Posted on 01/20/2002 9:37:59 AM PST by Torie
Hall's stronghold threatened
GOP likely to gain control of 3rd District
By Ken McCall and Lawrence Budd
e-mail address: larry_budd@coxohio.com Dayton Daily News
Caught in a squeeze of incumbent Republican forces, Democratic Congressman Tony Hall's 3rd District will not only lose Huber Heights, but also northeast Dayton, the Northridge area of Harrison Twp. and most of Riverside, under the redistricting map pending before the Ohio legislature.
By pushing the district to the south and east, state Republican sources say their numbers show the 3rd District will shift from majority Democratic to one that appears solidly Republican. Measuring on what Republicans are calling the Bush index — the percentage of votes George W. Bush got in the 2000 presidential election — the 3rd District goes from a 48 percent Bush vote to 54 percent.
In Dayton, the district would lose much of the northeast section of the city — an area state Sen. Jeff Jacobson, the Montgomery County Republican chairman, defined as east of Keowee Street and Northridge, and north of U.S. 35 — except for former Dayton Mayor Mike Turner's precinct in the Huffman Historic District.
Turner is expected to seek the Republican nomination to run this fall in the 3rd District.
The sections of Dayton and Montgomery County being lost will go into the 8th District, represented by West Chester Republican John Boehner. Hall's district will pick up the southwestern corner of the county from Boehner.
State GOP Chairman Robert Bennett said he pushed for a Republican presence in Montgomery and other urban counties because Republicans control the U.S. House and need to understand urban problems.
The move, however, has enraged some Democrats both in the Statehouse and Montgomery County, including county Party Chairman Dennis Lieberman, who called it "pure politics at its worst."
"It's simply a disaster in our community and for the people in our community," Lieberman said. "There's no legitimate purpose for any of this except for politics."
Hall's office has been more cautious, saying only that the Dayton congressman has always believed Montgomery County should remain in one congressional district.
"At this point in time, Tony is not expressing serious concerns," spokesman Michael Gessel said Friday.
Gessel said Hall has expressed his views to Statehouse lawmakers, and noted that the map is not yet law.
State legislators, however, appeared to have settled on the map, which is to be voted on this week.
The proposed 3rd District is definitely more Republican, Gessel admitted, but he said the toughness of the race this fall would be determined more by the strength of Hall's opponent.
Hall, a Dayton Democrat, was first elected to Congress in 1978 and won handily throughout the last decade. In 2000, he faced no Republican challenger, only a Natural Law Party candidate. A number of better-known politicians, however, are considering a run this November in the redrawn district.
Still, Gessel said, Hall is a "different kind of Democrat" whose views would appeal to voters in the new district.
Hall's well-known work on hunger and humanitarian issues has sometimes taken him overseas, but it has also led him on tours through Appalachian areas of southern Ohio.
The new 3rd District will be dominated by Montgomery County, which will account for 74 percent of the required 630,730 residents per district. Montgomery County overall, including the areas being removed from the 3rd District, has been politically competitive, and supported Democrats Bill Clinton and Al Gore for president.
The remaining 165,635 people are in northern Warren County, and Clinton and Highland counties — territory that over the last decade has gone strongly Republican in congressional and presidential votes. Between 1992 and 2000, only Highland County has supported a Democratic candidate for president or Congress, having gone for incumbent Rep. Ted Strickland, D-Lucasville, in 1998 and 2000.
Nonetheless, Montgomery County Republicans seem to have ground to cover introducing themselves to voters in the new areas, particularly in rural Clinton and Highland counties.
Jon Hapner, a rock-ribbed Republican and Hillsboro native, shook his head in ignorance last week when asked about former Dayton Mayor Turner, but had no problem pegging Hall.
"He's big on feeding the poor," said Hapner, a former municipal judge.
Turner's name drew similarly blank looks from a group of women gathered at a Wilmington bookstore for a Quaker meeting. One of the four women was familiar with Hall.
"I was sick to hear we were losing Strickland, but when you hear we're getting Hall, it's not as bad as it could have been," said Helen Wiegel of Wilmington.
Mark Lerch, owner of Lerch's Barnlot Ltd., a farm supply store outside Hillsboro, also was unfamiliar with Turner, but recognized Hall.
Lerch suggested Highland and Clinton counties might benefit from the alliance with Warren County, the second fastest growing county in Ohio.
"In 5-10 years, we'll be having the same growing pains," Lerch said.
Hapner, however, wasn't so sure.
He said Highland and Clinton counties have been part of what's now Strickland's district since World War II, and "what little voice we had would be louder" with Strickland, a Democrat, than even a GOP congressman also representing Montgomery and Warren counties.
"That's politics," he added. "Republicans have control. They're going to do what they want to. It was the same when Democrats were in control."
