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Nov
29
Updated: Plain Dealer, Dispatch report more fully on Ohio mental health parity happening
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I saw all this information (from the Columbus Dispatch article and The Plain Dealer article) on the Gongwer news last night but I was too tired to do a better job condensing it. As you can see, several themes weave in and out of the mental health parity issue. Midnight is not my most lucid time.
-Small business does’t want this but they want that
-Taft doesn’t want that and he’s not sure if he wants this
-Mental health defenders want this
-Mental health sufferers want that
-House Speaker Husted says this, Senate Speaker Harris says that
-Insurance committee chair Stivers says this
And so on. See – just too much for me at the end of the day, or was it the beginning of the next one?
Write your Ohio legislators and tell them to pass the thing already. Stivers says there’s enough support – we need to reinforce it so it gets done.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 8:49 am November 29th, 2006 in Politics | Comments Off
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Nov
29
Getting to know you: Jason Wilson, Ohio Senate 30th
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Oops. Jason. Last night, I read this in the Wheeling News-Register:
Wilson said he would work to improve Ohio’s schools if appointed to the Ohio Senate.
This morning, I read in the Youngstown Vindicator, regarding your new position:
Jason Wilson, 38, of Columbiana, said he was excited about the opportunity.
“The No. 1 priority in this Senate district is creating jobs,” said Jason Wilson, general manager of Wilson Furniture in Bridgeport. Jason Wilson, who is Charlie Wilson’s son, said he thinks he was chosen because of his business background.
Jobs and education – very important. Both. Equally important even. But sometimes? Very different constituencies. I’ve never been an appointed public servant, but you might want to polish the presentation on jobs and education and which one is the No. 1 priority for your district since of course they can’t both occupy the No. 1 spot.
And congratulations.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 8:34 am November 29th, 2006 in Politics | Comments Off
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Nov
29
Ken Blackwell said Cafaro’s residency is up to SenDems
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I read blogs that write from every point on the political spectrum and this morning received a lengthy comment that consists primarily of Ohio Revised Code, on the issue of whether Capri Cafaro can in fact serve Ohio’s state senate seat for the 32nd district.
Here is the Youngstown Vindicator story that specifically says that the Ohio Secretary of State’s office said that the decision about her residency would be made by the Ohio Senate Democratic Caucus. I don’t know how that decision by the GOP’s failed gubernatorial candidate Ken Blackwell’s office was reached. I’m only the messenger.
I will say that I wonder if the buck was passed intentionally and what kind of precedent passing the buck in the case will set. No one seems to have written about how such decisions about residency have been made in the past.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 8:34 am November 29th, 2006 in Politics | Comments Off
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Nov
29
To the media on Cafaro and Wilson: tell us something we don’t know
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Okay. So maybe all politics are local. Isn’t everyone tired of hearing that?
But I’m very disappointed in how the Plain Dealer covered the State Senate appointments made yesterday in Columbus. The Akron Beacon Journal at least had two paragraphs on Jason Wilson, while they had four on Capri Cafaro. And The New Philadelphia Times Reporter had a whole article on Jason Wilson. The Youngstown Vindicator shared the ink between the two the most.
And yet, isn’t the PD the bigger paper, in circulation and readership? Even if the editors want to argue that Wilson isn’t local enough to merit more space, you can look to the Lorain Morning Journal, which wrote an entire Sunday endorsement for Cafaro. They felt that since she’d still be in the Ohio statehouse doing things for all Ohioans, they would do an endorsement for her. So I don’t think my expectations are off.
On the other hand, with the advent of multimedia platforms for delivering news and citizen journalism, maybe the problem is that because I can pick up the phone and get information, and then blog about it and get feedback, corrections and more info, and do sometimes, now there’s an expectation that anyone who wants more news beyond what everyone else can find out? Well, you have to get it yourself. Maybe the ricochet effect is that newspapers no longer feel that they have to meet a standard of revealing and filtering information plain old readers couldn’t otherwise get because there are no more plain old readers. I have to think about that.
But right now? I’m just miffed. Because the Plain Dealer didn’t do a good job for me. And here’s what I wrote:
Dear Editors,
As Mr. Naymik and possibly Mr. Marshall, both of whom I’ve cc’d, know, I have never written about Capri Cafaro with great support. Also, I have confessed and will confess again that I miss my PD subscription. In addition, they probably know that I write a blog that often addresses politics, and has addressed Ms. Cafaro. Barely 300-400 people per day read my blog and it’s obvious that I’m the only one responsible for the content.
