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RE-ELECT DENNIS KUCINICH TO CONGRESS!
http://www.kucinich.us/
A lifetime of public service
The public service career of Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich dates back more than 40 years, beginning in his late teens when his growing interest in government, public policy, and politics attracted him to Cleveland City Hall for regular meetings of the City Council and other municipal boards and commissions. Inspired deeply by President John F. Kennedy, Kucinich saw government as the vehicle to address the problems of poverty, unemployment, crime, and social injustice that he had seen firsthand growing up. As the oldest of seven children whose parents, Frank and Virginia, struggled daily to pay the rent and meet living expenses, he developed a strong sense of self reliance and a burning desire to address the ills of society that had afflicted his family and families like theirs.
He mounted his first campaign for elected office when he was only 20 years old, and, like most political newcomers, he lost to a longtime incumbent Councilman — but only barely. Two years later, in 1969, he ran again, won, and took office at the age of 23.
After several years on City Council as the outspoken champion of his working class neighborhood, Kucinich was elected citywide to the post of Clerk of Cleveland Municipal Court. Then in 1977, he ran for Mayor and defeated a three-term incumbent who, most analysts said at the time, had lost touch with his own grassroots base. When Kucinich took office in 1977 at the age of 31, he was the youngest person ever elected to lead a major American city.
Mayor of Cleveland and Muny Light
Kucinich was elected Mayor in large part on his promise to save the city’s municipally owned electric system which offered customers significantly lower rates than the private, investor-owned utility. His predecessor had agreed to sell it, creating an electric monopoly that Kucinich and his supporters saw as dangerously anti-consumer. Barely a year after taking office, Cleveland’s banks, which had close ties with the private utility, demanded that he sell “Muny Light” as a pre-condition of extending credit to the city.
The attempted political blackmail failed to persuade the courageous, young Mayor. But, in an incident unprecedented in modern American politics, the Cleveland banks plunged the city into fiscal default for a mere $15 million despite being offered triple collateral to protect the loan.
By holding to his promise and putting principle above politics, Kucinich lost his re-election bid and his political career was temporarily derailed. He served one additional term in the Cleveland City Council before taking a 12-year sabbatical from public life. But today, Kucinich stands vindicated for having confronted the Enron of his day, and for saving the municipal power company. “There is little debate,” wrote Cleveland Magazine in May 1996, “over the value of Muny Light today. Now Cleveland Public Power, it is a proven asset to the city that between 1985 and 1995 saved its customers $195,148,520 over what they would have paid CEI.” He also preserved hundreds of union jobs. In 1998 the Cleveland City Council honored Dennis for “…having the courage and foresight to refuse to sell the city’s municipal electric system.”
He returned to public office in 1994 when he was elected to the Ohio State Senate. In 1996, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, where he is now serving his sixth consecutive term.
Kucinich is widely regarded as the most vocal opponent of the Iraq War in the U.S. Congress. In 2002, when the Administration was pushing for a resolution of authorization to proceed with military intervention, Kucinich rallied 125 member of the House to vote against the authorization measure. He has voted against every war funding authorization bill since, and he is the author of legislation to end the war, withdraw all U.S. forces, and turn security and peace-keeping responsibilities over to a multi-national force that includes representatives from countries in the region.He currently serves as Chairman of the Domestic Policy subcommittee in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Author: oz22verizon
Keywords: obama clinton edwards kucinich ron paul nader romney McCain giuiliani gore moore college students olbermann mathews
Added: February 28, 2008
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