Saturday, February 19, 2000
Dems seeking to oust DeWine differ little
Celeste, Cordray and McMickle seek U.S. Senate seat
BY MICHAEL HAWTHORNE
Enquirer Columbus Bureau
COLUMBUS — Strapped for cash and desperate for a candidate to challenge a well-financed incumbent, Ohio Democrats flirted with running TV talkmeister Jerry Springer for the U.S. Senate this year.
But after a deluge of media attention and outrage from some party regulars, the former Cincinnati mayor decided to stick with his popular and lucrative daytime talk show, leaving three relatively unknown hopefuls willing to take on Republican Sen. Mike DeWine of Cedarville.
While Mr. DeWine enjoys a healthy lead in opinion polls, Democrats vow to mount an aggressive fight this fall to regain the seat held for years by Democrat Howard Metzenbaum.
“I don't think the people of Ohio really know Mike DeWine,” said the Rev. Marvin McMickle, a Baptist minister from Cleveland and one of the senator's would-be challengers. “Our job is to show the voters he is out of touch with the concerns of Ohioans.”
In addition to the Rev. Mr. McMickle, the two other major candidates in the March 7 primary are Ted Celeste, a suburban Columbus real estate broker and brother of former Gov. Richard Celeste, and Richard Cordray, a former state lawmaker from suburban Columbus and the party's 1998 candidate for attorney general.
The three men have appeared together at three forums across the state sponsored by the Ohio Democratic Party. While the events were billed as “debates,” they were more akin to TV infomercials. About the only issue the candidates have disagreed about is which one of them has the best chance to knock off Mr. DeWine.
All three generally echo the dominant rhetoric in Democratic campaigns this year. They support using part of the federal budget surplus to strengthen Social Security and Medicare. They also back legislation that would add prescription drug coverage for se nior citizens and allow patients to sue their HMOs.
Moreover, they vow to fight for union-friendly trade policies, a key concern for labor leaders that provide much of the campaign cash and organizational support in Democratic campaigns.
“The problem all three of them have is they are largely unknown,” said Tim Burke, chairman of the Hamilton County Democratic Party.
With little money to run a
splashy TV ad campaign during the primary, the Rev. Mr. McMickle contends his status as the only African-American running for the U.S. Senate this year will attract voters to the entire Democratic ticket.
“There are people in Ohio who would like to make history,” he said. “My candidacy also would draw national attention to Ohio as a progressive state.”
Picking up on the top concern among voters — education — Mr. Cordray vows that his first piece of legislation would pump more federal money into rebuilding schools and reducing class sizes. Vice President Al Gore has made the same proposal one of the hallmarks of his presidential campaign.
“Our schools have been shamefully neglected,” Mr. Cordray said.
All three candidates talk about the importance of luring lucrative high-tech jobs to Ohio, but Mr. Celeste says his nine-year term on the Ohio State University board of trustees gives him the background to accomplish that goal. During his tenure, OSU started developing a science and technology center that seeks to turn research into business plans.
“I've got all the political underpin nings without the baggage of holding political office,” said Mr. Celeste, who coordinated his brother's campaigns and Jimmy Carter's 1976 campaign in Ohio. “I think Ohioans are ready for somebody with new ideas to help lead the state into the new century.”
One of the few issues the three men disagree about is capital punishment. Mr. Cordray supports the death penalty, while Mr. Celeste and the Rev. Mr. McMickle oppose it.
Also, at a forum in Akron this week, Mr. Cordray accused the Rev. Mr. McMickle of wanting to boost the retirement age and increase payroll taxes to pump more money into Social Security.
“I don't believe we should be fixing this system by skimming the retirees,” Mr. Cordray said.
The Rev. Mr. McMickle said he didn't support either idea but noted they are part of the debate about the retirement fund's future.
All three contend Mr. DeWine is vulnerable for his votes against campaign finance reform, an increase in the minimum wage and a nuclear test-ban treaty. They also chided the incumbent for backing Republican-authored tax cuts that Democrats contend were tilted in favor of the wealthy.
“Shame on us Democrats to listen to the newspapers who say Mike DeWine cannot be defeated,” Mr. Celeste said.
The Rev. Mr. McMickle, a Shaker Heights school board member and unsuccessful congressional candidate in 1998, boasts endorsements from Mr. Metzenbaum and a slew of labor unions and party organizations in several counties, including Hamilton and Cuyahoga, the key battleground in Democratic primaries.
But while the Rev. Mr. McMickle's name may be on the sample ballots distributed by the Cuyahoga County Democratic Party, opinion polls show Mr. Celeste's last name is the early draw in the primary race.
Mr. Cordray, a former Jeopardy! champion, is favored by the United Auto Workers union. He also has been endorsed by former Gov. John Gilligan, now a member of the Cincinnati Board of Education.
The Democratic Party has barred a fourth candidate from participating in its candidate forums across the state. Daniel Radakovich is a temporary worker and party activist from the Cleveland area.
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