Meet Obama for $1K Mayor to pay but wants a free rally

A YSU professor says the cost might come off as ‘snobbish.’

By DAVID SKOLNICK

VINDICATOR POLITICS WRITER

YOUNGSTOWN — Those living in or near Ottumwa and Newton, Iowa, got to see and hear presidential hopeful Barack Obama at school cafeterias for free Monday.

Those in the Mahoning Valley who want to do the same Wednesday when the U.S. senator is at the Boardman home of Herb Washington have to pay by the hour.

For $2,300, you get to spend two hours on Washington’s property with Obama. For $1,000, you get an hour.

The Boardman event is designed to raise money for Obama’s campaign and put him in touch with key Valley political donors, said Paul Sracic, a Youngstown State University political science professor. A similar private, invitation-only event for Obama is scheduled for today from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Crown Plaza hotel in Cleveland.

Primaries and fundraising

The Ohio presidential primary is March 4, 2008, after at least 23 other states hold primaries or caucuses. Among those states is Iowa, which will hold its presidential caucus Jan. 14.

Obama and other presidential candidates need to campaign for votes in states holding early primaries and caucuses, and focus on raising money in other states such as Ohio, Sracic said.

Ohio is expected to be a key battleground state in the November 2008 presidential election as it was in 2004.

Raising money in states such as Ohio is just as important as doing well in early primary/caucus states, Sracic said. If Obama is able to raise more money for his campaign than expected, it will add credibility to his campaign, which then leads to more votes, Sracic said.

But Obama could be making a mistake by only raising money here, Sracic said.

“By coming to a working-class area like Youngstown, and holding this event may not be the best way to make a first impression,” he said. “He’s got to be careful about that. The price tag is a little snobbish for this area.”

The mayor’s thoughts

Youngstown Mayor Jay Williams, who is paying $1,000 to hear and see Obama for an hour, said he wants to see the Illinois senator come back for a free rally.

“Not everyone can give $1,000 or $2,300, but even those with the most modest incomes still vote,” he said. “Money is essential to a campaign, particularly a presidential one. I understand the need to raise money, but I hope he returns for a public rally. We have a significant number of Democratic voters in the area.”

An Obama campaign spokeswoman said Wednesday’s fundraiser was a private event. The event is not on the list of upcoming events on Obama’s Web site — www.barackobama.com — and isn’t open to the media.

Williams said he is excited about the event.

“It’s a unique opportunity to hear him first-hand,” Williams said. “I watch him with amazement. He’s surrounded by a lot of excitement.”

The event and security

The event is being held at Washington’s 8,389-square-foot home that he bought in 1999 for $1.1 million, according to the Mahoning County auditor’s Web site. The house includes 12 rooms and five bathrooms. The backyard includes a 7,200-square-foot lighted tennis court and a 3,000-square-foot concrete patio.

Attempts to reach Washington this past week for comment were unsuccessful. Washington owns more than 20 local McDonald’s restaurants and the Youngstown SteelHounds minor league hockey team.

The Secret Service contacted Boardman Police Chief Patrick Berarducci last week regarding the Obama visit. Berarducci said Monday he hasn’t received information from the Secret Service as to whether officers from his department are needed for the Obama event. Mahoning County Sheriff Randall Wellington said his department hasn’t been contacted by the Secret Service.

David Lee, the Secret Service’s agent in charge for this area, couldn’t be reached Monday to comment.

Other candidates

The Secret Service assigned agents to travel with Obama on May 3, the earliest ever for a presidential candidate, according to various news sources.

Sracic expects other presidential candidates, particularly Democrats, to come to the Valley initially for fundraisers and then to hold campaign events in the coming months. This is the first visit to the area by Obama, elected to the Senate in 2004, and the first fundraiser in the Valley by a Democratic presidential hopeful in this campaign.

In the 2004 presidential campaign, President Bush, a Republican, and U.S. Sen. John Kerry, his Democratic opponent, and numerous surrogates visited Ohio often, and made a number of campaign stops in the Mahoning Valley.

skolnick@vindy.com