I mention these facts because I know these are complex, confusing and fast-moving times for the media and I respect the difficulties you must navigate, partly because of the different standards readers apply to different media. However, this type of coverage by the PD of the Ohio Senate Democrats’ appointment of two new state senators does a disservice to the Plain Dealer’s audience, as well as Ms. Cafaro and Mr. Wilson, and confirms for me why I cancelled my subscription just over two weeks ago.
My concerns:
1. Several paragraphs drip with tabloid-style descriptions of Ms. Cafaro. Such descriptions fail to illuminate any information about Ms. Cafaro that isn’t otherwise already known by many of the PD’s readers.
2. Even if you must assume that the information (she’s wealthy from a wealthy family often associated with corruption) is not widely known and therefore you must publish it, there’s no reason why space was consumed by saying the same thing (she has a lot of money) four or five different ways. It is well-written – that is not my complaint. Mr. Marshall has a nice flourish. But he should have killed some of those darlings because it makes the piece, and your coverage of the situation, sound petty, redundant and devoid of real news.
3. The article fails to describe Mr. Wilson. Period. Nothing about his family’s multimillion dollar business. Nothing about Mr. Wilson’s failure to procure the minimum number of valid signatures to get his father on the ballot for his congressional run. Nothing about how Mr. Wilson was fired from that work on the campaign. Nothing about what he hopes to accomplish. No nod to where he went to school and what he’s doing now. Whereas with Ms. Cafaro, there are references to several of these background items (her education, her history in politics, what work she’s done or is doing, her family). Why not about Mr. Wilson? Why not equal coverage for him?
4. As a woman, and someone who has written about women in politics and how the media covers women in politics, I’m angered by these discrepancies in coverage, especially because of Ms. Cafaro’s already established notoriety compared to Mr. Wilson’s anonymity. How repeating all of her baggage, without any words, phrases or sentences of equivalent information about Mr. Wilson, serves the audience I will let you explain.
Ironically, Marie Wilson, president of The White House Project, speaks today at OSU’s John Glenn Institute for Public Policy & Public Policy Women in Leadership Institute. The White House Project is considering whether to set up shop in Ohio to help encourage, train and support Ohio women interested in politics and seeking political office. I wonder what she would have to say about your coverage of Capri Cafaro, especially in comparison to Jason Wilson.
5. Finally, wouldn’t it have been more illuminating to find out from residents of the 30th and 32nd districts feel about these appointments, rather than re-hash previously published information?
I know you read letters such as this one, and I appreciate you taking the time to do so. I love newspapers, and always have. It sincerely saddens as well as annoys me when I read an article like the one I mention in this email because I just know it could be done better – for everyone.
Thank you for your time and work. (Ted – sorry if I’m a bit overwrought – I know that’s something I still have to work on.)
Very truly yours,
Jill Miller Zimon, JD, MSSA
I post this with some trepidation because I want to know their thoughts. I want to understand how this article could have gone to print in the form it did. How do they make this decision? But I also realize that they probably don’t like having me blog what I’ve written to them. On the third hand, only 300 or so folks read this blog – and I know some of them are even people who’ve received this letter. 
So, you know, I just want a dialogue to understand. I’ll take it anyway I can get it.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 8:23 am November 29th, 2006 in Politics | Comments Off
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Nov
29
Getting to know you: Jason Wilson, Ohio Senate 30th
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Oops. Jason. Last night, I read this in the Wheeling News-Register:
Wilson said he would work to improve Ohio’s schools if appointed to the Ohio Senate.
This morning, I read in the Youngstown Vindicator, regarding your new position:
Jason Wilson, 38, of Columbiana, said he was excited about the opportunity.
“The No. 1 priority in this Senate district is creating jobs,” said Jason Wilson, general manager of Wilson Furniture in Bridgeport. Jason Wilson, who is Charlie Wilson’s son, said he thinks he was chosen because of his business background.
Jobs and education – very important. Both. Equally important even. But sometimes? Very different constituencies. I’ve never been an appointed public servant, but you might want to polish the presentation on jobs and education and which one is the No. 1 priority for your district since of course they can’t both occupy the No. 1 spot.
And congratulations.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 5:34 am November 29th, 2006 in Politics | Comments Off
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Nov
29
Rush Holt or kissy-face with Jane Harman
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That’s what I’m saying after some reading and female thought processing.
