studebaker (D-Dayton) needed to make a statement and she did (56.07%).

* Although my new-found friend and probably favorite candidate in any race ever, Julian Rogers (D-Cleveland Heights), looks to have lost his battle against party-endorsed former Rep. Barbara Boyd (D-Cleveland Heights), another close friend and completely deserving candidate, Melody J. Stewart (D-Euclid), appears to have won her three-way primary and be heading for a Court of Appeals judgeship on her third try. And I think that Rogers will be a blazing success in whatever goal he next sets for himself, and I look forward to supporting him.

Addendum:I should also mention that:

* Although I supported Subodh Chandra for Attorney General, Sen. Marc Dann is an excellent candidate as well, as I noted when I announced my support for Chandra:

I was impressed with the intelligence and passion of each. Both were articulate, knowledgeable, and thoroughly prepared in their responses to a number of questions, covering substantive topics as diverse as consumer protection, school funding, public corruption, and capital punishment. These are two excellent candidates, and I wouldn't hesitate to support either in November.

Would any readers care to say why they are celebrating this morning, or not?

Ohio House 57th, 60th, 72nd, 73rd, 78th, 92nd: Dem Results

From the Secretary of State:

57th District:
Lundy, Matt 6,861 68.60%
Caruso, Alan F. 3,141 31.40%

60th District:
Hagan, Robert F. 5,715 37.70%
Yemma, Daniel R. 3,607 23.80%
Hudson, Rufus G. 3,029 19.98%
Gozur, Richard A. 1,774 11.70%
Latessa, Mike 824 5.44%
Stublarec, Ian 209 1.38%

72nd District:
Henry, Dale 3,578 49.69%
O'Neill, Kevin 2,394 33.25%
Spangler, Richard G. 1,229 17.07%

73rd District:
Goyal, Jay P. 5,172 61.07%
Haring, Ellen K. 3,297 38.93%

78th District:
Ward, Adam 2,879 53.87%
Dorsey, Jason L. 1,345 25.17%
Matthew, Thomas M. 1,120 20.96%

92nd District:
Phillips, Debbie 5,999 71.93%
Struble, Michael T. 2,341 28.07%

Ohio House 4th, 6th, 42nd, 43rd, 44th: Dem Results

From the Secretary of State:

4th District:
Shreefer, Dennis 3,360 62.30%
Talley, Simeon 2,033 37.70%

6th District:
Bretz, Jeffery P. 3,901 71.88%
Neu, James L. 1,526 28.12%

42nd District:
Colavecchio, Paul 4,652 62.33%
Van Ho, Adam M. 2,811 37.67%

43rd District:
Dyer, Stephen 7,082 71.80%
Stoll, Christopher 2,781 28.20%

44th District:
Sykes, Vernon 8,414 77.54%
Bravo, Patrick L. 2,437 22.46%

Treasurer: O'Brien (R) Nearing Upset?

From the Secretary of State, with 88.88% of precincts reporting:

O'Brien, Sandra 305,601 51.60%
Bradley, Jennette B. 286,659 48.40%

This could be one of the biggest stories of the night. Bradley is an incumbent with the full support of the state GOP, but she's pro-choice. Amazing.

Russell at Buckeye State Blog called it.

Sup Ct: O'Neill (D) and Espy (D) Win

From the Secretary of State (88.88% of precincts reporting):

Justice Terrence O'Donnell's seat:
O'Neill, William M. 319,563 58.29%
Wagner, A.J. 228,671 41.71%

Justice Alice Robie Resnick's seat:
Espy, Ben 292,507 53.24%
Sikora, Peter M. 256,876 46.76%

Ohio Sen. 1st, 21st, 31st: GOP Results

From the Secretary of State:

1st District:
Buehrer, Stephen 27,912 60.43%
Hoops, James M. 18,27 39.57%

21st District:
Norris, Richard L. 377 66.96%
Jackson, Burrell Antonio 186 33.04%

31st District:
Schaffer, Tim 18,573 48.58%
Hood, Ron 16,559 43.31%
Furr, Jeff 3,101 8.11%

Ohio Sen. 13th, 19th, 21st, 23rd, 27th, 31st: Dem Results

From the Secretary of State site:

13th District:
Morano, Susan L. 19,885 70.66%
Huska, Diana L. 8,257 29.34%

19th District:
Burkhart, Thomas E. 11,662 64.23%
Griffith, Jason 6,495 35.77%
(This one is a big surprise to me.)

