Dennis Kucinich is acting a bit like a man who owns a reliable and somewhat boring suburban jalopy, but has his eye on a much swankier ride from Pennsylvania Avenue.
Even though his D.C. Office has repeatedly declined comment on his aspirations beyond being president, Kucinich did sign and return a survey last week sent by the Cuyahoga Democratic Party.The letter is sent to all incumbents and asks one question: are you seeking our endorsement for re-election in 2008? Party officials said he answered in the affirmative.
So, now that Kucinich for congress is a given, what will it take for any one of his opponents to beat him? Political observers like Helen Knipe Smith are considering that right now.
Smith is a local consultant and former Cleveland City Councilwoman who served with Kucinich back in the day. She says challengers Rosemary Palmer, Barbara Ann Ferris, Joe Cimperman and Thomas O'Grady all have to clear the same expensive obstacle.
Helen Knipe Smith: Dennis, I compare him to a rock star. He probably has 100 percent name recognition. So he can deliver his message to the voters. In order to do a name recognition campaign in a congressional district like this, we're talking probably a half-million dollars, and that is before you can start to deliver your message.
Smith says as the downtown representative, Cleveland Ward 13 Councilman Joe Cimperman has a high level of recognition in the city, as North Olmsted mayor Thomas O'Grady does in the western suburbs. Rosemary Palmer is a former journalist, retired teacher and mother of a son who was killed in Iraq. She is new to politics and to voters. Barbara Ann Ferris, worked for the Peace Corps, the United Nations and was soundly defeated by Kucinich in a previous election.
To pull off an upset, Smith says any of these Democratic challengers has to start with a pretty solid voter base.
Helen Knipe Smith: If you don't have that, then you're starting from zero.
Cimperman and O'Grady come into the race with the most stature among the challengers. Both men announced they would run this week, and have a lot of history in common.
Both were born in Cleveland, are St. Ignatius High School and John Carroll University grads and have made the poor of the near west side a particular focus.
Joe Cimperman touts his ties to major developers forged during his terms on council. He says the relationships have been good for the city, but stresses he has also struggled to improve the lot of local small businesses.
Joe Cimperman: I'm proud of the fact that if you talk to some of the mom and pop manufacturing companies that employ Clevelanders, I represent those guys. Really what the goal of government in my opinion is to be that bridge between resource and need.
Tom O'Grady has been a middle school teacher in both Collinwood and North Olmsted. He was elected to North Olmsted city council in 1995 and became mayor two years ago. At his official announcement Thursday before about 100 cheering elementary school students, the decorated Army intelligence officer peppered his speech with some Japanese and did a dead-on impression of John F. Kennedy, who he clearly admires. He told the kids it was his experience in the wider world that made him the best choice of all the candidates.
Tom O'Grady: I bring to the table qualifications and skills that, frankly, nobody in this campaign can match. As a former military officer, I'll have insights that others do not. I know that we are in Iraq because of a failure, and we need to fix that. But the way we can fix it is to ensure that somebody who is knowledgeable about military affairs serves in congress.
Perhaps the biggest hurdle O'Grady and Cimperman have is that they are likely to split the anti-Kucinich vote, and both know it - the two men even met Saturday to talk about it, but neither changed his mind about running.
One thing all the challengers have going for them is that some people feel the 10th district isn't getting back it's fair share of tax money. Among them is former Democratic Congresswoman Mary Rose Oakar.
Mary Rose Oakar: I think you have to be an advocate. We were able to get more federal dollars to Cleveland than any other city in the country, at one time.
That's exactly the point the challengers are making. Cimperman and O'Grady say Kucinich has been AWOL from the 10th. Here's Cimperman:
Joe Cimperman: I'm running because we need a full time congressperson.
And O'Grady:
Tom O'Grady: The truth is, Dennis Kucinich is wildly popular in the district. It's just it was my feeling that at this point his focus is elsewhere.
The challengers have less than three months to raise money, and get their faces and messages before the electorate. That's not a lot of time, but it's still more time than Kucinich may spend in Ohio with a slew of primaries across the country on his calendar.
Kymberli Hagelberg, 90.3.