In Warren County, the 3rd District would include Carlisle, Franklin, Springboro, Waynesville and the northern half of fast-growing Mason, along with Massie, Wayne, Turtle Creek and Clear Creek Twps. Lebanon and communities to the south would be in the redrawn 2nd District of Rep. Rob Portman, R-Cincinnati.
Despite Montgomery County's dominance, Warren County Republicans are hopeful the change will leave their voters with more influence, if not a local representative in Congress.
"I think we're going to have more of a say-so," said Leslie Spaeth, county GOP chief who lives in Deerfield Twp.
In addition to Turner, state Rep. Dennis Stapleton, R-Washington Court House, and Roy Brown are considering entering the race in the more Republican 3rd District.
Brown runs Brown Publishing Co. and his father and grandfather — Clarence Brown Sr. and Clarence "Bud" Brown Jr. — were congressman.
Brown Publishing, which began in Blanchester, a small town on the Warren-Clinton county line, now publishes more than 16 newspapers including the Kettering-Oakwood Times and Centerville-Bellbrook Times, as well as dailies in the Clinton and Highland county seats.
"He'll get very favorable publicity," Hapner said.
Former Waynesville Mayor Charles Sanders, a Democrat, says he will run, if Hall doesn't.
Jim Nathanson, a longtime political consultant to the Ohio Republican Party and advisor to Turner, said the new district's shape was determined both by population and political turf.
"There's all sorts of political pressures all through this map," Nathanson said.
Ohio is losing one seat in Congress, based on population shifts in the 2000 census. Each Ohio district had to have 630,730 people, and most districts had to expand to hit the new target. The 3rd District needed to add nearly 75,000 residents.
Republicans control the Ohio Statehouse and governor's office, so controlled the new maps, and incumbent Republican congressmen were the strongest "pressure points," Nathanson said.
In Southwest Ohio, he said, Hall's district was surrounded by strong incumbents. Cincinnati Republican Steve Chabot's 1st District had to grow north into Butler County because Portman also lives in the Cincinnati area. That forced Boehner's district to grow elsewhere. And other Republican incumbents forced that growth into Montgomery County.
Local Republicans wanted to have Warren and Montgomery counties make up the 3rd District.
Portman, however, didn't want to give up all of Warren County, Nathanson said. Portman has represented part of the county for nine years, and his grandfather owned The Golden Lamb restaurant in Lebanon for decades.
"If you move something in one place, it reverberates throughout the map," Nathanson said. "All of a sudden, the only way you get the number of votes you needed was to squirt out into Clinton and Highland counties."
Jacobson, the Montgomery County GOP chairman, called the new district fair, competitive and "a reasonable opportunity for both parties. . . . It's a little better for Republicans, but it's not, by any stretch of the imagination, a strongly Republican district."
He believes the new configuration would be good for the region.
"I think it's best for the region to have the strong influence of several congressmen," he said.
Lieberman disagreed.
"It destroys our ability to bring home the things we need," he said. "We won't have a congressman who is concerned solely about Montgomery County. It's not done to help the people of our community. It's done purely for politics. It's done to make a Republican majority even stronger."
For Educational and Discussion Purposes Only
Districts are already an arbitrary thing, and the only thing that influences how they are re-drawn is politics.
Losers always squeal, but there's no other way to do it.
Glad to see this one is breaking the GOP way.
GOP Tossup Net GOP
Arizona 1
Colo 1
Conn -1 1
Florida 3
Georgia -2 1
Indiana -1 1
Iowa -1 1
Kansas 1
Mary -2 1
Mich 2
Minn 1
Miss -1 1
Nevada 1
New Ham -1 1
New Mex -1 1
NY -1
NC -1 1
Ohio 1
Okla -1
Penn 2
Tenn -1 1
Texas 2 1
Utah 1
Totals -4 17 4.5
GOP Dem
Others
Larsen 1
Simmons 1
Hostettler 1
Baldwin 1
Israel 1
Capito 1 0
Tony Hall is for slave reperations I believe, and that could cause some problems.
GOP gives in on NE Ohio voter districts
01/18/02
Stephen Ohlemacher
Plain Dealer Bureau
Columbus
- It doesn't happen often, but Statehouse Democrats got a taste of political power this week, and they used it yesterday to redraw the political map of Northeast Ohio.
GOP leaders agreed yesterday to move the new congressional district of Rep. Dennis Kucinich, a Cleveland Democrat, out of Summit County, squeezing the whole thing back in Cuyahoga County, where it is now.
The Republicans also agreed to add two more Akron wards to the new district of Rep. Tom Sawyer, an Akron Democrat, helping him shore up his political base, Republican and Democratic leaders said last night.
In exchange, the Democrats agreed to provide the votes to help the Republicans avoid delaying the May 7 primary or holding a second primary.
Statehouse Democrats had complained because an earlier Republican map could have weakened the political bases of both Kucinich and Sawyer.
Usually, such complaints hit deaf ears at the Statehouse, where the Republicans have controlled the entire state legislature and the governor's office since 1995.