21st District:
Smith, Shirley A. 2,234 46.70%
Key, Annie L. 1,733 36.22%
Gaines, George L. 476 9.95%
Britt, W. Lewis 341 7.13%

23rd District:
Miller, Dale 7,198 70.66%
Frigolette, Jennifer 2,989 29.34%

27th District:
Hanna, Judy A. 15,527 57.10%
Griffith, Kevin M. 11,667 42.90%

31st District:
Lupher, Dennis A. 11,712 59.43%
Bensonhaver, Bob 7,994 40.57%

Cong. 2nd, 4th, 6th: Schmidt (R), Jordan (R), Blasdel (R) Prevail

From the Secretary of State site:

2nd District:
Schmidt, Jean 33,148 47.75%
McEwen, Bob 29,465 42.44%
Kraus, Deborah A. 4,342 6.25%
Constable, James E. 2,472 3.56%

4th District:
Jordan, Jim 36,876 50.61%
Guglielmi, Frank A. 21,744 29.85%
Nestor, Kevin 8,275 11.36%
Stahl, James R. 2,523 3.46%
Martin, Nathan J. 2,255 3.10%
Weasel, Charles W. 1,183 1.62%

6th District:
Blasdel, Chuck 16,471 48.65%
Harmon, Danny 7,933 23.43%
Ginter, Tim 7,024 20.75%
Stobbs, Richard D. 2,429 7.17%

Cong. 12th: Shamansky (D) Triumphs

From the Secretary of State site:

Shamansky, Bob 14,319 44.68%
Shaffer, Patricia J. 9,632 30.06%
Brown, Edward S. 4,658 14.54%
Reilly, Michael 3,436 10.72%

CONG. 6th: Wilson (D) Write-in Campaign Successful

From the Secretary of State site:

Wilson, Charles A. (write-in) 33,290 63.41%
Carr, Bob 12,812 24.40%
Luchansky, John S. 6,399 12.19%

Cong. OH-2nd: Wulsin (D) Ahead

From the Secretary of State site:

Wulsin, Victoria 9,054 35.62%
Parker, Jim 5,897 23.20%
Jacobs, Thor 5,882 23.14%
Downey, Gaby 3,249 12.78%
Sinnard, Jeff 1,334 5.25%

Cong. 18th: Space (D) Wins

As per WKYC:

Precincts Reporting: 599 Of 630 95%

Zach Space 16,332 39%
Jennifer Stewart 10,753 25%
Joe Sulzer 10,585 25%
Ralph Applegate 4,618 11%

Cong. 13th: Foltin (R) Wins

As per WKYC:

Precincts Reporting: 512 Of 569 89%

Craig Foltin 10,188 38%
David McGrew 6,355 23%
Joe Ortega 5,306 19%
Paul Burtzlaff 3,522 13%
CJ DeLorean 1,938 7%

Cong. 13th: Sutton (D) Wins

As per WKYC:

Precincts Reporting: 512 Of 569 89%

Betty Sutton 18,798 30%
Capri Cafaro 15,337 25%
Tom Sawyer 14,021 23%
Gary Kucinich 7,895 13%
Bill Grace 3,330 5%
Michael Lyons 938 2%
John Wolfe 880 1%
Norbert Dennerll 411 1%

Ohio House 32nd: Preliminary Results

Prelimary results from the Hamilton County Board of Elections as of 11:27 pm (869 of 970 precincts reporting):

