Dennis Kucinich

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Dennis Kucinich
Dennis Kucinich
In office
1997–Present
Preceded by Martin R. Hoke
Succeeded by Incumbent
Born October 8, 1946
Cleveland, Ohio
Political party Democratic
Spouse Elizabeth Harper, Married 2005
Religion Roman Catholic

Dennis John Kucinich (born October 8, 1946) is an American politician of the Democratic party. He served as the 53rd mayor of Cleveland, Ohio from 1977 to 1979 and today serves as a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives, for the 10th District of Ohio. He also co-chaired the Congressional Progressive Caucus and is a self-described "Wellstone Democrat." He has been praised as "a genuine progressive" by Ralph Nader and in 2003, Kucinich was the recipient of the Gandhi Peace Award. He ran for President of the United States in 2004 and is set to do so again in 2008.[1]

Contents

[edit] Personal details

Kucinich was born in Cleveland as the eldest of the seven children of Frank and Virginia Kucinich. His Croatian father was a semi-trailer truck driver; his Irish American mother, a homemaker.[2] In 1973, he graduated from Case Western Reserve University with both a BA, and an MA.[3] Kucinich is a Roman Catholic and an environmentalist. He was married twice, with a daughter, Jackie, from his marriage to Sandra Lee McCarthy and married his third wife, Elizabeth Harper, a British citizen, on August 21, 2005.

[edit] Early career

Kucinich's political career began early. He was elected to Cleveland City Council in 1969, when he was 23.[2] In 1972, Kucinich ran for a seat in the United States House of Representatives, losing narrowly to incumbent Republican William E. Minshall Jr. In 1974, after Minshall's retirement, Kucinich sought the seat again. However, this time, Kucinich did not get the Democratic nomination, which instead went to Ronald M. Mottl. Kucinich ran in the general election anyway, as an independent. While he came in third, he still managed to garner almost 30 % of the vote. In 1975, Kucinich became clerk of the municipal court in Cleveland and served in that position for two years.[4]

[edit] Mayoralty

Kucinich's term as mayor began in January 1978, a time when Cleveland and most of Cuyahoga County was suffering from unrelenting snowfall (to the point where the area was considered a "disaster zone"). Additionally on January 26, the worst blizzard in the city's history hit with winds exceeding 100 miles an hour.

Despite this, Kucinich, once in office, moved to reverse actions of the previous Ralph Perk administration that he campaigned against. He rejected a $41 million federal grant for a UMTA (Urban Mass Transportation Administration) people mover to be built in Downtown Cleveland. In 1976, Cleveland was one of four U.S. cities to receive federal support on such a project. The mayor commented afterwards that the people mover ought to go "back to Disneyland where it belongs".

Kucinich as mayor of Cleveland
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Kucinich as mayor of Cleveland

[edit] Recall election

Main article: 1978 Cleveland Recall Election

A recall movement began slowly, with initially some 3,355 signatures short of the required 37,552 needed when it was first submitted in May 1978. This changed when relations between the Kucinich administration and Cleveland City Council were strained. This began on April 10, council voted to investigate a "midnight raid" by administration officials on the office of economic director Joseph Furber. In response Kucinich said "it's hard to believe that so many people can be so stupid," and that "if they're not stupid then they are crooked, or maybe both." Kucinich offered an apology, but on the same day, Bob Weissman assailed council and business leaders in a speech to the Harvard Business Club.

In the summer of 1978, tension also rose between Kucinich and the Cleveland Police Department when the mayor set up special police patrols in response to high crime in public housing projects. Police refused to obey the order. The administration then suspended thirteen officers and ultimately touched off a two-day police strike.

Another issue that contributed to the recall campaign was Kucinich's announcement to veto a plan to lease a city-owned dock to the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority, which wanted the property so that it and Republic Steel could build a new ore dock. At a July 10 council meeting, Kucinich spoke against the lease and started to note the contrast between the actions of council on the matter and its cautious pace on his recommendation to hire a computer company. Although council approved the lease afterward, Republic Steel decided to leave the city and build its dock in Lorain.

