Blade Slices

Cain's special request to LCRP

Herman Cain had a special request before he spoke to Tea Party backers and the GOP faithful assembled at the Lucas County Republican Party's Lincoln Day Dinner Friday night  -- a bottle of  Black Velvet.

"After a couple shots he really had the crowd going," one top GOP official told The Blade.

Ohio Senate president lauds Romney

COLUMBUS — On the campaign trail, Ohio House Speaker Bill Batchelder (R., Medina) has extolled the virtues of GOP contender Rick Santorum. On Monday, the other side of the Statehouse rotunda weighed in on the side of Mitt Romney.

"Ohioans are looking for a change in leadership," Senate President Tom Niehaus (R., New Richmond) said. "However, we cannot expect a creature of Washington to come in and change it. Mitt Romney is a conservative businessman who spent his life in the private sector. He owes nothing to special interests and his only ‘team' is the American people.

“Ohio needs a bold leader who will restore our economy and bring jobs back to our state," he said.

“Mitt Romney is that man and I am proud to support him. I urge my fellow conservatives who are looking for a fresh start with a true outsider to join me in standing with him."

-- Jim Provance

Blade Columbus Bureau

Best line of Channel 13 debate

The best line out of the WTVG-TV, Channel 13 debate on Friday night came out of Dennis Kucinich.

When Graham Veysey gave his commitment, in response to a question, that he would not run for president in 2016, Kucinich said in a low voice that was audible only on the stage, "you won't be old enough to run for President."

Veysey is 29. The minimum age to be President is 35 and Veysey won't be that old until May 1, 2017.

The question, of course, was intended for Kucinich who ran for President in 2004 and 2008, and promised Friday night not to run in 2016.

Romney returning to Michigan Thursday and Friday

Mitt Romney is not going to give up the state of Michigan to Rick Santorum without a fight. The Detroit native has added a "Tea Party" meeting to his schedule for Thursday, at 7 p.m. in Milford, Mich., north of Detroit. And he's due back Friday to speak to the Economic Club of Detroit at Ford Field.

One of his biggest boosters in Michigan is the attorney general. Bill Scheutte, shown here   at Eagle Manufacturing, Shelby Township, Mich., on Tuesday.

 

Kaptur gains Erie County backing

Some Democratic prominent elected officials in Erie County are managing to take public sides in the Democratic primary between incumbents Marcy Kaptur and Dennis Kucinich, not to mention Graham Veysey, even if the party is staying officially neutral.

In a letter released to the media, all the county's row office Democrats, along with a smattering of city officials, declared their support of Kaptur.

The signers include the three county commissioners, the prosecutor, recorder, sheriff, engineer, treasurer, and acting clerk of courts. Also signing are five commissioners of the city of Sandusky, the mayors of Vermilion and Huron, a member of Huron City Council, and state Rep. Dennis Murray of Sandusky.

 They say Kaptur is, “without question, better suited to represent the needs of our communities. As the second-ranking Democrat on the powerful House Appropriations Committee, she is positioned to continue bringing taxpayer dollars back to Erie County. We cannot afford to lose her influence in Washington.”

 As examples of her bringing benefits to Erie County, the letter cites federal support for the Plum Brook Research Station and nearby NASA Glenn Lewis Research Center, the housing needs of Sandusky, the water and sewer needs of the lakeside communities, and the Lake Erie tourism industry.

 Here's more of the letter:

“Importantly, Marcy has always worked together with us. She has listened to our concerns and delivered results in ways that citizens might not notice every day. Her work to assist the harbors in Huron, Vermilion and Sandusky has been invaluable. Marcy brought home funds to build the Route 6 bypass and life saving fire safety grants to Perkins and Margaretta townships. She has assisted with economic development in Huron, and delivered funding for the Vermilion rail “quiet zone.”

“And she has always stood strong for our seniors and our veterans in Erie County. Most recently, she has been a forceful voice against Governor Kasich’s push to privatize the Ohio Turnpike.

“For us, Marcy Kaptur is the clear choice in this race. We support her candidacy and urge Erie Countians to vote for her on March 6.”

 

 

 

Democrats "invite" Mandel to his own meeting

update: Mandel office responds

Asked if Mandel plans to attend Thursday meeting of the Board of Deposit, which he chairs, Mandel press secretary Seth Unger said no.

Actually, he said:

“Listening to taxpayers’ concerns about protecting their tax dollars, Treasurer Mandel launched a top-bottom review to root out waste and find ways to run the Treasurer’s office more like a business.  This resulted in his returning a $400,000 surplus at the end of last fiscal year, and his developing a streamlined office budget going forward that will reduce General Revenue Fund operating expenses by $1.2 million.  Treasurer Mandel has leveraged technology in the office to modernize banking practices, led a thorough review of banking contracts to secure $377 million in funds that had been placed at risk of loss due to mistakes made under previous administrations, and successfully navigated the European sovereign debt crisis to earn back all principal and interest on commercial paper previously held in European banks, while eliminating exposure to these banks going forward.  Ohio’s credit ratings have consistently been affirmed and improved under Josh Mandel’s watch, even as the federal government and other state and local governments have been downgraded.  The Treasurer directs and empowers his staff of financial professionals who represent him on the Board of Deposit, and has full confidence in his Chief Financial Officer who serves as his designee.”

 Previous post:

The Ohio Democratic Party is keeping up its political sniping at Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel Tuesday, this time with a mock invitation to attend his "First Ever Board of Deposit Meeting."

