Kerry lets mayors do the bashing

[Nicholas_J]

Mark Naymik
Plain Dealer Politics Writer


John Kerry passed the microphone to Ohio's Democratic mayors on Tuesday, letting them deliver the message his campaign hopes will win him the state in November.

Seated between Cleveland Mayor Jane Campbell and Col- umbus Mayor Michael Cole man during a 90-minute dis cussion about jobs, Kerry lis tened silently for more than 35 minutes as the mayors blamed their shrinking tax bases on the manufacturing jobs lost during the Bush administration.


That's the same message Kerry used to propel himself to a huge victory in Ohio's March 2 primary and one that polls show resonates with voters in the industrial heartland.

The table of mayors - which included Jack Ford of Toledo, Dean DePiero of Parma and Joe Sulzer of Chillicothe - was more than a prop for Kerry's first Cleveland visit since the primary. Kerry is relying on the state's Democratic mayors, who now control all of the state's urban areas, to use their political machines to rally the Democratic base


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