State Senator Capri Cafaro Becomes Ohio Senate Minority Leader

Ohio State Senator Capri Cafaro has become Ohio Senate Minority Leader on a vote of the Democratic State Senators. Cafaro is known to Medina County Democrats from her campaign for the Democratic nomination for the 13TH Congressional District in 2006. Cafaro defeated Ohio Senator Tom Roberts of Dayton for the position. Cafaro is 30 years old. She was appointed State Senator in 2007 after Marc Dann left the seat to become Ohio's Attorney General.

Representative Betty Sutton to Volunteer at Local Foodbanks

Congresswoman and Staff to Support Harvest for Hunger Campaign

Akron, OH – Congresswoman Betty Sutton (D-13OH) will volunteer at two local Foodbanks with members of her staff on Friday, February 22, 2008. The group will be sorting and repacking donated food items for distribution throughout the community as part of the Foodbank’s Harvest for Hunger Campaign.

The Harvest for Hunger Campaign, which had its kick-off on February 20, is the second largest food and fundraising drive of its kind in the nation. The Campaign is a collaboration of efforts from four Northeastern Ohio Foodbanks.

“The Second Harvest Foodbank of North Central Ohio and the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank are wonderful examples of community members coming together to help our neighbors in need,” Sutton said. “I am pleased to be able to volunteer with my staff to support such a worthy cause.”

Years ago, when Tony Hall represented the Dayton area in Congress, he advocated for Democratic Party members to get involved with local charities, especially ones dealing with hunger and poverty. His thinking was that the community should see Democrats involved not just politically, but in all ways. Representative Sutton's volunteering at local foodbanks is an example of a Democratic office-holder doing what Tony Hall advocated.

Congresswoman Sutton Making an Impact in DC on Trade

Picture at left: Congresswoman Betty Sutton with Democrats at the Medina County Democratic Party Spring Gala.

The Cleveland Plain Dealer had a story about Congresswoman Betty Sutton, (D-OH13), in last Thursday's edition of the paper. The article talks about how Sutton is making a difference on trade issues in D.C. This is from the article:

Barely two weeks after her swearing-in last January, the freshman Democrat from Copley Township drafted a polite but pointed letter to one of the most powerful committee chairmen in the House. The letter said she and other freshmen wanted to be consulted on a "critically important" issue: President Bush's "misguided trade agenda."
Sutton corralled signatures from 39 of 42 Democratic freshmen. And her work paid off. House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charlie Rangel met with the group in March to hear their views on revamping the nation's trade policy.

The article by Elizabeth Auster goes on to note that Sutton believes that many new Democratic Representatives, not only from the midwest, but from other areas of the country, believe that part of the reason for their victories was a belief among Americans that our country is losing out because of unfair trade competition.

Sutton's work is important because there are pending trade deals with several countries and Bush's fast track authority on trade agreements ends on June 30th. Once that fast track authority is gone, it will be significantly harder for this administration to get trade agreements passed in Congress, especially one that is Democratic. If you believe that Sutton is right about trade, contact your local Representative to Congress and tell him or her to support fair trade, not free trade.