Container Top
Homes   Jobs   Cars   Shopping
Search

Events Calendar

EVENT SEARCH:

In This Section


Most Read Stories


Blogs:


Pets:
First Person: Inside St. Louis Pit Bull Shelter

The Heldenfiles:
Talking Television

Patrick McManamon:
Mangini opens up to national media

Akron Zips:
Interview with a Temple blogger

Tribe Matters:
Indians announce spring dates

Cleveland Browns:
Quinn tabbed to start against Ravens Monday night

Kent State Sports:
KSU Notes – November 11

Cleveland Cavaliers:
Cavs: Yeah, on That Issue of Privacy

Buckeye Blogging:
Buckeyes Roll 100-60 / Season Outlook

Varsity Letters:
Twinsburg likes chances, but warns offense needs to deliver

All Da King's Men:
Democrats Divided Over Abortion

Blog of Mass Destruction:
Simply Incapable of Telling The Truth

Akron Law Café:
Study says 2,200 uninsured veterans died in 2008 due to lack of health insurance.

See Jane Style:
Muffle Your Muffler

Car Chase:
Clock Tender- Extending the Life of Collector Car Clocks

Let's Talk Real Estate:
Rumors: Akron Starbucks Closing

Ohio Travels with Betty:
Kimberly requests information on living in Columbus, Ohio.

Sound Check:
Aeromsith looking for new singer as Steven Tyler contemplates solo career

HRLite House:
Personal Rant – Why People Do Not Live in Northeast Ohio

Akron Gamer:
Video: 'Modern Warfare 2' hits the streets

Economy top issue in the 14th District

LaTourette, O'Neill both acknowledge crisis. Education, health care also spark interest

By Bob Downing
Beacon Journal staff writer

The struggling American economy is the No. 1 issue in the 14th Congressional District race between incumbent Steven C. LaTourette and Democratic challenger Bill O'Neill.

''The economy overshadows everything right now,'' said Republican LaTourette, who has served 14 years in Congress.

Likewise, O'Neill, a nurse and a retired appeals court judge, said, ''Our economy is in crisis.''

The district covers all of Ashtabula, Geauga and Lake counties and parts of Summit, Portage, Cuyahoga and Trumbull counties.

Lake County has 35 percent of the voters in the district, but eastern Summit County accounts for 22 percent and will play a key role in the vote.

In radio advertisements, O'Neill knocks LaTourette for accepting $1 million in campaign contributions from investment firms and contributing to the financial meltdown. That, O'Neill says, is ''unforgivable.''

LaTourette called the ads ''insulting'' and noted that other members of Congress got far bigger campaign contributions from the financial services industry over the years.

He said he voted against the $700 billion bailout of Wall Street because ''it was a lousy piece of legislation.''

Next year, Congress will be working on a new federal highway bill that could produce $4 billion for Ohio and create new jobs, LaTourette said.

Other key issues are education and the cost of health care, he said.

LaTourette said universal health care is unlikely to ever win approval, but he and U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Toledo, have backed an alternate bill to provide help to uninsured Americans.

Northeast Ohio needs to play to its economic strengths: outstanding hospitals and development of biotech industries, he said.

He has mailed out fliers to voters and will rely heavily on television and radio spots, he said.

One of O'Neill's biggest assets is name recognition. His name has appeared five times on the ballot over 15 years in five of the counties. And he sees himself as a stronger candidate than other Democrats who have challenged LaTourette.

O'Neill is a retired judge of the Ohio 11th District Court of Appeals in Warren who twice ran unsuccessfully for the Ohio Supreme Court. His appeals court district covers two-thirds of the 14th District.

O'Neill says voters in the 14th District are angry at Congress and scared about what's happening, which he said makes LaTourette more vulnerable than ever before.

O'Neill supports an end to American troops in Iraq.

If Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., runs strong in Northeast Ohio, as presidential polls are indicating, that could provide a big boost, O'Neill said.

He said radio ads will be one of his biggest weapons in the district.


Bob Downing can be reached at 330-996-3745 or bdowning@thebeaconjournal.com.

 

The struggling American economy is the No. 1 issue in the 14th Congressional District race between incumbent Steven C. LaTourette and Democratic challenger Bill O'Neill.

Get the full article here.


Story tools

Email  Email   Print  Print   Save  Save   Reprint  Reprint   Popular  Most Popular   Reprint  Subscribe

Share this story

AddThis Social Bookmark Button


adonis

Posted 01:46 PM, 10/13/2008

These two candidates offer two excellent reasons why we need an independent one and a third party. Too bad the game is rigged and all the voter is offered are two wings of the same bird of prey.
















Most Commented Stories