Ohio Dem mayors urge passage of Obama plan

COLUMBUS (AP) — Democratic mayors from more than 20 smaller Ohio cities have signed a letter urging congressional Republicans to pass the infrastructure part of President Barack Obama’s $447 jobs bill.

Obama has offered a $60 billion proposal for jobs on bridge and other infrastructure projects. That plan was facing defeat today at the hands of U.S. Senate Republicans.

The mayors — of cities including Athens, Lima and Wilmington — write that the issue should not be “a Democratic or Republican game.”

The Ohio Democratic Party says in a news release that the mayors are struggling with strapped city budgets, unemployment, foreclosure and families having a tough time making ends meet.

The Ohio Republican Party says the answer is not what a spokesman describes as “more failed stimulus spending.”