Key black leaders finally behind their party's governor candidate (Ohio)

[The Straight Story]

Key black leaders finally behind their party's governor candidate

By JULIE CARR SMYTH
AP Statehouse Correspondent

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- A group of influential black Democrats - including Ohio's only black congresswoman and the mayors of the state's two biggest cities - were endorsing U.S. Rep. Ted Strickland for governor Thursday.

Such leaders' backing might have been a foregone conclusion in past races, but had become an important political goal for Strickland. He is the Democrats' first non-urban gubernatorial nominee in more than 50 years, and is running against Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell, a black Republican with the potential to draw larger than usual numbers of black voters to the GOP.

Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman, a one-time rival of Strickland's in the governor's race, kicked off a series of endorsement events to be held around the state Thursday. He and U.S. Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones of Cleveland were among key figures who had been withholding support from Strickland as they pressed him for signals that he would adequately support Ohio's urban centers.

He said that, though the governor's race is an important one for black Ohioans, the endorsement events were more about the concerns of urban areas.


"I wanted to make sure that cities stood tall in this next administration," Coleman said, in explaining his reticence to back Strickland, "because over the past many years, for too long, cities have been stepped on, we've been kicked, we've been more than ignored - we've been abused, by those in power."

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/O/OH_EYE_ON_OHIO_GOVERNOR_ENDORSEMENTS_OHOL-?SITE=WBNSTV&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

[billybob537]

1. Isn't BLACKWELL under investigation

for voting machine scam with Diebold.

[The Straight Story]

2. If not he should be :) (nt)

[Sadie5]

3. I read something about that

but never saw anything else about it. Blackwell was being looked at concerning the Ohio vote and how it turned out. saw the article here on DU.

[reichstag911]

4. Specifically,...

...I think what they've been looking at is his investment in Diebold at the time he awarded them the contract to supply touch-screen machines to Ohio.