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Cafaro seeks reappointment to Senate post
YOUNGSTOWN
State Sen. Capri Cafaro plans to seek reappointment as Senate minority leader.
Cafaro of Liberty, D-32nd, told the party’s Senate leadership team that she will seek another term, said Mike Rowe, the Democratic caucus’ spokesman.
The caucus will meet at 11 a.m. today to discuss leadership and could vote on its leadership team then, Rowe said.
The caucus is meeting for only an hour today so “there’s not going to be a lot of time” for a vote, he said.
If a vote isn’t taken today, its members could schedule a vote for later this month, Rowe said.
Those voting on leadership would be the 10 members who will comprise the Senate Democratic Caucus during the next session, Rowe said.
Democrats lost two seats in the Senate during last week’s election, and will hold only 10 of the legislative body’s 33 spots when the new session begins in January. That is the lowest number of Democrats in the Senate since 1967, when there were also 10, according to The Ohio Politics Almanac.
State Sen. Jason Wilson, the Senate’s assistant minority whip, was noncommittal Tuesday on supporting Cafaro for another term.
“I’m going to wait to see her intentions and [her plans] for the future,” he said.
Wilson of Columbiana, D-30th, said he was “absolutely disappointed” with the outcome of the election that saw Democrats lose the two Senate seats, control of the Ohio House, five congressional races and every statewide race.
“I don’t know if Capri’s leadership had anything do with the results” of the two Senate races, Wilson said. “It’s a [Republican] wave that swept” across Ohio.
Wilson said he knows of no one at this point who plans to challenge Cafaro.
He was also noncommittal Tuesday on seeking re-election to assistant minority whip, the No. 4 position for Ohio Senate Democrats.
Cafaro and Wilson were elected to Ohio Senate leadership on Nov. 12, 2008.
Cafaro was the first leader of the Senate Democrats from the Mahoning Valley since Harry Meshel of Youngstown, who had that job more than 20 years ago.
State Sen. Joe Schiavoni of Canfield, D-33rd, said he’s supporting Cafaro for minority leader.
Schiavoni praised her for doing a “good job organizing and fund raising.”
He added that he is interested in joining the party’s leadership.