NILES Hagan reaffirms plan to run
State candidates were drumming up support at local party dinners.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
VINDICATOR POLITICS WRITER
NILES -- Despite talk from a Cleveland congresswoman that she is considering seeking the Democratic Party nomination for governor, Tim Hagan, the only announced Democratic candidate, said he has no plans to step aside.
Hagan said U.S. Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones of Cleveland, D-11th, is not serious about running for governor and will say in a week or two that she has no plans to seek the office.
"I would be stunned if she would run...," Hagan said. "She took some real whacks in the Cleveland mayor's race. She supported the loser and now she wants everyone to know she's still a player and she's someone to reckon with. I know that and I respect her. I think she'd be a very formidable candidate, but I don't think she'll run."
Facing tough challenge: Hagan, a former Cuyahoga County commissioner who grew up in Girard, acknowledges he faces an uphill battle to defeat Republican Gov. Bob Taft next year. "His name and an incumbent's ability to raise money are a lot to overcome," Hagan said.
Local Democratic leaders privately say that the state party is pushing a run by Tubbs Jones because of concerns about Hagan's ability to win next year.
"In all candor, most of the people who think they have a political career are looking to four years from now because they think Tim Hagan will lose against Bob Taft," Hagan said. "I know that. I think politics in this state and this country are so fluid that in 10 months, all the dynamics will change and we will be very competitive."
Visit to Niles: Hagan was among a slew of statewide candidates visiting Niles on Thursday.
The Mahoning and Trumbull counties Democratic parties along with the Democratic state Senate caucus held a $100-a-person fund-raiser at McMenamy's that raised about $20,000. Among those attending was state Rep. Bryan Flannery of Lakewood, who is running for secretary of state, and Senate Minority Leader Leigh E. Herington of Ravenna, who is considering a run for state treasurer.
Flannery and Herington said they are comfortable having Hagan lead the Democratic ticket next year.
Herington said his decision, expected next month, to stay in the Senate or run next year for treasurer will come down to which position he believes will allow him to best serve the state. Ohio Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell, a Republican, will run next year for treasurer, a position he held from 1995 to 1999.
"People question Blackwell's motives," Herington said. "Why is he going from position to position? Does he really want to take care of the finances of the state of Ohio or is he out for political gain?"
The Republicans: Less than a half-mile from the Democratic event, the Trumbull County Republican Party held its annual Christmas party at Vernon's Cafe and Banquet Centre. Tickets were $10.
Keynote speaker was Ohio Attorney General Betty Montgomery, who is running next year for state auditor. Also attending was Ashtabula County Auditor Sandra O'Brien, who is planning a run for secretary of state.
No Democrat has come forward to challenge Montgomery for state auditor.
"I have every faith that the Democratic Party will find opponents for all of us," Montgomery said. "It makes me feel that it's fairly hard for them to recruit somebody to run against me. But when you're in an elected position, you can't take anything for granted."
Montgomery also serves as the head of state Rep. Ann Womer Benjamin's exploratory committee for secretary of state. Despite recent talk that she would be offered a chance to run for lieutenant governor with Taft next year, Womer Benjamin, of Aurora, said she has no plans to pull out of the secretary-of-state race.
skolnick@vindy.com