Clinton speaks passionately for Democratic candidates

Columbus Dispatch

Decrying what he called Republican "ideologues" who seek to concentrate wealth and power and divide Americans, former President Clinton rallied Democrats in Columbus last night to elect U.S. Rep. Sherrod Brown and other party candidates Nov. 7.

"I think the time for name calling and ideology has come to an end," Clinton told the enthusiastic overflow crowd of more than 600 at the Hyatt on Capitol Square Downtown.

"I think we have to say to our fellow Americans, 'You know, the first rule when you get in a hole is to stop digging.' But these ideologues? They just ask for a bigger shovel."

Interrupted often by applause and a call of "We love you, Bill" at one point, Clinton spoke for about 35 minutes at an event to raise an estimated $300,000 for the Ohio Democratic Party and Brown in his battle against incumbent Republican Sen. Mike DeWine.

Clinton called Brown, a congressman from Avon, the "polar opposite of the crowd that has run our national politics for the last six years."

Read the full article. 

10/24/2006 / Permalink / Central Ohio, (all tags)

This Town Has Sherrod’s Name Written All Over It

Sherrod visits Sherrodsville, OH

Sherrod receives the key to the city of Sherrodsville

Last week, Sherrod visited a town that had his name written all over it. Literally.

Sherrod was in Sherrodsville, Carroll County to to receive the key to the city from the town's mayor, James Gardner, and to take part in the annual Democratic BBQ.

Carroll County Chair Ruby Gilliam and Congressional candidate Zack Space were also on hand to mingle with local Democrats, and listen to music from the Back Road Band.

Sherrod spoke to the crowd of 60 residents about the need for a new direction for Ohio and the importance of helping our state's small towns.

For too long, Sherrod said, Republicans in Washington have neglected towns like Sherrodsville that need help revitalizing their infrastructure and creating jobs.

In case you were wondering, Sherrod wasn't named after the town or visa versa. A Dr. Sherrod, of no relation, settled the community back in the 1830s.

Still, it is not hard to feel at home in a place like this.

08/10/2006 / Permalink / Central Ohio, (all tags)

MIDDLETOWN: Congressman blames AK for prolonging dispute

From Middletown Journal: 

Congressman Sherrod Brown's campaign trail led him to Middletown's independent union hall Friday afternoon, where he expressed sympathy for workers locked out of AK Steel's local plant and blamed the company for perpetuating the labor dispute.

Brown (D-Avon), the Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate, dropped by the Armco Employees Independent Federation headquarters on Crawford Street and talked in front of a small crowd of AK hourly workers and retirees before hitting picket lines around the steel plant.

"I think what the company has done is wrong," Brown said Friday. "I think any company that locks out its employees is wrong."

Brown should know. He's a native of Mansfield, Ohio, where hourly workers were involved in a sometimes-violent labor dispute with AK Steel Corp. that lasted 39 months.

The lockout between AK Steel and the AEIF is now in its fourth month. About 2,600 hourly workers were locked out of the plant when a competitive bargaining agreement expired on Feb. 28. Since then, about 400 AEIF members have retired, the company has said.

Click here to read the full article. 

07/08/2006 / Permalink / Central Ohio, Economy, Jobs, (all tags)

Connie Tells Knox Co. Women to Turn Up the Volume

Connie speaks to Knox Co. Democratic Women

It was easy for Connie to feel at home with the Democratic Women of Knox County. Both are dedicated to electing Democrats, and neither are shy about sharing that opinion with just about everyone.

The group, which boasts more than 100 members, was founded by local women last January and is already having a major impact on Knox County politics.

The event took place at The Inn at Hillenvale, where Connie had dinner with the board members before event.

Connie spoke about the importance of running an 88-county race that reaches out to voters in every part of the state.  She stressed that women can make a big difference in this election, and then offered ways they can get more involved in the campaign.

Quoting Maggie Kuhn, founder of the Gray Panthers, Connie urged the women to, "Speak out - even if your voice shakes."

The Mount Vernon News wrote a lengthy write up of the event:

Schultz, who has taken a leave of absence from her job during her husband's campaign, kept nearly 75 Democratic women laughing, listening and thinking as she regaled them with stories about politics, women's voting rights, writing and her life growing up the daughter of a staunch union worker.

...Schultz explained her background, telling the members how she introduced herself as a columnist -- as the daughter of a union man who brought his lunchbox to work every day. She also kept the audience in stitches with stories of her and her husband, Sherrod Brown, buying what turned out to be a $9 red, white and blue donkey for $75 at an auction in Adams County, and about the power of women speaking up.

...Schultz also encouraged the women to find five people who are undecided about who to vote for and take them under their wing, encouraging them to vote Democrat, but mainly to vote.

"All we need this time is to be truthful. We are ready this time and are not afraid," Schultz said. "If you join us, and we're not taking any voter for granted -- if you do this, there are two headlines that I predict will be written in all the papers. One, Democrats take back the House and Senate. And, two, Ohio turns blue. 

Click here to read the full article.

06/12/2006 / Permalink / Central Ohio, Connie, Hometown Tour, Women, (all tags)

Schultz: Women can have major influence on politics

MOUNT VERNON -- Life, women and politics. Connie Schultz has a good grasp on the true meaning of each of those three issues.