32nd District:
DALE MALLORY 1,604 43.54%
EVE BOLTON 1,574 42.73%
ERIC WILSON 305 8.28%
YVETTE BARBARA BALDWIN 201 5.46%

Ohio House 20th, 21st, 22nd, 24th, 26th: Preliminary Numbers

Here are numbers from the Franklin County Board of Elections in contested Democratic primaries as of 11:41 pm:

20th District:
BEVERLY CAMPBELL 4015 68.48%
EDWARD NYHAN 1848 31.52%

21st District:
DEAN C. HERNANDEZ 2027 50.74%
JEAN HERENDEEN-ACKERMAN 1968 49.26%

22nd District:
JOHN PATRICK CARNEY 1819 45.04%
JAN FLEMING 979 24.24%
JIMMY STEWART 629 15.57%
BRIAN PATRICK MCCANN 612 15.15%

24th District:
TED CELESTE 682 19.42%
CHRIS COURTNEY 245 6.98%
JAMES B. AGLER 179 5.10%

26th District:
TRACY HEARD 3592 51.43%
MIKE MITCHELL 2038 29.18%
CLARENCE E. GLOVER 1354 19.39%

Ohio House 7th-14th, 16th-18th: Preliminary Numbers

Here are some preliminary numbers from the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections as of 11:12 pm (does not include absentee ballots):

7th District: 43 of 109 precincts reported
KENNY YUKO 2367

8th District: 34 of 129 precincts reported
A. BUDISH 1254
T. J. JACKSON 659
M. L. MCCOY 484
I. POWELL 126

9th District: 44 of 118 precincts reported
BARBARA BOYD 1487
JULIAN ROGERS 661

10th District: 27 of 104 precincts reported
NELSON CINTRON, JR. 351
MARILYN BAGLEY 257
BILL NEWSOME 138
EUGENE R. MILLER 134
JOCELYN L. TRAVIS 119
FREDDIE MOORE 91
RONNIE B. JONES 76

11th District: 35 of 101 precincts reported
S. WILLIAMS 556
T.J. DOW 417
S. D. SULLIVAN 355
M. K. PIAZZA 178
M. J. MITCHELL 82
C. L. BUSBY 80

12th District: 48 of 113 precincts reported
MICHAEL DEBOSE 2599

13th District: 31 of 107 precincts reported
MICHAEL J. SKINDELL 1376
BEN PERRY 356

14th District: 60 of 105 precincts reported
BILL RITTER 1573
MIKE FOLEY 1490
ERIN SULLIVAN LALLY 956
SUSAN MAHON 371

16th District: 58 of 138 precincts reported
Michael O'Shea (write-in) 129

17th District: 66 of 145 precincts reported
ROGER J. GOUDY 2417

18th District: 42 of 119 precincts reported
JOHN M. CELEBREZZE 1247
RONALD M. MOTTL 995

Election Day: "It's Very Chaotic In There"

I'm on a quick break from working my polling place, where I'm running for Democratic precinct committee member and I'm campaigning for 9th District State Representative candidate Julian Rogers (D-Cleveland Heights). It's a beautiful day, turnout is light, and none of the electronic voting machines are working.

One voter came out of the polling place early in the morning (when the time it took to vote was very long) and said, "Call your candidate. None of the machines are working, everyone has to vote on paper. It's very chaotic in there. I wouldn't trust it as to security." I made the call. I also called the Plain Dealer.

Later, another voter came up to me and said "I couldn't vote for your guy [Rogers] because I had to vote a Republican ballot in order to vote against [Republican gubernatorial candidate Ken] Blackwell. But the big irony is, none of his machines are working."

There's a nice woman there handing out leaflets with a picture of Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-Cleveland) and the unendorsed candidate for Governor, Bryan Flannery (D-Strongsville). The leaflet is marked as paid for by Flannery's campaign. Memo to Rep. Ted Strickland and ODP Chairman Chris Redfern: get off your high horses, make a public apology to Rep. Tubbs Jones for how she was treated last fall, and let's get this party all singing the same tune again. Now.

