Representative Marcy Kaptur Responds to Cool Cleveland’s Questions
Super Tuesday, March 6, 2012, will be an important election for Ohio and the country. Not only will Cuyahoga County be electing a new Prosecutor (see Cool Cleveland’s questions to Prosecutor candidates here), but they will also be electing a member to the House of Representatives from the newly created 9th Congressional District, which stretches along Lake Erie from Toledo to Cleveland. Because the new district contains heavily Democratic voters, the primary on March 6 will most likely determine who is elected in November.
Three candidates are in the race: Representative Marcy Kaptur, Representative Dennis Kuchinich, and Graham Veysey. All three have been invited to answer a few questions from Cool Cleveland that we plan to publish prior to the election.
Please use a maximum of 700 words total to answer the following two questions:
Congressional Candidate Marcy Kaptur responds:
Question A: Observers have noted that all three candidates for the new 9th District share many positions and stands on issues. What differentiates you from your two opponents?
My position as second-ranking Democrat on the powerful Appropriations Committee. Appropriations has jurisdiction over all federal spending. I sit on three key committees: Defense, Transportation and Housing, and Agriculture. All three have served as job creators for the Ninth District. The Veterans Skyway bridge in Toledo, for example, is the largest single transportation project in our state’s history. Seniority matters in the Congress and the Ninth District has pressing needs in economic development and infrastructure.