CAMPAIGN STOPS The choice: celebs, Kerry

Celebrities will be in Boardman when he speaks in Austintown.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
VINDICATOR POLITICS WRITER
AUSTINTOWN -- Oscar and Emmy winners will roll into the Mahoning Valley on Sunday to meet and greet voters at about the same time as the John Kerry presidential campaign.
Kerry, the Democratic presidential nominee, will hold a "town hall" meeting about 12:30 p.m. at Austintown Fitch High School. Doors will open at 11 a.m.
Nearly simultaneously, Bring Ohio Back, an Ohio-based nonprofit political committee that informs voters about the state's problems under the Bush administration, will bring a bus load of celebrities to the Southern Park Mall in Boardman. Their first stop on Sunday is at 11:15 a.m. at the Yankee Kitchen in Boardman.
If you want proof that the Kerry campaign and the nonprofit political groups that support him don't violate federal law by coordinating their efforts, you need look no further than Mahoning County, organizers maintain. "It makes it obvious we're not coordinated with the Kerry campaign," said John Benedict, a BOB spokesman.
Both events, each in the planning stages for about a week, will go on as scheduled.
Legal restrictions
Under federal election laws recently enacted when the McCain-Feingold campaign finance law took effect, committees such as BOB are not permitted to coordinate their efforts with candidates.
Groups such as BOB, America Coming Together, Swift Boat Veterans for Truth and numerous others raise money to point out the deficiencies of one presidential candidate and/or the attributes of another candidate through advertising and bus tours.
There are about 15 entertainers coming Sunday to Boardman including Oscar winners Marisa Tomei and Hilary Swank, Emmy winners Martin Sheen and Julianna Margulies, along with Kathy Najimy, Joely Fisher, Steve Buscemi and Chad Lowe.
Jeff Rusnak, BOB's co-founder, said the Sunday celebrity tour will do no harm to Kerry's appearance.
"We're doing a meet-and-greet with voters," he said. "We're attracting different audiences. The events are complementary. I don't follow the Kerry campaign schedule. We don't do that many events, but there will be an unusual amount of activity in the area."
Kerry event
Kerry will discuss jobs and the economy during his speech at Fitch, spokesman Brendan Cull said. About 800 people will be permitted to attend the event.
Those attending will need tickets, which can be obtained at Mahoning County Democratic Party headquarters on East Federal Plaza or by calling the office at (330) 744-2280. It's better to get tickets to guarantee admittance to the event, Cull said.
When asked about the BOB event, Cull declined to discuss it except to say, "I only know about their plans through [The Vindicator]. I don't know their audience and have no idea what they're doing. But Sunday is going to be a great opportunity for the people of the Mahoning Valley to hear John Kerry's specific plan on the economy."
Among those invited to attend Kerry's event are a group of undecided voters, Cull said. The people were called by the campaign to gauge who they support in the presidential election, and they responded that they were undecided, he said.
This will be Kerry's fourth visit to the Mahoning Valley as a presidential candidate.
Ohio is considered a key battleground state in the presidential election with Kerry, President Bush, their running mates, spouses and surrogates spending much time in the state.
Local Dems
State Sen. Robert F. Hagan of Youngstown, D-33rd, whose district includes Austintown and Boardman, is choosing the celebrity bus tour over the Kerry speech. His wife and Buscemi's wife are friends from their days as Ohio University students, and the couples get together from time to time.
"Having two events just shows how important Mahoning County is to Democrats," he said.
State Sen. Marc Dann of Liberty, D-32nd, who discussed locations for Kerry's and BOB's visits, said he may end up attending neither event. His children's midget football game is the same day, and that's his first commitment.
skolnick@vindy.com