Tubbs Jones tops list on mailings

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U.S. Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones

The congresswoman has spent more than any other Ohioan in Congress.

COLUMBUS (AP) — U.S. Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones spent more than $106,000 last year to send her constituents congressional newsletters and fliers that many view as the government’s equivalent of junk mail.

Tubbs Jones, who chairs the House Ethics Committee, spent more than any other U.S. representative from Ohio, according to an Associated Press review of public records. The Democrat from Cleveland spent $30,000 more than the next highest Ohioan in Congress, Toledo Democrat Marcy Kaptur.

Tubbs Jones said Thursday that her high Ohio ranking may reflect the fact that other congressional members may be more likely to use e-mail for newsletters. Her Cleveland-area district has a lot of older people who are less likely to get e-mail, Tubbs Jones said.

In addition, Tubbs Jones said her office had increased mailings on services available to veterans and on Medicare issues.

The mailings don’t reflect a political attempt to keep her name before voters, she said. “I’ve been in office 26 years in the 11th Congressional District. I do not need a newsletter to stay in front of my constituents,” she said.

She said her sole purpose in using the free-mail privilege available to Congress “is to stay in touch with my constituency.”

Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich ranked fifth among representatives from Ohio, spending $65,385 on the legally allowed mailings in 2006. A message seeking comment was left Thursday with a spokesman for Kucinich’s campaign.

Then-Rep. Ted Strickland, now the state’s Democratic governor, ranked third from the bottom among Ohio’s 18 congressional delegates, spending $5,534. That was just $13 less than Rep. John Boehner, who now leads House Republicans, spent that year.

Nationally, members of Congress sent 116 million pieces of mail worth $20.3 million in postage, the review found, including meeting notices, glossy fliers with flattering photos and consumer tips.

Twenty-four representatives, most of them newcomers, spent more than $124,000 on the mailings during the year, while 60 spent nothing at all.

Franking, as the practice is known, allows a representative to send mail with just a signature where the postage would normally be. The mailings may not be political, but are viewed as offering politicians a way to put their faces before voters.

Tubbs Jones has faced scrutiny in the past for the perks she has gotten on the job.

She has taken at least 75 free trips since 2000, the third most of anyone in Congress, to destinations including Barbados, Boston, Miami and Panama City.

A number of trips were for speeches and events sponsored by nonprofit groups such as the National Bar Association and Delta Sigma Theta sorority. Tubbs Jones has said the trips foster an understanding of issues that helps her do her job better.