Think about – if Speaker-elect Nancy Pelosi could strike a deal with Representative Jane Harman, wow – that would totally undermine all the four letter word critics out there, Maureen Dowd included, who’ve fed into the catfight frenzy. I know what it’s like to give up on a friendship, especially when it’s become painfully clear that you just don’t have anything in common anymore.
But these two women still have some major common interests – like seeing the Democrats keep control and prove that they can do better. If those goals don’t inspire them to kiss and make up, I’m hard pressed to imagine how it gets any easier for Pelosi from this point on.
Otherwise, I’ll stick with my gut call of Rush Holt – just based on reading websites. Sure, that sounds shallow – but given the fact that all the so-called experts supposedly know so much more and yet all sound the same, I don’t know that I need to go much further.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 4:17 am November 29th, 2006 in Politics | Comments Off
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Nov
29
Ohio legislature close to giving Taft a mental health parity bill
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Two weeks ago, I wrote about the failure of the Ohio State Senate to attach an amendment regarding mental health parity to a small business-oriented bill.
My complaint focused on the ridiculousness of the process: how one state senator (Stivers) insisted that he was sympathetic and offered to have it discussed in his committee, but then, when another senator (Fingerhut) took him up on that offer, Stivers voted nay to allow the amendment to come to his committee for discussion – along with tabling the small business bill. One commenter told me that I had no clue, and that was it. I suspect it might have been Sen. Stivers, and I also know that I might not have a clue – but that’s not for lack of trying. It’s because the process is so darn everything but transparent.
With great hope, I am passing on this news from Gongwer:
A logjam over a long-sought mental health insurance parity bill broke in the lame-duck legislative session Tuesday when Senate President Bill Harris said lawmakers would try to deliver it to Gov. Bob Taft before the end of the year.
Gongwer details how James Spada, son of my state senator, Bob Spada, testified in the hosue and senate today, in addition to others, in regard to his health and success. He was diagnosed as bipolar three years ago. He is employed as a senior credit analyst with Bank of America.
The news report indicates, among many issues be handled simultaneously to get this thing done, that Senator Stivers, the Senate Insurance Committee Chair, says that there is enough support in his committee to pass the legislation, but he still possesses skepticsm because the bill doesn’t cover as many Ohioans as he says he’d like to see covered.
However, Senate President Bill Harris wants to send something to Governor Bob Taft, even if Ohio can’t fix some of the federal exclusions under ERISA-based plans and even though there is a veto threat because Taft views these mandates as impermissibly driving up business costs.
The fear of the Republicans is that Governor-elect Ted Strickland will rally the legislature and get an even more expansive mental health parity bill to sign.
On the House side, Speaker Jon Husted says that he believes he’s minimized the negatives for business as much as possible and that the house bill they have now represents “good public policy.”
Amen. Now pass that thing.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 1:20 am November 29th, 2006 in Politics | Comments Off
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Nov
29
Hastings joins Harman in the loser pile, Pelosi continues to look
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House Speaker-designate Nancy Pelosi, D-California, will not name Rep. Alcee Hastings, D-Florida, the new chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, a Democratic aide tells CNN.
…
Pelosi has already indicated she will not hand the chairmanship to Rep. Jane Harman of California — the current ranking Democrat on the committee.
Reps. Silvestre Reyes of Texas, Sanford Bishop of Georgia, Norm Dicks of Washington, and Rush Holt of New Jersey remain in the running for the intelligence post. [links are mine]
For reasons I’ll keep to myself, and because I know ZERO about these options except for a brief glance at their websites, I go for Holt. But honestly – I don’t really know.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 1:09 am November 29th, 2006 in Politics | Comments Off
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Nov
29
Rush Holt or kissy-face with Jane Harman
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That’s what I’m saying after some reading and female thought processing.
Think about – if Speaker-elect Nancy Pelosi could strike a deal with Representative Jane Harman, wow – that would totally undermine all the four letter word critics out there, Maureen Dowd included, who’ve fed into the catfight frenzy. I know what it’s like to give up on a friendship, especially when it’s become painfully clear that you just don’t have anything in common anymore.
But these two women still have some major common interests – like seeing the Democrats keep control and prove that they can do better. If those goals don’t inspire them to kiss and make up, I’m hard pressed to imagine how it gets any easier for Pelosi from this point on.
