The 13th District Candidates’ Forum, hosted by the Brunswick Community, included Democrat Justin Wooden; and Republicans James Brihan, Bill Haney, Jim Hrubik, Jason Meade and Todd Sharkey.  By most accounts the event was a success and a credit to the efforts of the Brunswick community.

“The moderators were great. I liked that they let the candidates ask each other questions. This kept it from being one big hug-fest with everyone agreeing on everything,” P. Bolyard – via meetup.com

Where was Betty Sutton that night?  Absent as usual.  Being absent from the district is nothing new…

LaPrensaToledo.com April 14, 2010

“Democrats Betty Sutton: Speaking on her behalf was Liz Walters, field representative, as Sutton did not attend the forum because she was needed in Washington, D.C. Incumbent Sutton is serving…“

This time, this story has a little twist. It started behind the scenes on the morning of April 21.

In an email sent to Brunswick Mayor Gary Werner, Jason Fink, Sutton’s Scheduler, announced that Congresswoman Sutton was unavailable and would be sending a proxy, Liz Walters, to read a prepared statement during the event.

In response to his email, Fink was told that the event was “a candidates’ forum, not a surrogates’ forum,” and organizers would not allow candidate representatives to read prepared statements during the event.   Fink was also told that changing the forum’s format would be unfair to the participating candidates.

This response hit a nerve with Sutton’s staff, because a very short time later, aggressive phone calls were placed from Washington to Mayor Werner and Vice Mayor Patrick.  In one call, Sutton’s Chief of Staff, Nichole Reynolds, said that she was upset with the forum policy and felt that the Mayor had not properly considered Sutton’s schedule when planning the event.

This is a good time to point out that planners of the event had contacted Sutton’s office not one, but twice, in the previous two months.  Each time, they invited the congresswoman to participate in the forum.  There was no response from Sutton’s office until the day of the event.

In a follow-up email, Nichole wrote: “We regret that you will not permit this [proxy speaker] to take place and allow the people to at least hear from their representative.”

That evening, one of Sutton’s representatives, who was in attendance, complained that Brunswick had made last minute changes concerning the use of surrogates.  He went on to insinuate that the Mayor had poorly planned the event’s timing.

To make such accusations against the host was in poor taste. Brunswick made every effort to include Sutton in the event.  What remains to be answered is why Sutton felt the sudden need to jump in the forum at the last moment.  Why didn’t her office contact Brunswick sooner? If she is so concerned about the people hearing from their representative, she might consider spending some time in the district and actually talking to her constituents instead of leaving it to her assistants.

“The Mayor and Vice Mayor, Republican and Democrat, did an outstanding job with the event. It was quick, it was informative and original in its application. Obviously considerable forethought was put into this event, and I truly believe that this debate served the interests of civil discourse, the city of Brunswick and the 13th district as a whole. My hat’s off to the Mayor and Vice Mayor for their professionalism in the face of immature antics and tantrums!” – Justin Wooden

“This simply shows a shockingly arrogant lack of respect by the Party endorsed candidates to both the City of Brunswick and the voters of the 13th Congressional District.  I am very disappointed in both.” – Jason Meade

THE EVENT – More intimidation

The forum began at 7PM with the candidate seated at the front of the room.  Two seats were left empty, one each for Sutton and Ganley.

Some at the event felt security was higher than normal for such a small program and wondered if Police were expecting a problem. The Mayor’s office dismissed this and said Police were simply expecting a larger crowd.

About an hour into the forum, a noisy group of Sutton supporters entered the room.  Each wearing a Betty Sutton campaign sticker and many wore clothing identifying themselves as union members.  The group is believed to have come from a Democrat meeting held that evening at the nearby library.

One attendee reported that only moments before the Sutton Supporters entered the room, the congresswoman’s Field Representative, Elizabeth Walters took a phone call and walked out with Mark Derrick to where the Sutton supporters would latter enter.

“[They] showed up 3/4 of the way through the evening and loudly made their way into the room, some to seats in the front row. After a few minutes, most of them left, again, noisily. A couple of them stuck around to rant to members of the crowd about healthcare or whatever their issues were. It was very, very odd!” – P Bolyard – via meetup.com

“They came in with an attitude intent on intimidating everyone there.” – Tom Fenske.

