2016 Congressional Election, Ohio’s 9th District: Marcy Kaptur the longest-serving Ohio woman in the House
By Elyse Drake
On the night before Election Day in 2012, a student from John Carroll University was helping with Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur’s campaign. The student started what seemed to be a normal night of volunteering but it ended up being one he would never forget. The student had the chance of a lifetime to be able to spend 45 minutes of one-on-one time with Kaptur. She had a discussion with the student, answered his questions and made an unforgettable impression. Colin Swearingen, a professor of U.S. Elections at John Carroll University, was teaching this student at the time and said, “To me, you know, agree or disagree with somebody’s politics or things like that, but those are the little things that speak to who you are as a representative.”
Kaptur, a Democrat, is up for re-election to represent the Ninth Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives, where she has been serving since 1983. She is the longest-serving Ohio woman in the House, which makes her the most senior.
Donald Philip Larson is Kaptur’s opponent in the upcoming election. Larson has never held office; however, this does not stop Kaptur from taking the election seriously. When asked if Larson is a threat to Kaptur, her Chief of Staff Steve Katich touched on how, although she does not know if Larson is a threat, Kaptur is campaigning vigorously.
“She’s putting her message out there, spending time with constituents, participating in forums where she can and letting the voters make that decision. Whether Mr. Larson makes a full court press or doesn’t, she is doing what she would do anyway,” Katich stated.
Kaptur has a number of priorities, which you can read about in detail on her website. Katich discussed these priorities, which include agriculture, the environment, Great Lakes restoration, jobs and the economy.
Kaptur aims to make sure the economy is stable and offers jobs that can sustain people in the region. The condition of Lake Erie is critical to the economy and life in Ohio, Katich noted. Kaptur also has a strong focus on making sure to protect people’s retirement they have earned—social security, savings and investments—so that if another crisis like the stock market crash in 2008 happens, people will be safe.
The Great Lakes are another major focus for Kaptur. There are many contributors to the lakes not being in the best condition, such as agricultural runoff, communities dumping waste into the lake and all the manufacturing in the area. There has also been a history of toxic algae blooms contaminating Toledo’s water.
Kaptur and the National Science Foundation together presented the University of Toledo with an award of $224,937 for a three-year project to research the threat to drinking water supplies due to the increase of harmful algae blooms. Research will examine how to create a sustainable treatment approach. The award begins this month and will continue through 2019, according to an article published by The Toledo Blade.
Kaptur is not only concerned about water quality in her district. During the Flint water crisis, she went to the Michigan town to help assess the situation, according to the Washington Examiner as well as Katich. Just a few weeks ago, a bill was passed to provide funding to Flint to address their problems.
Dredging is another potential contributor to the condition of Lake Erie today. This is more of a dispute at the Cleveland end of District 9, where the question of whether the dredged materials are contaminated or not is still open. The state says they are, but the Environmental Protection Agency says not so much.
The Great Lakes need protection, in Kaptur’s view. “It takes this change of the way people think about the lake and the way they treat waste and materials. You have to think about these things as a region and make sure we reduce our impact,” Katich said.
In light of the controversy and protests involving the Black Lives Matter movement that have been happening over police use of force in places like Cleveland, Baltimore, Chicago and Ferguson, Missouri, but also recently in Charlotte, North Carolina and Tulsa, Oklahoma, Kaptur has encouraged activity at the state and federal level to make sure that the highest level of training is available for all law enforcement officials. She also encouraged that if additional training is needed, whether it is sensitivity training or state law enforcement training, that there are resources available for that as well.
Kaptur has been in regular conversation with people from Black Lives Matter, and Katich mentioned, “We always want to leave the channel of communication open between elected officials and any group that has a concern.” He then stated shortly afterwards, “All the groups have a place at the table in terms of the conversation.”
Around 600 people have died in Cuyahoga County this year due to heroin overdoses, and Kaptur is doing all she can to help stop the epidemic, Katich said. She is a supporter of the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act, which focuses on drug prevention and recovery support.
The congresswoman has been very active in working with communities to help educate them on the dangers of opioid and heroin abuse, stated Katich. She devoted a lot of time to get additional funding to the state and she is trying to lift a cap so communities increase treatments to help people recovering from addiction and overdose.
This year’s presidential election has been like no other, with Donald Trump having no political experience and Hillary Clinton having the possibility of being the first female president. The race has been very heated and full of scandals like Trump’s “locker-room talk” video and Clinton’s emails. Many people are saying that they are not going to vote because of the impression both candidates have left on them. Katich’s advice to the younger generation is “to be vigilant, to be aware, to be engaged and to participate where time allows, because we need new energy and political leadership in this country, no question about it.”
When discussing elections and Kaptur’s campaign, Swearingen said, “She is seen as a competent legislator and an excellent representative of Ohio, of her district, not just because she’s female but because of the work she does, because of the way she pays attention to her district and the way that she works with the people.”
Kaptur may be busy, in other words, but she never fails to let her district know they matter.