Otherwise, I’ll stick with my gut call of Rush Holt – just based on reading websites. Sure, that sounds shallow – but given the fact that all the so-called experts supposedly know so much more and yet all sound the same, I don’t know that I need to go much further.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 12:17 am November 29th, 2006 in Politics | Comments Off
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Nov
28
Getting to know you: Cafaro Meet the Blogger transcript and podcast [updated]
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James Wilson certainly wasn’t on the radar as a possible candidate to represent Ohio’s citizens, thus, he has no Meet the Bloggers transcript or podcast. We’ll have to get to know him from the work he does in the Ohio State Senate.
However, this complete transcript of the more than 60 minute session with Capri Cafaro at Cafe Momus in Akron in 4/06, when she was a primary candidate to represent Ohio’s 13th Congressional District (the one being vacated by U.S. Senator-elect, Sherrod Brown), and this podcast of the same session will help those of you whom she’ll be representing (and all intereted Ohioans) get to know her.
One section:
Gloria Ferris: Well, I had a question for you that’s a little bit more direct. Would you still be in the race in the 13th District if you didn’t have the ability to loan yourself money, because I don’t know what you raised in contributions here, but when you ran against Steve LaTourette, I think it was like $150,000, but there was like an expenditure of $1.8 million on the race. So given that scenario, would you still be in the race, if you did not have the ability to loan yourself the money that you did?
Capri Cafaro: Well, I mean who knows? If I wasn’t born in Youngstown, would I have the views I have about labor? I mean who knows, and I think that’s a very theoretical question. I may not even be in politics, given where I am from and etc., etc. I know what you’re getting at there, and I think that you are… I’m not going to deny the fact that having access to funding has made me more credible and has given me an opportunity to “go directly to the top,” if you will. I’m not going to dispute that fact that you’re absolutely correct in that regard. Having said that though, having the ability to sell[sic] finance gives me the opportunity to have a greater deal of latitude to turn down PAC checks, because there’s just not enough perks and campaign contributions to sway me.
Ohioans may want to keep an eye on that last piece about her greater latitude to turn down PAC money.
Update: This cached article from the Wheeling News-Register has a bit more info on Wilson. In it, he says,
“While I was working to see that my dad was successful, I was doing it for myself at the same time. I learned how to run campaigns. I learned how to talk about issues. He was an extension of that.”
Wilson said he would work to improve Ohio’s schools if appointed to the Ohio Senate.
He also believes he can build on his father’s extensive name recognition to work toward a successful re-election campaign in 2008.
“Whoever succeeds in getting the appointment, I hope that they are the most qualified person,” Wilson said. “If I am it, so be it.”
I look forward to seeing what efforts he writes, sponsors and co-sponsors to improve Ohio’s schools. He’s already been entered as getting 100% of the vote today. And here are national comments on the choices.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 10:41 pm November 28th, 2006 in Politics | Comments Off
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Nov
28
Ohio legislature close to giving Taft a mental health parity bill
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Two weeks ago, I wrote about the failure of the Ohio State Senate to attach an amendment regarding mental health parity to a small business-oriented bill.
My complaint focused on the ridiculousness of the process: how one state senator (Stivers) insisted that he was sympathetic and offered to have it discussed in his committee, but then, when another senator (Fingerhut) took him up on that offer, Stivers voted nay to allow the amendment to come to his committee for discussion – along with tabling the small business bill. One commenter told me that I had no clue, and that was it. I suspect it might have been Sen. Stivers, and I also know that I might not have a clue – but that’s not for lack of trying. It’s because the process is so darn everything but transparent.
With great hope, I am passing on this news from Gongwer:
A logjam over a long-sought mental health insurance parity bill broke in the lame-duck legislative session Tuesday when Senate President Bill Harris said lawmakers would try to deliver it to Gov. Bob Taft before the end of the year.
Gongwer details how James Spada, son of my state senator, Bob Spada, testified in the hosue and senate today, in addition to others, in regard to his health and success. He was diagnosed as bipolar three years ago. He is employed as a senior credit analyst with Bank of America.
The news report indicates, among many issues be handled simultaneously to get this thing done, that Senator Stivers, the Senate Insurance Committee Chair, says that there is enough support in his committee to pass the legislation, but he still possesses skepticsm because the bill doesn’t cover as many Ohioans as he says he’d like to see covered.