In an orchestrated move, one of the Sutton supporters, wearing a UAW jacket, emerged from the crowd and moved to the front of the room.  After a short period of standing, the man took a seat in the first row.

“He looked like he wanted a confrontation.” – Tom Fenske.*

“[He was] kind of menacing, sitting forward in his chair and shaking his head, glaring and making gagging gestures,” Steve S.

The man spent much of his time looking with hostility toward the Mayor and Vice Mayor.  At one point, Mayor Werner had to gesture to this man to keep  quiet after the man had shouted, “That’s just your opinion!” at one of the candidates.

At that time a Brunswick police officer quietly positioned himself between the man and the mayor.  While the UAW man’s actions seemed quite deliberate and intent on disrupting the event, he failed to do so.  The mayor didn’t miss a beat, and kept the forum moving smoothly to its conclusion.

Did Sutton’s staff call in these union thugs?  Did they arrive with the intent of disrupting the event?   There is certainly a resemblance to the pair of recent events where Sutton is known to have used unions to intimidate her opposition.

Connections aside, the big question remains: Where was Betty?  Why hasn’t she been able to sit down with the public in the last two years for a face-to-face meeting? The excuse of having to be in DC for legislative work, does not explain her appalling absence for the last 4 years. Nor does it explain her ability to pop into the district for a press conference earlier this week, or as keynote speaker at the 24th Ohio Employee Ownership Conference on Friday April 30 at the Hilton Akron/Fairlawn.

Betty will not face the people in an open forum, and it is time for the congresswoman to say why.

Perhaps Jason Meade said it best, it is an “arrogant lack of respect.”

*revised 4-30-2010

Part 1 -Smoke

As the final vote on health reform neared, many Americans found themselves compelled to make one last expression of dissent. Throughout the nation, citizens gathered at the doorsteps of their elected representatives to demand an end to the reform efforts.  Residents of OH-13 were no exception.  On March 19th many of these concerned citizens peacefully assembled for a planned summit912 rally outside Congresswoman Betty Sutton’s Akron office.

Nearly 30 Betty Sutton supporters met the protesters at the corner of Market and Main.  According to sources at the scene, the Sutton supporters were in attendance at the request of the congresswoman’s office. To counter the efforts of the summit912 crowd, Betty Sutton had arranged for what could best be described as a rent-a-mob.

Upon their arrival, individuals from inside Sutton’s office greeted the Sutton supporters.  Each was given a professionally printed sign and yellow t-shirt.  Some of the shirts displayed CWA (Communications Workers of America) logo, but most were marked as IAFF (International Association of Fire Fighters). The IAFF shirts as well as the provided signs read, “Fire Fighters for Sutton”.

Were these counter-protesters actual members of the CWA, IAFF or even fire fighters for that matter?  Not according to sources that spoke with them.  The Sutton supporters were actually members of Laborers Local Union No 894.  Sutton’s representatives had provided the shirts and signs in an effort to mislead any press covering the event into believing the IAFF and CWA unions were present.

Sutton’s use of the IAFF logo and “Fire Fighters for Sutton” signs implies that the IAFF and individual fire fighters had in some way sanctioned her actions.  Did the IAFF agree to allow non-members to represent their union that day?  If so, it was done at the expense of their own credibility.

Understanding how Sutton is able to get away with such actions becomes clear when we look at what took place just a few weeks later.

Part 2 – Fire

In a series of recently leaked emails, we can see that intimidation is part of Sutton’s political playbook.  Through bullying and deception she works hand in hand with union leadership to silence individuals.

On April 1, notices were posted on several blogs announcing a campaign event for Sutton’s primary challenger, Justin Wooden. Wooden’s supporters planned to canvas neighborhoods on Barberton’s Southwest side to distribute literature on behalf of their candidate.

After learning that one or more of Wooden’s supporters were Barberton fire fighters, Nichole Francis Reynolds, Congresswoman Sutton’s Chief of Staff, started in motion a series of events aimed at the intimidation of individual fire fighters throughout the 13th district.

