Top Democrats to attend Betras’ fundraiser

By David Skolnick

David Betras had specific goals in mind when he took over as Mahoning County Democratic Party chairman in April.

Among his most important:

1. Make Democrats throughout Ohio recognize the importance of Mahoning as one of the largest and most important counties in the state for the political party. While statewide Democrats need major margins of victory over Republicans in the Mahoning Valley to win, the area had lost some of its luster because of long-standing conflicts between state party officials and former Mahoning Democratic Chairwoman Lisa Antonini.

2. Raise a lot of money to help make the county party a powerhouse in Ohio.

On Aug. 20 at the D.D. and Velma Davis Education and Visitors Center at Mill Creek MetroParks’ Fellows Riverside Garden, Betras will have the opportunity to make significant progress on those two major goals.

Using his goodwill as the new Mahoning chairman and “a lot of cajoling and being a pest in a good way,” Betras was able to get commitments from some of the state’s most prominent Democrats to attend the Aug. 20 fund-raising event.

Those on the confirmed list include: Gov. Ted Strickland; Attorney General Richard Cordray; Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, a 2010 candidate for U.S. Senate; Hamilton County Commissioner David Pepper, the party’s 2010 candidate for state auditor; U.S. Reps. Tim Ryan, Charlie Wilson and John Boccieri; and Ohio Senate Minority Leader Capri Cafaro.

On the list of those “leaning very heavily to come, but aren’t 100 percent confirmed” are: Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher, a 2010 candidate for the U.S. Senate, and Ohio House Speaker Armond Budish.

It should be fun to be in the same room as Fisher and Brunner.

Those invited who cannot attend because they’ll be on vacation are U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown and Treasurer Kevin L. Boyce.

Brown’s not up for re-election until 2012 and can afford to skip this event, particularly because he is in the Valley often.

Boyce is making a huge blunder by not being here for the Aug. 20 event. Boyce was appointed treasurer by Strickland in January, has next to no name recognition and is probably the most vulnerable Democratic incumbent on the 2010 ticket. If he continues to vacation rather than show up for events like this, Boyce will be on permanent vacation from the treasurer’s office at the end of 2010.

As I mentioned above, this is a great opportunity for Betras. But it comes with a huge risk.

“This is the first time in a long time we’ll have this much political might in Youngstown,” Betras said. “By all of these officeholders coming, it shows how much support they want from this area.”

But equally important is how many people will pay $500 a ticket for the dinner. And perhaps the most important aspect of this event is how many people will pay the additional $500 for a private meet-and-greet. (Betras is also seeking contributions from corporations.) To buy tickets, contact Betras at (330) 503-9696.

Betras wants to raise $100,000 from this event. The money will go toward the county party’s operating expenses.

To date, Betras has raised about $20,000.

Betras has come to realize that raising money is a bigger challenge than he anticipated.

“It’s a tall order in the middle of a recession,” Betras said of raising $100,000. “This is my first big event as chairman. It’s a lot of work. I didn’t anticipate it would be as hard as it is to raise money, but there’s a recession going on.”

If the event falls short of his goal, Betras said it’s not a test of his ability as chairman.

Under a different economic climate, it would be, he said.

Betras has vowed to make the local party one of the most important in the state. One of his goals is to provide at least 80 percent of the Mahoning County vote next year to Strickland in the governor’s re-election bid.

These are lofty goals, and the success of the Aug. 20 event is his first major test.