However, Senate President Bill Harris wants to send something to Governor Bob Taft, even if Ohio can’t fix some of the federal exclusions under ERISA-based plans and even though there is a veto threat because Taft views these mandates as impermissibly driving up business costs.
The fear of the Republicans is that Governor-elect Ted Strickland will rally the legislature and get an even more expansive mental health parity bill to sign.
On the House side, Speaker Jon Husted says that he believes he’s minimized the negatives for business as much as possible and that the house bill they have now represents “good public policy.”
Amen. Now pass that thing.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 9:20 pm November 28th, 2006 in Politics | Comments Off
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Nov
28
Rush Holt or kissy-face with Jane Harman
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That’s what I’m saying after some reading and female thought processing.
Think about – if Speaker-elect Nancy Pelosi could strike a deal with Representative Jane Harman, wow – that would totally undermine all the four letter word critics out there, Maureen Dowd included, who’ve fed into the catfight frenzy. I know what it’s like to give up on a friendship, especially when it’s become painfully clear that you just don’t have anything in common anymore.
But these two women still have some major common interests – like seeing the Democrats keep control and prove that they can do better. If those goals don’t inspire them to kiss and make up, I’m hard pressed to imagine how it gets any easier for Pelosi from this point on.
Otherwise, I’ll stick with my gut call of Rush Holt – just based on reading websites. Sure, that sounds shallow – but given the fact that all the so-called experts supposedly know so much more and yet all sound the same, I don’t know that I need to go much further.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 9:17 pm November 28th, 2006 in Politics | Comments Off
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Nov
28
Hastings joins Harman in the loser pile, Pelosi continues to look
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House Speaker-designate Nancy Pelosi, D-California, will not name Rep. Alcee Hastings, D-Florida, the new chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, a Democratic aide tells CNN.
…
Pelosi has already indicated she will not hand the chairmanship to Rep. Jane Harman of California — the current ranking Democrat on the committee.
Reps. Silvestre Reyes of Texas, Sanford Bishop of Georgia, Norm Dicks of Washington, and Rush Holt of New Jersey remain in the running for the intelligence post. [links are mine]
For reasons I’ll keep to myself, and because I know ZERO about these options except for a brief glance at their websites, I go for Holt. But honestly – I don’t really know.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 9:09 pm November 28th, 2006 in Politics | Comments Off
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Nov
28
Getting to know you: Cafaro Meet the Blogger transcript and podcast [updated]
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James Wilson certainly wasn’t on the radar as a possible candidate to represent Ohio’s citizens, thus, he has no Meet the Bloggers transcript or podcast. We’ll have to get to know him from the work he does in the Ohio State Senate.
However, this complete transcript of the more than 60 minute session with Capri Cafaro at Cafe Momus in Akron in 4/06, when she was a primary candidate to represent Ohio’s 13th Congressional District (the one being vacated by U.S. Senator-elect, Sherrod Brown), and this podcast of the same session will help those of you whom she’ll be representing (and all intereted Ohioans) get to know her.
One section:
Gloria Ferris: Well, I had a question for you that’s a little bit more direct. Would you still be in the race in the 13th District if you didn’t have the ability to loan yourself money, because I don’t know what you raised in contributions here, but when you ran against Steve LaTourette, I think it was like $150,000, but there was like an expenditure of $1.8 million on the race. So given that scenario, would you still be in the race, if you did not have the ability to loan yourself the money that you did?
Capri Cafaro: Well, I mean who knows? If I wasn’t born in Youngstown, would I have the views I have about labor? I mean who knows, and I think that’s a very theoretical question. I may not even be in politics, given where I am from and etc., etc. I know what you’re getting at there, and I think that you are… I’m not going to deny the fact that having access to funding has made me more credible and has given me an opportunity to “go directly to the top,” if you will. I’m not going to dispute that fact that you’re absolutely correct in that regard. Having said that though, having the ability to sell[sic] finance gives me the opportunity to have a greater deal of latitude to turn down PAC checks, because there’s just not enough perks and campaign contributions to sway me.
Ohioans may want to keep an eye on that last piece about her greater latitude to turn down PAC money.
Update: This cached article from the Wheeling News-Register has a bit more info on Wilson. In it, he says,
“While I was working to see that my dad was successful, I was doing it for myself at the same time. I learned how to run campaigns. I learned how to talk about issues. He was an extension of that.”
