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Republican Carr won't give age, profession, education background and refuses to give any interviews
By Dennis J. Willard
Beacon Journal Columbus Bureau
Published on Friday, Oct 10, 2008
COLUMBUS: Truth be told, it is not much of an Ohio Senate race.
State Sen. Tom Sawyer, D-Akron, has not seen his Republican opponent from Uniontown, James Carr, on the campaign trail nor has he bumped into him during numerous editorial board meetings to determine endorsements.
The winner will represent more than 300,000 people in the 28th Ohio Senate district, which encompasses part of Summit County, including Akron, and all of Portage County.
Sawyer said he plans to advertise on cable television in areas like Portage County where he is lesser known, but his name identification and approval ratings are extremely high after being in public office since the '70s.
Carr was unavailable for an interview for this story. He has also declined requests to meet with editorial writers for area newspapers.
Carr filed the necessary paperwork for a campaign committee with the Ohio Secretary of State's office, but has yet to report raising any money.
Sawyer said he continues to meet with voters and organizations in the district to discuss the key issues that the Ohio General Assembly will confront in the next legislative session.
''I have been using the campaign to talk about the issues like school funding, economic development, and the important role of higher education in spurring job creation,'' Sawyer said.
Gov. Ted Strickland has promised to roll out an education funding plan and Sawyer said he has submitted his own ideas to the governor to bring stability to local districts to reduce the need to go back for levies every few years.
Sawyer has extensive experience in public service. He was an Ohio House member for six years before being elected mayor of Akron in 1983 and served in the U.S. House from 1986 until he lost a Democratic primary in 2002.
Four years later, Sawyer reignited his political career by defeating incumbent State Board of Education member Deborah Owens Fink. Fink became increasingly unpopular after pushing the state board to teach creationism alongside evolution in the state's science curriculum.
Shortly after taking his seat on the board, Sawyer was appointed in February, 2007 to fill a vacancy in the Ohio Senate when Kimberly Zurz resigned after being named Strickland's Department of Commerce director.
Sawyer is ranking minority member on the Senate Ways and Means and Economic Development Committee, and sits on the finance and education committees in the upper chamber.
He has sponsored four bills since coming to the Ohio Senate. None have become law, but his anti-stalking bill has been voted out of the Senate Judiciary Criminal Justice Committee and is awaiting a vote on the Senate floor.
Republicans hold a 21-12 majority in the Ohio Senate so few Democrat bills become law.
Sawyer's other proposals include placing restrictions on billing for 9-1-1 services, removing restrictions on unionized governmental workers that prohibit political work in their off-hours, and a measure to name a portion of I-76 after two veterans who died in the Iraq war.
He has raised less than $50,000, according to the most recent campaign reports on file in the Ohio Secretary of State's office, with Sawyer's biggest contributions coming from the First Energy PAC, Wayne Boich, a coal entrepreneur, and the Ohio Education Association, the state's largest teacher's union.
Dennis J. Willard can be reached at 614-224-1613 or dwillard@thebeaconjournal.com.
TOM SAWYER
HOME: Akron.
PARTY: Democrat.
AGE: 63.
FAMILY: Married.
OCCUPATION: Full-time lawmaker.
EDUCATION: University of Akron, B.A., M.A.
POLITICAL EXPERIENCE: Ohio House member, 1977-1983, Akron mayor, 1984-87, U.S. House member, 1987-2003, State Board of Education member, 2007, appointed to Ohio Senate, February, 2007.
JAMES CARR
HOME: Uniontown.
PARTY: Republican.
COLUMBUS: Truth be told, it is not much of an Ohio Senate race.
Get the full article here.
Comments
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Akron, OH
Posted 06:59 AM, 10/10/2008
Tom Sawyer vs. Republican Wicker Man
Tallmadge, OH
Posted 07:10 AM, 10/10/2008
I'll never forgive Sawyer for voting for NAFTA. I couldn't vote for this man ever. I'll be voting for the Ghost.
Akron, OH
Posted 07:34 AM, 10/10/2008
Sawyer is a perfect example of why the demoncritters will vote for any-buddy as long as they have a D behind their name. The one and only time Sawyer did anythin', he voted for NAFTA. Not exactly sumthin' to be proud of.
Posted 08:04 AM, 10/10/2008
I would vote for Jeffery Dahmer if he were on the ballot ahead of Tom Sawyer. He's an arrogant political hack
Posted 12:30 PM, 10/10/2008
Tom was a winner for a long time, until other crafty people changed the boundaries of his district. Then without his usual voters and friends he lost, which was no surprise.
I like Tom but cannot vote for him and his party that still ignor the bottom line. That is the Right-To-Life...if he does not agree to that, then no vote...
Posted 07:48 PM, 10/10/2008
I will never forgive Tom for his historical deciding
vote for NAFTA. I would not vote for him if I lived
in the 28th district. Ask the people at UAW local 856 and the other folks at Meggitt Aircraft how they
feel about Tom Sawyer and NAFTA when it comes to the move to Mexico.
I am a registered democrat but given the chance I make exception and would not vote for anyone for this office.