Schultz, a Pulitzer prize-winning journalist from the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the wife of U.S. Senate candidate Sherrod Brown, shared those thoughts and many others during a spirited speech and question-and-answer session with the Knox County Democratic Women on Tuesday at The Inn at HillenVale.

"It is so important that you not be concerned with how you sound, but that you sound at all. I tell women that all the time because I predict that if more women were covering politics, more Americans would be voting," Schultz said.

Schultz, who has taken a leave of absence from her job during her husband's campaign, kept nearly 75 Democratic women laughing, listening and thinking as she regaled them with stories about politics, women's voting rights, writing and her life growing up the daughter of a staunch union worker.

"When I started writing my column, some of the editors and some of the readers were complaining I wasn't a typical arts and life columnist. It's no surprise that the majority of these people were male," said Schultz. "My attitude about the arts and life section is, well, women think about everything, so I'm going to write about everything. I'm going to write about the art of living. How do we feel about things, how we feel about the war, how we feel about voter registration, how we feel about ex-cons getting out after just 13 years."

Schultz explained her background, telling the members how she introduced herself as a columnist -- as the daughter of a union man who brought his lunchbox to work every day. She also kept the audience in stitches with stories of her and her husband, Sherrod Brown, buying what turned out to be a $9 red, white and blue donkey for $75 at an auction in Adams County, and about the power of women speaking up.

"Sherrod and I went to a dinner at a fancy place and there was a tip jar full of 5s and 10s, not just ones and change, at the coat check," said Schultz. "The woman behind the counter was older and looked tired. I pointed to the tip jar and said, `at least you get to keep the tips.' She said no, management does. I said whoa, there's a story. I got calls from two vice presidents saying there wasn't a story here. They said they used the money for the Christmas party and that the workers didn't care who got the tips.

"I told him, if you change the policy right now, I'll write the column about how you saw the light. They said no because nobody cares. So I wrote the column. I told the story then said at the end, `they say you don't care who keeps the tips. I think they're wrong. What do you think?'

06/08/2006 / Permalink / Central Ohio, Connie, Hometown Tour, Women, (all tags)

Supporters Pack Columbus Office Grand Opening

Sherrod greets supporters at office opening

Sherrod speaks with the media after opening his Columbus field office

Sherrod supports a ballot initiative that will raise Ohio's minimum wage

More than 100 supporters from central Ohio joined Sherrod to celebrate the grand opening of the Columbus field office on Saturday, March 25.

The office, located on Broad Street in Downtown Columbus, will be a hub for volunteer activity for supporters to phone bank, prepare for door-to-door outreach, and host public events.

The crowd cheered when Sherrod said the out-of-state interests trying to influence the election need to, "Get out of our state."

With their help, Sherrod said a progressive campaign will win in Ohio, despite the millions of dollars funneled into the state by DeWine's friends in Washington.

Al Gabel, 76, from Dublin has followed politics for a while, but didn't get active until 2004. Gabel is volunteering for Sherrod, because Mike DeWine has failed Ohio families, and Sherrod has the record, and spirit to move Ohio forward.

It was clear at Saturday's well-attended event that 2006 represents an exciting year when we can reclaim our state.

To get involved, sign up or call the main office at 440-282-3314 to find out what you can do the help make Sherrod Brown the next Senator from Ohio.

03/30/2006 / Permalink / Central Ohio, Volunteer, (all tags)

250 Reasons for Hope: Ohio Statewide Candidate Forum

Mean Bean, Deleware, OH

Mean Bean, Deleware OH

Today, I saw 250 reasons why we are about to change the country.

They came from across Ohio, many of them driving hours through rain and snow and ice, waking up early on a Saturday morning to hear from Democrats running for office at every level. The forum took place at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers hall in Columbus, and the room was packed. You couldn't ask for a more energized crowd.  And beyond the energy in the room, I was inspired by the knowledge that the people I was speaking to were going to be working every day for the next nine months to take back our state and take back our country.

Enormous credit goes to Blue 88 and Democracy for America, two of the new grassroots groups that are transforming the Democratic Party, and to the other grassroots organizations, labor unions, and Democratic activists that were involved in planning the event. And credit also goes to the Ohio Democratic Party for welcoming so many new leaders to the fold. Today's forum reminded me why I'm a Democrat, and why the Democratic Party is going to win this November, and why, once we win, we're going to change things for the better.

02/05/2006 / Permalink / Central Ohio, Volunteer, (all tags)

Ohio Statewide Candidate Forum

Despite the nasty weather, we had a fantastic day on the road.

Sherrod got a great response from the crowd at the Statewide Candidate Forum sponsored by DFA, Blue 88 and Upper Arlington Progressive Action.

We then traveled over to Deleware to visit supporters at the Bank Farm Market and the Mean Bean coffee shop.

Click here the video box to watch excerpts of Sherrod's speech and Q&A with the audience.

We'll post more pictures of all the events soon.

02/05/2006 / Permalink / Central Ohio, Multimedia, Video, Volunteer, (all tags)