Wilson said he would work to improve Ohio’s schools if appointed to the Ohio Senate.
He also believes he can build on his father’s extensive name recognition to work toward a successful re-election campaign in 2008.
“Whoever succeeds in getting the appointment, I hope that they are the most qualified person,” Wilson said. “If I am it, so be it.”
I look forward to seeing what efforts he writes, sponsors and co-sponsors to improve Ohio’s schools. He’s already been entered as getting 100% of the vote today. And here are national comments on the choices.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 6:41 pm November 28th, 2006 in Politics | Comments Off
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Nov
28
Ohio legislature close to giving Taft a mental health parity bill
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Two weeks ago, I wrote about the failure of the Ohio State Senate to attach an amendment regarding mental health parity to a small business-oriented bill.
My complaint focused on the ridiculousness of the process: how one state senator (Stivers) insisted that he was sympathetic and offered to have it discussed in his committee, but then, when another senator (Fingerhut) took him up on that offer, Stivers voted nay to allow the amendment to come to his committee for discussion – along with tabling the small business bill. One commenter told me that I had no clue, and that was it. I suspect it might have been Sen. Stivers, and I also know that I might not have a clue – but that’s not for lack of trying. It’s because the process is so darn everything but transparent.
With great hope, I am passing on this news from Gongwer:
A logjam over a long-sought mental health insurance parity bill broke in the lame-duck legislative session Tuesday when Senate President Bill Harris said lawmakers would try to deliver it to Gov. Bob Taft before the end of the year.
Gongwer details how James Spada, son of my state senator, Bob Spada, testified in the hosue and senate today, in addition to others, in regard to his health and success. He was diagnosed as bipolar three years ago. He is employed as a senior credit analyst with Bank of America.
The news report indicates, among many issues be handled simultaneously to get this thing done, that Senator Stivers, the Senate Insurance Committee Chair, says that there is enough support in his committee to pass the legislation, but he still possesses skepticsm because the bill doesn’t cover as many Ohioans as he says he’d like to see covered.
However, Senate President Bill Harris wants to send something to Governor Bob Taft, even if Ohio can’t fix some of the federal exclusions under ERISA-based plans and even though there is a veto threat because Taft views these mandates as impermissibly driving up business costs.
The fear of the Republicans is that Governor-elect Ted Strickland will rally the legislature and get an even more expansive mental health parity bill to sign.
On the House side, Speaker Jon Husted says that he believes he’s minimized the negatives for business as much as possible and that the house bill they have now represents “good public policy.”
Amen. Now pass that thing.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 6:20 pm November 28th, 2006 in Politics | Comments Off
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Nov
28
Hastings joins Harman in the loser pile, Pelosi continues to look
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House Speaker-designate Nancy Pelosi, D-California, will not name Rep. Alcee Hastings, D-Florida, the new chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, a Democratic aide tells CNN.
…
Pelosi has already indicated she will not hand the chairmanship to Rep. Jane Harman of California — the current ranking Democrat on the committee.
Reps. Silvestre Reyes of Texas, Sanford Bishop of Georgia, Norm Dicks of Washington, and Rush Holt of New Jersey remain in the running for the intelligence post. [links are mine]
For reasons I’ll keep to myself, and because I know ZERO about these options except for a brief glance at their websites, I go for Holt. But honestly – I don’t really know.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 6:09 pm November 28th, 2006 in Politics | Comments Off
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Nov
28
I saw this earlier today but now, it makes a lot more sense.
Though it’s unlikely that Ohio Senate Democrats will win the 2008 money race, they can at least say they were fastest out of the blocks.
Three weeks after the 2006 elections, and 11 days since her colleagues chose her as the new Senate minority leader in the next General Assembly, Sen. Teresa Fedor, of Toledo, is hosting a fundraiser tonight at Tony’s, at Beck and High streets. For a suggested $250 donation, people can come meet the new Democratic senators.
Only 23 months to go until the 2008 election. [my emphasis]
Logic defies me: since one of the two newly appointed state senators self-funded two losing Congressional campaigns to the tune of over $2 million, why would any Ohioan now pay to meet her? I guess if you’re going to say either that you don’t care about it looking like pay-to-play is alive or you are going to make it so obvious as to imply that there’s nothing wrong with it, you might as well charge that kind of money to meet people who haven’t done a thing yet for Ohio, except get negative light cast on it.