By June 1, an additional 5,321 signatures were obtained. Kucinich challenged the validity of the signatures but he was overruled and a recall election date was set for August 13, the first in the city's history. On election night, Kucinich ended up winning.

Mayor Kucinich with Council President, George Forbes in 1978.
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Mayor Kucinich with Council President, George Forbes in 1978.

[edit] 1979 mayoral election

As election season approached, Kucinich decided to run again in the mayoral primary. In April, state senator, Charles Butts announced that he would enter the race. On July 5, council majority leader, Basil Russo joined the race. Finally, after off-and-on remarks of his candidacy, Republican George V. Voinovich, who initially supported Kucinich in 1977, decided to give up his position as lieutenant governor of Ohio to run on July 26.

Unlike the 1977 race, however, there were very few debates. The Plain Dealer endorsed Voinovich while the Cleveland Press endorsed Butts. On primary night at Kucinich headquarters, the band played the theme from Rocky, while Kucinich spoke of the race in the form of a football metaphor: "We are trailing at the half, but what counts is who's winning at the end of the fourth quarter." In the end, the mayor finished second to Voinovich, 47,000 to 36,000 votes.


[edit] Aftermath

After his mayoral administration, Kucinich kept a low-profile in Cleveland politics. He criticized a tax referendum proposed by Voinovich in 1980, which voters eventually approved. In a special election in 1983, he was elected again to city council for Ward 12. His brother, Gary Kucinich was also a councilman at the time.

In 1985, there was some speculation that Kucinich might run for mayor again. Instead his brother, Gary ran against (and lost to) the incumbent Voinovich. Kucinich, meanwhile, gave up his council position to run for governor of Ohio as an independent against Richard Celeste, but later withdrew from the race. After this, Kucinich lived quietly in New Mexico until 1994 when he won a seat in the State Senate. "He was in political Siberia in the 1980s," said Joseph Tegreene years later. "It was only when it became clear to people that he was right... he got belated recognition for the things that he did."

[edit] Muny Light and CEI in the post-Kucinich era

During his administration, Kucinich's successor, George Voinovich defended Muny Light as CEI continued making attempts to take it over. CEI itself was subsequently acquired and is now part of FirstEnergy. Muny Light is now known as Cleveland Public Power and is still in city hands, used today throughout parts of Cleveland. After the 2003 North America blackout, First Energy was identified as a contributor to the disaster due to various failures. Kucinich began to advocate for liability proceedings.

Further information: Voinovich and Municipal Light

[edit] House of Representatives

Ohio 10th Congressional District, 109th Congress
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Ohio 10th Congressional District, 109th Congress

In 1996, Kucinich was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, representing the 10th district of Ohio. He serves on the Congressional Education and Workforce Committee as well as the Government Reform Committee. As stated before, Kucinich is chairman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. With 54 members, it is the largest congressional caucus.

Kucinich voted against the USA PATRIOT Act. His voting record is not consistently that of the Democratic Party. He voted for the resolution calling for an investigation into President Bill Clinton's role in the Monica Lewinsky scandal, a stance inconsistent with most of his party.[citation needed]

Kucinich has criticized the foreign policy of President Bush, including the 2003 invasion of Iraq and what Kucinich perceives to be building American hostility towards Iran. In 2005, Kucinich voted against the Iran Freedom and Support Act, calling it a "stepping stone to war."[5] He has since criticized the flag-burning amendment and voted against the impeachment of President Clinton. His congressional voting record has also leaned toward an pro-life stance, although he noted that he has never supported a constitutional amendment prohibiting abortion altogether. In 2003, however, he began describing himself as pro-choice and said he had shifted away from his earlier position on the issue.[6] Press releases have indicated that he is pro-choice but also wants to initiate a series of reforms, such as ending the "abstinence-only" policy of sex education and increasing the use of contraception in hopes of making abortion "less necessary" over time.

