It has been an interesting couple of days in the 14th U.S. Congressional District in Ohio (pictured at left). A debate, a couple of campaign stops in our little village (Hiram is located in Northern Portage County), a well-placed ad in the Akron Beacon Journal, and the first appearances ofg yard signs have all (finally) got people talking about the race a little bit more.
1. In this morning's Akron Beacon Journal, Lew Katz (D) has an ad blasting the Republican leadership for their handling of the Foley case. "Americans cannot afford to allow such lapses in judgment and morality to pass without consequences to those responsible," the ad reads. "Contact Steve LaTourette's campaign office today at (440) 231-0028 to demand that he hold his party's leadership accountable for their failure to act when they learned of Congressman Foley's inappropriate sexual advances towards congressional staff." So call now -- that number is actually the cell phone of Dino Disanto, LaTourette's campaign manager. It's the only phone number that is listed on the LaTourette for Congress website.
2. We had Lew Katz in Hiram for two different campaign events yesterday. The first was with Connie Schultz, wife of Sherrod Brown. We had over 120 people attending on short notice. Connie was wonderful, talking about the campaign trail, what it is like being married to Sherrod, and her Pulitzer Prize-winning career. She was funny and engaging. If you get a chance to see her speak, I highly recommend it. Lew was the one to introduce Connie, and he did agreat job. Connie got up and thanked him at the beginning of the talk and said, "Lew is a great candidate and we're so proud of him. Geez, I feel like I see Lew more than I see Sherrod."
Later that evening we had a small fundraiser/information session for Lew, hosted by Phyllis Gulyas (pictured at right with Lew). About 25 people from the community stopped in to meet Lew and hear his views on Iraq, health care, his opponent, and the Foley mess. Hopefully he raied a little money too.
3. He's alive! Steve LaTourette finally made an appearance in the district, appearing at a League of Women voters debate. All accounts say that Lew more than held his own. The independent in the race (Rev. Werner Lange) peppered LaTourette with questions about his fundraising. Any Abramoff connections? Hmm....
4. Like daffodils in the Spring, the political yard signs are starting to sprout in the ground around here. In Northern Portage County, we'll have a lot of Katz for Congress signs up in the next few days.
Contact the Katz campaign office if you need a yard sign. And I'm sure any financial contributions would be appreciated, too.