If I were the author of this item’s first sentence, I’d be finding that “strike” html just about now.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 6:00 pm November 28th, 2006 in Politics | 1 Comment
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Nov
28
Cafaro to replace Dann
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In the Ohio Senate, 32nd seat. From Gongwer.
And Jason Wilson to replace his father, Charlie, in the 30th Ohio Senate seat.
I look forward to both of them doing Meet the Bloggers as Ohio legislators.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 5:01 pm November 28th, 2006 in Politics | 10 Comments
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Nov
28
The Other Paper: Behind the Fedor-Zurz choice; similar characterization of Pelosi’s choices?
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Maybe it’s me – really, I know it can be just me. But some of the words being used to describe Teresa Fedor in this Other Paper piece sound a lot like the words or kind of words being used to describe the House Speaker-elect Nancy Pelosi and decision-making processes, first around Majority Leader and now around the House Intelligence Committee.
And, yesterday, I practically ran off my treadmill listening to the wretched cable news coverage of Pelosi, Jane Harman and Alcee Hastings. “It’s a catfight!” “It’s so personal!” “They used to be such good friends!” All actual statements by the anchors in their questions to commentators.
Pahleeze. Every. Single. Solitary. Choice. Is each one going to get this attention? When speakers changed in the past, did they get the same attention? What good does it do for anyone to proceed relentlessly, channel after channel and hour after hour, in describing Pelosi’s tasks this way?
Such coverage undermines the seriousness of any criticism. Because when all you’re doing is comparing Pelosi’s methods to a catfight, you’ve told us nothing we don’t know and nothing that actually means anything, as in – how does it affect me? how does it affect us? how will it affect the country?
I know there’d be nothing to cover if anchors held themselves back. And what’s so bad about a little silence?
By Jill Miller Zimon at 4:19 pm November 28th, 2006 in Politics | 2 Comments
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Nov
28
Getting to know you: Cafaro Meet the Blogger transcript and podcast [updated]
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James Wilson certainly wasn’t on the radar as a possible candidate to represent Ohio’s citizens, thus, he has no Meet the Bloggers transcript or podcast. We’ll have to get to know him from the work he does in the Ohio State Senate.
However, this complete transcript of the more than 60 minute session with Capri Cafaro at Cafe Momus in Akron in 4/06, when she was a primary candidate to represent Ohio’s 13th Congressional District (the one being vacated by U.S. Senator-elect, Sherrod Brown), and this podcast of the same session will help those of you whom she’ll be representing (and all intereted Ohioans) get to know her.
One section:
Gloria Ferris: Well, I had a question for you that’s a little bit more direct. Would you still be in the race in the 13th District if you didn’t have the ability to loan yourself money, because I don’t know what you raised in contributions here, but when you ran against Steve LaTourette, I think it was like $150,000, but there was like an expenditure of $1.8 million on the race. So given that scenario, would you still be in the race, if you did not have the ability to loan yourself the money that you did?
Capri Cafaro: Well, I mean who knows? If I wasn’t born in Youngstown, would I have the views I have about labor? I mean who knows, and I think that’s a very theoretical question. I may not even be in politics, given where I am from and etc., etc. I know what you’re getting at there, and I think that you are… I’m not going to deny the fact that having access to funding has made me more credible and has given me an opportunity to “go directly to the top,” if you will. I’m not going to dispute that fact that you’re absolutely correct in that regard. Having said that though, having the ability to sell[sic] finance gives me the opportunity to have a greater deal of latitude to turn down PAC checks, because there’s just not enough perks and campaign contributions to sway me.
Ohioans may want to keep an eye on that last piece about her greater latitude to turn down PAC money.
Update: This cached article from the Wheeling News-Register has a bit more info on Wilson. In it, he says,
“While I was working to see that my dad was successful, I was doing it for myself at the same time. I learned how to run campaigns. I learned how to talk about issues. He was an extension of that.”
Wilson said he would work to improve Ohio’s schools if appointed to the Ohio Senate.
He also believes he can build on his father’s extensive name recognition to work toward a successful re-election campaign in 2008.
“Whoever succeeds in getting the appointment, I hope that they are the most qualified person,” Wilson said. “If I am it, so be it.”
I look forward to seeing what efforts he writes, sponsors and co-sponsors to improve Ohio’s schools. He’s already been entered as getting 100% of the vote today. And here are national comments on the choices.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 3:41 pm November 28th, 2006 in Politics | Comments Off
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