He has criticized Diebold Election Systems, and posted internal company memos on his website.[7] Kucinich has also been a strong opponent of space based weapons and has sponsored legislation, HR 2977, banning the deployment and use of space based weapons. [8]

See also:

[edit] District statistics

The Almanac of American Politics 2004 gives these statistics on his district:

[edit] 2004 presidential campaign

Kucinich speaks out against the occupation of Iraq at the 2004 Democratic National Convention.
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Kucinich speaks out against the occupation of Iraq at the 2004 Democratic National Convention.

His platform included:

  1. Immediate withdrawal from the WTO and NAFTA.
  2. Moving U.S. troops out of Iraq and replacing them with UN peacekeepers.
  3. Ending the war on drugs.
  4. Abolishing the death penalty.
  5. Preventing the privatization of social security.
  6. Ratifying the ABM Treaty and the Kyoto Protocol.
  7. Introducing reforms to bring about instant-runoff voting.
  8. Creating a single-payer system of universal health care.
  9. Creating a cabinet-level "Department of Peace"
  10. Legalizing same-sex marriage.
  11. Repealing the USA PATRIOT Act.
  12. Full social security benefits at age 65.
  13. Environmental renewal and clean energy.

Ralph Nader and most Greens were friendly to Kucinich's campaign, some going so far as to indicate that they would not have run against him had he won the Democratic nomination. However, Kucinich was unable to carry any states in the 2004 Democratic Primaries, and John Kerry eventually won the Democratic nomination at the Democratic National Convention.

[edit] Supporters

Prominent supporters in his 2004 presidential campaign (most of whom joined him in supporting Kerry in the general election) included:

[edit] Polls and primaries

In the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination race, national polls consistently showed Kucinich's support in single digits, but rising, especially as Howard Dean lost some support among peace activists for refusing to commit to cutting the Pentagon budget. Though he was not viewed as a viable contender by most, there were differing polls on Kucinich's popularity.

He placed second in MoveOn.org's primary, behind Dean. He also placed first in other polls, particularly Internet-based ones. This led many activists to believe that his showing the primaries might be better than what Gallup polls had been saying. However, in the non-binding Washington, D.C. primary, Kucinich finished fourth (last out of candidates listed on the ballot), with only eight percent of the vote. Support for Kucinich was most prevalent in the caucuses around the country.

In the Iowa caucuses he finished fifth, receiving about one percent of the delegates from Iowa, despite the 15 % threshold. He performed similarly in the New Hampshire primary, placing sixth among the seven candidates with 1 % of the vote. In the Mini-Tuesday primaries Kucinich finished near the bottom in most states, with his best performance in New Mexico where he received six percent of the vote. Kucinich's best showing in a Democratic contest was in the February 24 Hawaii caucus, in which he won 31 % of caucus participants, coming in second place to Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts. He also saw a double-digit showing in Maine on February 8, where he got 16% in that state's caucus.

On Super Tuesday, March 2, Kucinich gained another strong showing with the Minnesota caucus, where 17 % of the ballots went to him. In his home state of Ohio, he gained nine percent in the primary.

Kucinich campaigned heavily in Oregon, spending thirty days there during the two months leading up to the state's May 18 primary. He continued his campaign because "the future direction of the Democratic Party has not yet been determined"[9] and chose to focus on Oregon "because of its progressive tradition and its pioneering spirit."[citation needed] He even offered to campaign jointly with Kerry during Kerry's visit to the state, though the offer was ignored.[citation needed] He won 16% of the vote.

Even after Kerry won enough delegates to secure the nomination, Kucinich continued to campaign up until just before the convention, citing an effort to help shape the agenda of the Democratic party. He was the last candidate to end his campaign, mere days before the start of the convention.