Mandel is running for the U.S. Senate against incumbent Democrat Sherrod Brown and has come under unrelenting fire from the Democratic Party for allegedly neglecting his job as treasurer.

The tongue-in-cheek invitation says, "Please take a break from fundraising and do the job you promised to do," and then apologizes that no political contributions will be accepted.

As was pointed out last month, Mandel chairs the Board of Deposit - an official body that meets monthly to decide where to invest the state's funds - but has yet to attend one of its meetings.

The board's next meeting is 10 a.m. Thursday in Columbus. 

No word yet on whether Mandel will be present.

When the board had its last meeting, Jan. 26, Mandel was at a fund-raiser in Washington. His spokesman, Seth Unger, said Mandel delegates responsibility to top staff.

The Associated Press reported Jan. 25 that it's common to send a designee to most meetings, but the total absence of Mr. Mandel, a first-term Republican, makes him unique among modern-era treasurers.

Meeting minutes, news clippings, and interviews by the Associated Press show that every state treasurer since at least the early 1980s has attended at least some Board of Deposit meetings in person. The treasurer is the board's chairman.

 

Iott and Corrigan back Wurzelbacher in March 6 primary

Rich Iott, who ran unsuccessfully against Marcy Kaptur in 2010, is throwing his support behind Samuel "Joe the Plumber" Wurzelbacher.

Also announcing his support of Wurzelbacher us Peter Corrigan, who was Dennis Kucinich's Republican opponent in the old 10th Congressional District in Cleveland in 2010.

Iott made this statement:  "Joe is the real deal. He's worked in the real world to make a real living. He can relate to his constituents and their needs. I'd be proud to have Joe represent me in Washington."

Of course, since Iott lives in the 5th Congressional District, rather than the 9th Congressional District, Wurzelbacher won't be his representative even if he wins the election.

Wurzelbacher, who lives in Springfield Township, is running against Steven Kraus of Huron for the GOP nomination in the March 6 primary election.

The winner will face the winner of the Democratic primary, Representative Kaptur (Toledo), Representatiuve Kucinich (Cleveland), or Graham Veysey, a Cleveland businessman.

Wurzelbacher released this statement:  

“I am grateful for the strong support that I have received from all over the district.  Whether it’s from former candidates, county GOPs, or area business leaders, it is clear that people are uniting behind my campaign to bring working class conservative values to Washington DC.  Whoever the Democrats decide to put up, we will be ready to put on a strong race all the way to November.”

 

Kucinich doesn't like new Kaptur ad

Updating with link to Kaptur ad on Kucinich: YouTube.

Dennis Kucinich, fighting to win the 9th Congressional District that includes Toledo, is strenuously protesting opponent Marcy Kaptur's new hard-hitting TV ad.

The ad accuses Mr. Kucinich of voting "no" on several projects of importance to the Democratic constituencies of labor, seniors, and veterans, concludes that that's reason she was endorsed by the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

It also features a snippet of the Space Needle landmark in Seattle, a city where Kucinich had reportedly considered planning a run for Congress last year when it appeared that his district would be eliminated in the decennial redistricting.

The ad highlights comments Kaptur has been making in candidate appearances and debates, that Kucinich’s opposition to defense appropriations bills would imperil federal spending in the district.

In a letter sent Saturday to The Plain Dealer's publisher, president and chief executive officer, Terrance C. Z. Egger, and the newspaper's editorial board, Kucinich addresses each of the claims and then calls on the PD to disavow the references to itself.

Kaptur, of Toledo, and the incumbent in the 9th district, and Kucinich, of Cleveland, the incumbent in the former 10th district, along with Cleveland video entrepreneur Graham Veysey, are vying in the March 6 primary for the Democratic nomination for the 9th District.

The letter – written by “the Re-Elect Congressman Kucinich committee” - says Kaptur “is making claims regarding U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich's voting record that grossly misrepresent and distort the truth.”

The first item is that he voted "no" on a 2009 defense budget bill that included $42 million for new manufacturing jobs. Kucinich said he opposed the bill because of his opposition to the Iraq war.

He voted against another 2009 budget bill that contained than $15 billion for veterans care, Kaptur said. Kucinich made the same defense – while he supported the projects, he opposed the “billions of dollars in military aid” in the same bill.

He said he has led the effort to find causes and treatments for veterans suffering from Gulf War Syndrome and doesn’t deserve to be labeled “anti-veterans” as he believes the Kaptur ad does.

The third item goes back to 2000 when Kucinich voted against the “Democrats' prescription drug benefit for seniors” – this time because it contained excessive military spending.

“It is not surprising that Kaptur, faced with the toughest political challenge in her career, might resort to such vile and dishonest tactics. But, desperation is no excuse for dishonesty,” the Kucinich campaign opined in its letter.

Santorum in Macomb County

Check out my report on Rick Santorum's speech to a Tea Party and Evangelical Christian crowd today (Feb. 17) in Macomb County, about 30 miles north of Detroit: story.

Obama opening Toledo office

The Barack Obama campaign is in the process of opening an office in Toledo. The office is in the former Classic Antiques at 119 North Ontario St., next to the Greyhound station.

We met regional field director Kristin Purdy who said the office will open in March. The rudiments of a political office are here: tables and chairs and lots of floor space for volunteers to assemble and get their assignments. Obama's office in 2008 was a few blocks away at 44 South St. Clair St. in the Warehouse District, and is now a hardware store.