Senate Dems strain credulity in Cafaro, Wilson picks

There are too many issues related to the Democratic Senate Caucus' selections of Capri Cafaro and Jason Wilson to fill a pair of vacancies in the Ohio Senate to address in the space I have here.
I'll do my best to hit the highlights.
Caucus members insisted qualifications and electability were the two main factors in selecting successors to state Sens. Marc Dann of Liberty, D-32nd, and Charlie Wilson of St. Clairsville, D-30th.
If so, why did the caucus select Cafaro, who lost in her two congressional bids and has never held public office, and Jason Wilson, who's never run for an elected position? There were applicants for the two vacancies, particularly for Dann's seat, who've won a number of elections and weren't selected.
It appears money played a huge factor in the two appointments. The caucus selected Cafaro of Liberty [who also lives in Lorain and New York City] and Wilson of Columbiana [for the past three months or so after living in Bridgeport], both children of wealthy parents.
Of course, we can't forget the comment by outgoing state Sen. Robert F. Hagan of Youngstown, D-33rd, that Cafaro's father, J.J. "passed out a lot of money to the caucus and to individual members. Everyone knows money is the mother's milk of politics."
Dann, the attorney general-elect, openly endorsed Cafaro for the seat, and encouraged her to run. Dann's AG campaign was largely based on his opposition to "pay-to-play" in state government. Cafaro's family gave 30,500 to Dann's campaign. At the very least that creates a perception that the contributions played a part in Dann's endorsement decision. Dann's campaign strongly denies any "pay-to-play" with Cafaro and says he endorsed her because she was the best-qualified candidate.
Hmm, state Rep. Sandra Stabile Harwood of Niles, D-65th, just won her third term in the Ohio House and sought this appointment. She's never lost an election, and has been an attorney for the past 15 years including nine years as in-house counsel for the Trumbull County Child Support Enforcement Agency.
Not to diminish Cafaro's public service work in the fields of aging, health care and government, but it doesn't match Stabile Harwood's experience.
Jason Wilson has the dubious distinction of being fired earlier this year as his father's congressional campaign manager. After the campaign failed to obtain 50 valid signatures because father and son couldn't figure out who lives in the 6th Congressional District, Jason was fired at the insistence of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
That forced the elder Wilson to spend about 550,000 of his own money -- with the DCCC kicking in 600,000 -- to run an expensive and successful write-in campaign.
Jason Wilson can't organize something as simple as obtaining 50 valid signatures, but he's going to be a state senator.
Despite Ohio Democrats making huge strides in last month's election, one troubled spot was the state Senate. The party picked up only one state Senate seat last month among the nine held by Republicans.
Cafaro and Wilson have never held elected positions and in a month they will among only 12 Democrats in the 33-member Senate.
State Rep. John Boccieri of New Middletown, D-61st, who will begin serving as the 33rd District's senator next month, said "the learning curve is significant" moving from the House to the Senate. He can't imagine the challenge of never holding office before serving as a state senator.
In Cafaro's and Wilson's defense, Dann was a Liberty school board member before being a state senator in 2003 and U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Niles, D-17th, didn't have a job when he was elected to the Senate in 2000.
The appointments of Cafaro and Wilson could very well leave bad tastes in the mouths of voters when the pair run for the seats in 2008. Both have the money to run expensive campaigns and could face serious primary challenges. Stabile Harwood could give Cafaro fits two years from now and state Rep. John Domenick of Smithfield, D-95th, is a serious challenger to Wilson.
As Cafaro proved during her two failed congressional bids, in which she spent about 2.6 million of her own money, raising the largest amount of cash doesn't guarantee victory.