"We're not completely happy, but there are some areas that we felt came out OK," said Ohio House Minority Leader Dean DePiero, a Parma Democrat.
"Satisfaction means different things to different people," DePiero said.
Even with the changes, Sawyer's district includes only about 40 percent of the city of Akron. The district is solidly Democratic, but it includes Youngstown and Warren, potentially attracting Democratic primary challengers from Trumbull or Mahoning counties. Two potential Democratic candidates, State Sen. Robert Hagan of Youngstown and State Rep. Anthony Latell of Girard, said last night they are considering running in the district, even if it means taking on Sawyer in a primary.
Sawyer complained earlier in the week, saying he didn't like Summit County being split into three congressional districts. It is now in two. He did not return repeated phone calls yesterday.
U.S. Rep. James Traficant, a Mahoning County Democrat, could also be a primary opponent. Traficant has said he will run for re-election, despite facing a federal trial next month on corruption charges. His district is being carved into three others, and he has not decided which one to run in.
Kucinich said: "I'm grateful to the Republican leadership for any consideration they have given to me and to my constituents. I hope to be able to continue to serve the people who elected me."
State Rep. James Trakas of Independence, Cuyahoga County Republican chairman, said he was unhappy that his party gave in to the Democrats on the map. Trakas wanted to stretch Kucinich's district into Summit County, and to give U.S. Rep. Sherrod Brown, a Lorain Democrat, a more Republican district. Instead, Brown gets a relatively safe district in parts of Lorain, Cuyahoga, Medina and Summit counties.
"You're talking about 80,000 Republicans [in Cuyahoga County] who are going to be represented by very liberal Democrats, with almost no chance of beating them," Trakas said.
The House State Government Committee voted 8-4 last night to approve the new map, sending it to the full House for a vote on Tuesday. The Senate is expected to quickly concur.
Ohio lawmakers must redraw congressional district boundaries every 10 years to account for population changes documented in the census. Ohio will lose a seat in the U.S. House, going from 19 to 18, because the state's population grew slower than other parts of the country.
The Democrats garnered their new, if short-lived, power through Republican missteps. The Republicans took so long to agree on new congressional district boundaries that they would have been forced to delay the May 7 primary without Democratic help to approve a new map as an emergency bill. Emergency measures require two-thirds majority votes, meaning the Republicans would need at least one Democratic vote in the Senate and seven in the House.
House Republican leaders floated the idea of holding a separate congressional primary in late summer, at a cost of about $7 million. But the costly option was widely criticized.
Senate Minority Leader Leigh Herington, a Portage County Democrat, said his caucus would provide the necessary vote, even though he's not entirely happy with the new map. DePiero said he still needs to talk with his caucus, but Republicans said they expect House Democrats to go along.
Under the new map, U.S. Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, a Cleveland Democrat, would get a safe Democratic seat in eastern Cuyahoga County. U.S. Rep. Steve LaTourette, a Madison Republican, would get a safe Republican district in Lake, Geauga and Ashtabula counties and parts of Summit, Portage, Cuyahoga and Trumbull counties. The district of U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur, a Toledo Democrat, would stretch east all the way into Lorain County.
Plain Dealer Politics Writer Mark Naymik contributed to this story.
For Educational and Discussion Purposes Only; Not for Commcercial Use
The one thing I can say about Tony Hall is that he is pro-life, and for that I give him credit. Such a stand takes no small measure of courage in a party that remains solidly pro-death. But, other than that, Tony is a party-line Dem, so if a pro-life 'pubbie can get the seat from him, its a net plus, IMO.
Pro-gun black democrat. WOW. He should be put in a museum.
I caught Sherrod getting a Monica from one of my news reporters in my Radio Station Van, if that is what you mean. It was what you call your Eye Witness News event. Or as my Program Director said, as a news person, she sucks and she did. I am pretty certain she did not get an exclusive. Sherrod is a real mommies boy from Mansfield Ohio who has a lot of ambition and is a fan of everything Kennedy.
My personal opinion is that Ohio in the next congress will have 2 fewer Democrats and one more Republican. The Democrats lose one seat by redistricting. No incumbant Republican is in danger of going down in defeat. They carved up Trafficant so he is redistricting toast. And the Hall district may very well change hands. All the other Republicans and Democrat seats are pretty secure.
The one major change in Ohio in the last 10 years is Columbus is now a Democratic town. Most Ohio population centers including Cleveland, Columbus and Toledo are Democrat towns. It used to be that Columbus and Cincinnati could almost balance Cleveland and Toledo... but no more.
Gore came within 3 points of winning Ohio. I think Gore's decision to drop out of Ohio 3 weeks before the election cost him the presidency more than Florida did.
But Dickie Gephardt is not going to be speaker. The Gerrymandering is not what it used to be, but the net result is a Republican advantage this cycle. They will hold the house.
Tony Hall is as liberal as they come!
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