City mayor Chase Ritenauer, along with the city’s elected auditor, treasurer, law director, and eight city council members threw their support behind Miss Kaptur.
Miss Kaptur is battling U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D., Cleveland) for the Democratic nomination in the March 6 primary. Lorain is considered the swing county of the new 9th District because neither Miss Kaptur nor Mr. Kucinich have represented it in Congress.
However, several elected officials said they have come to know Miss Kaptur from her nine years of representing southern Lorain County, including Oberlin, and said they are counting on her clout as the second-ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee.
Mr. Ritenauer said, “I look at Congresswoman Kaptur as someone who puts pragmatism over politics, someone who puts policy over politics. She understands a lot of the issues that are plaguing cities like Lorain. Her position on the appropriations committee is certainly beneficial. We can be sure that what our views and concerns are they’re certainly going to be passed along to Washington D.C. This woman is going to be a true advocate for the city of Lorain.”
In her speech to the crowd, which included some Democratic elected county officials, Miss Kaptur highlighted projects she has worked on along Lake Erie. She called the new district “a Democratic powerhouse” because it includes portions of two large cities, Toledo and Cleveland, and areas in between.
She said she obtained federal support for programs at Lorain County Community College; highlighted her intent to reform the NAFTA free trade agreement, and said she would focus on bringing defense projects to the district as well as railroad transportation.