UPDATE: Someone came out from the Board of Elections and the machines were working as of some time between 11:00 and 11:30 am. I really wonder when (or whether) the optical scan ballots from before that time will be counted. Since the machines have been working some voters have said that they had no difficulty with voting, a few others have said that they had to get a new voter card or otherwise do the process over.

Ohio House 72nd: Henry (D) Endorsed by Strickland

Thanks to reader Mr. Gloom for alerting me to this story in the Springfield News Sun, reporting that gubernatorial candidate Rep. Ted Strickland (D-Lisbon) recently endorsed former Mayor of Springfield Dale Henry (D-Springfield) in the 72nd District Ohio House of Representatives race. "The people of Ohio really deserve someone who will work hard, be honest, tell them the truth and try to get this state moving forward," Strickland said. As reported here, Henry has been endorsed by the Clark County Democratic Party as well.

Henry is opposed in the Democratic primary by City Commissioner Kevin O'Neill (D-Springfield) and community activist (and repeat candidate) Richard Spangler (D-Springfield). The primary winner will face incumbent Rep. Ross McGregor (R-Springfield) in the general election in November. McGregor defeated Spangler in 2004 by 59.79% to 40.21% of the vote, at which time (according to Mr. Gloom) John Kerry captured 46% of the vote in Clark County.

Gov & Secty of State: Greens File Ballot Petitions

Green Party gubernatorial candidate Bob Fitrakis (pictured) and Secretary of State candidate Tim Kettler filed ballot petitions with the Office of the Secretary of State today. Fitrakis (and his running mate Anita Rios) had 10,915 signatures, and Kettler over 9,000, more than enough in each case to surpass the 5,000 requirement for getting on the November ballot.

According to his web site, Fitrakis said at the post-filing press conference:

"Our unprecedented grassroots effort sends a clear signal to both major parties that people are fed up with the bipartisan collusion of the two major parties and their kowtowing to corporate interests. Both parties allow our jobs to be shipped to China and other repressive regimes that torture and deny human rights, while at the same time remaining silent on our own illegitimate Bush regime that practices torture, conducts warrantless searches, and continues to wage immoral and illegal war in Iraq."

To the extent that the Green campaigns draw votes away from major party candidates, such votes presumably will come from the Democratic column. However, such effects are difficult to verify or quantify, since the Greens' efforts may bring out voters who would otherwise stay at home, or perhaps convince others who might vote for either major party to sit the election out. What is certain is that they will bring impassioned rhetoric and stark political views into the public debate.

US Sen: Brown (D) Internal Polling Shows Race Tied

Contradicting a Plain Dealer/Mason-Dixon poll that shows an eleven point lead for Sen. Mike DeWine (R-Cedarville), an internal poll of 800 likely voters conducted for the campaign of Rep. Sherrod Brown (D-Avon Lake) by The Feldman Group shows the race at 45% to 44% in favor of Brown, and 11% undecided, with a margin of error of 3.5%.

Buttressing the favorable results for Brown, the Feldman Group poll also reveals that:

* 68% of likely voters think the country is "pretty seriously off on the wrong track," compared to 22% saying it's on the right track.

* 71% rate Bush's performance as President at "Fair" or "Poor," with only 29% at "Good" or "Excellent".

* Ratings of DeWine's peformance are 5% "Excellent," 29% "Good," 39% "Fair," 14% "Poor," and 13% "Don't know".

* Only 30% say DeWine deserves reelection, compared to 48% who say it should be someone else and 21% who don't know.

Given how poorly DeWine fared on the job approval and generic reelection questions, I think the Brown campaign is below where they should be in the head-to-head matchup, meaning that the campaign needs to improve its message and methods. Still, these results are encouraging after the dismal numbers in the Plain Dealer poll.

Dispatch and Plain Dealer Polls

Results of the Cleveland Plain Dealer's Mason-Dixon poll are here and the Columbus Dispatch mail-in poll are linked here.