[edit] 2008 Presidential Campaign

On December 11, 2006 in a speech delivered at Cleveland City Hall, Kucinich announced he would seek the nomination of the Democratic Party for President in 2008. [1]

[edit] Congressional campaigns

Kucinich has always been easily reelected to Congress, though Republicans and conservative Democrats have made increasingly high-profile attempts to threaten him. In the 2004 primary election, Kucinich was renominated for the seat representing Ohio's 10th congressional district.

Democratic party primary election results:

Candidate Votes Percentage
Dennis J. Kucinich 73,063 86
George Pulling 12,380 14

In the general election, the result was:

Candidate Votes Percentage
Dennis J. Kucinich 167,221 59.9
Edward F. Herman 94,120 33.7
Barbara Ferris 17,753 6.3

Kucinich defeated Republican candidate Ed Herman. Because of Kucinich's national fame, both candidates received much backing by their parties from outside the district, particularly on the Internet.

In 2006, Kucinich defeated another Democratic primary challenger by a wide margin, and defeated Republican Mike Dovilla in the general election with 66% of the vote, despite last-minute Republican attempts to bring more support to Dovilla.

[edit] Notable quotes

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:
  • "You're looking at a guy who believes he can beat a rigged game."
  • "With the capture of Saddam Hussein, the administration's stated goal of removing him from power has been accomplished. The United States must seize this moment and end the occupation of Iraq."
  • "Everyone should have health insurance? I say everyone should have health care. I'm not selling insurance."
  • "We have weapons of mass destruction we have to address here at home. Poverty is a weapon of mass destruction. Homelessness is a weapon of mass destruction. Unemployment is a weapon of mass destruction."
  • "We're not locked in to these conditions that degrade the environment, and jeopardize the future of our children."
  • "I hold in my heart that rebellious spirit of youth that demands change."

[edit] References

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/12/11/kucinich.presidency.ap/index.html
  2. ^ a b Kucinich's Hard Childhood A 'Gift' Yielding Strength, Compassion
  3. ^ Official Biography of Dennis Kucinich
  4. ^ 25 Years of Cleveland Mayors: Who Really Governs? by Roldo Bartimole
  5. ^ http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x1051946
  6. ^ Marc Sandalow, "Ohio Presidential Hopeful Pivots Over to Pro-Choice Camp", San Francisco Chronicle, February 23, 2003.
  7. ^ "Kucinich Calls for Suspension of Electronic Voting", Common Dreams, April 23, 2004.
  8. ^ H.R. 2977; Space Preservation Act of 2001
  9. ^ Rick Lyman, "Down But Not Out, Kucinich Keeps Fighting", The New York Times, May 17, 200.

[edit] External links

Political offices
Preceded by:
Ralph J. Perk		 Mayor of Cleveland
1978–1979		 Succeeded by:
George V. Voinovich
Preceded by:
Martin R. Hoke		 U.S. Representative from Ohio's 10th Congressional District
1997–present		 Succeeded by:
Incumbent


Ohio's current delegation to the United States Congress
Senators: Mike DeWine (R), George V. Voinovich (R)

Representative(s): Steve Chabot (R), Jean Schmidt (R), Mike Turner (R), Mike Oxley (R), Paul Gillmor (R), Ted Strickland (D), Dave Hobson (R), John Boehner (R), Marcy Kaptur (D), Dennis J. Kucinich (D), Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D), Pat Tiberi (R), Sherrod Brown (D), Steve LaTourette (R), Deborah Pryce (R), Ralph Regula (R), Tim Ryan (D), 18th district vacant

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Persondata
NAME Kucinich, Dennis John
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Kučinić, Dennis (Croatian)
SHORT DESCRIPTION Ohio politician
DATE OF BIRTH October 8, 1946
PLACE OF BIRTH Cleveland, Ohio
DATE OF DEATH living
PLACE OF DEATH
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../d/e/n/Dennis_Kucinich_9262.html"
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