Governor Rep. Ted Strickland (D-Lisbon) leads former State Rep. Bryan Flannery (D-Strongsville) by such large margins (64% to 11% in the PD poll, 86% to 14% in the Dispatch poll) that one begins to wonder if Democratic turnout will be lowered due to lack of interest. Will some Dems vote in the Republican primary instead? If so, will they vote for Blackwell as more beatable, or Petro as less scary? (Update: This item in the Akron Beacon Journal reports that a letter is being circulated among non-union school employees urging them to ask for a Republican primary ballot and vote for Petro, because of Blackwell's support for a plan to direct 65% of each education doller into the classroom. I wonder how many other groups are doing this because of Blackwell's support of the Tax and Expenditure Limitation Amendment?)

Defeat looks assured for Attorney Jim Petro (R-Rocky River), with Secretary of State Ken Blackwell (R-Cincinnati) leading 50% to 29% in the PD poll and 56% to 44% in the Dispatch poll. I am truly surprised; I thought this race would tighten up at the end. Blackwell has succeeded in two improbable ways - by making this race "about" steadfast opposition to gay marriage and abortion, even though one would think the dreadful state of Ohio's economy would matter much more, and by casting himself as a candidate of "change," even though Blackwell has been a statewide officeholder throughout the dozen years of Republican domination of Ohio government. The geographical breakdown of the Dispatch poll shows that Blackwell leads in Petro's northeast Ohio base by 57% to 43%, and in Blackwell's southwest Ohio base by 74% to 26%. The former set of numbers shocks me.

The PD poll shows Strickland beating Blackwell 47% to 37%, and beating Petro by the narrower margin of 44% to 38%.

Other Statewide Races The Dispatch poll results for other statewide races:

Senate
Sherrod Brown (D) 87%, Merrill Keiser Jr. (D) 13%
Mike DeWine (R) 83%, William Pierce 9%, David R. Smith 8%

Attorney General
Marc Dann (D) 71%, Subodh Chandra (D) 29%
Betty Montgomery (R) 77%, Timothy Grendell (R) 23%

Treasurer
Jenette Bradley (R) 53%, Sandra O'Brien 47%

Supreme Court
William O'Neill (D) 65%, A.J. Wagner (D) 35%
Ben Espy (D) 50%, Peter Sikora (D) 50%

It's surprising that Keiser gets as much as 13% against Brown, and that neither Pierce nor Smith can break into double-digits against DeWine. The PD poll shows DeWine leading Brown by 47% to 36% in a head-to-head general election matchup.

It's surprising that Chandra is so far behind Dann. Dann has the endorsement of the state party, but Chandra has been endorsed by a host of newspapers and Democratic elected officials. Weak fundraising by Chandra, and the resulting imbalance of advertising in favor of Dann, appears to be the reason.

O'Brien's attacks on incumbent Bradley over coingate and ideology (Bradley is pro-choice) are having an effect, but it appears that Bradley will squeak through.

In the Supreme Court races, Wagner and Espy are the endorsed candidates and have more advertising, so I'm very surprised that they aren't leading. O'Neill and Sikora apparently benefit from statewide name recognition due to their past campaigns for the high court.

Right Track/Wrong Track and Trust This is all bad news for the Republicans. The Dispatch poll has Democrats saying that Ohio is on the wrong track by a 95% to 5% margin, and Republicans agreeing by 77% to 23%. The PD poll has voters trusting Democrats more than Republicans by 44% to 33% on the issue of economy and jobs, 41% to 28% on taxes and government spending, 43% to 31% on education, and 30% to 21% on honesty in government.

That last item is very telling. The scandals in Ohio government are basically all about Republicans, but many voters nevertheless regard neither party as trustworthy as to ethics, so this area isn't as strong for Democrats as it should be. On the other hand, to have Democrats trusted more than Republicans on taxes and government spending is very surprising and completely wonderful news for the Democratic Party.