In an email dated April 1, Nichole sent the following message to David Billy – IAFF Political Director, Mark Sanders – Ohio Association of Professional Fire Fighters (OAPFF) President, and Mark Horton – OAPFF Secretary/Treasurer.

From: Nichole Francis <nicholefrancis@msn.com>
To: dbilly@iaff.org <dbilly@iaff.org>; msandl48@aol.com <msandl48@aol.com>; mdh474@aol.com <mdh474@aol.com>
Sent: Thu, Apr 1, 2010 8:35 pm
Subject: Fw: Fwd: BARBERTON flyer distribution, friday, 4:30-7:30PM, FRIDAY,APRIL 2ND

David, Mark and Mark,
Hope that you all are doing well. Please see this information below that was sent out by Justin Wooden’s campaign manager today. Wanted to make sure that you know that firefighters are supposed to be involved in this. I can’t believe that the president of the union in Barberton would support this.  Can you please arrange to have some firefighters out there with their tshirts on that display “firefighters” for sutton?

Please advise.
Thanks,
Nichole

In this email Reynolds requests the same shirts that were used at the Akron protest weeks earlier. She also calls on the union heads to take action to specifically silence citizens of the 13th district. This was the same scheme used on March 19^th in Akron.

Given the IAFF’s official endorsement philosophy, we would have expected the request to hit a dead end at their door.

http://www.iaff.org/politics/FIREPAC/endorsementpolicy.html

The IAFF believes that every IAFF member has an absolute right to vote for the candidate that he or she feels best represents and embraces that individual’s views and political philosophy. No one, including your union, has a right to tell you how to vote.

In any union, association or even political party, when an organization endorses a particular candidate or a specific position on any issue, not everyone who is a member is in agreement. People are entitled to disagree and express their own opinions.

Politics within the IAFF is an issue of mutual respect. The IAFF respects its members’ right to vote for whomever they choose.  Please respect the IAFF’s right to endorse candidates, regardless of party, who have demonstrated their support for the IAFF and professional fire fighters. The IAFF also respects the right of state associations and individual affiliates to endorse the candidate that they believe best represents the views of their membership at the state and local level.

That dead end never came.  Instead, as Nicole had asked, the issue was pushed forward when Mark Sanders – OAPFF President sent the following message to Andy Drwal – OAPFF Region 2 VP (Lorain 2nd Ward Councilman) and Mark Horton OAPFF Secretary/Treasurer.

From: msandl48@aol.com
To: oapff2@roadrunner.com ; mdh474@aol.com
Sent: Thursday, April 01, 2010 9:44 PM
Subject: Fwd: BARBERTON flyer distribution, friday, 4:30-7:30PM, FRIDAY,APRIL 2ND

WTF.
If this is a rouge FF then we need to get all of our OAPFF Betty Sutton supporters out to neutralize this.
Call me asap.
mark

The OAPFF President called for the organization to send out supporters to neutralize their fellow union members. What exactly was meant by neutralize? Given the tone of his email, it can be reasonably taken as a threat against any local fire fighter opposing Sutton.  What happened to the IAFF’s respect for a members’ right to vote for whomever they choose?

*This series of emails ultimately led to the cancellation of the April 2 Wooden campaign event.

The events of March 19th, and those of April 1st, highlight a dangerous connection between Betty Sutton and union leadership.  This type of relationship cannot be tolerated from our elected officials. The congresswoman cannot encourage actions that pressure or threaten citizens into submission and expect to get a pass.

I urge the IAFF to distance themselves from Sutton and her representatives.  Continued support of Congresswoman Betty Sutton threatens to erode the credibility of your otherwise honorable association of heroes.

* updated

This past week, Justin Wooden [D] – Betty Sutton’s only primary challenger, picked up the endorsement of the The Liberty Committee.

The Liberty Committee is happy to announce its endorsement of Justin Wooden for Congress (Ohio–13th District) in the Democrat primary against Betty Sutton. Justin is consistently pro-life and articulates a very passionate and well reasoned position for limited, de-centralized government. He is committed to an economy based on the individual’s private property rights and entrepreneurial spirit–not government hand-outs. For more information about The Liberty Committee, a federally registered, non-partisan political action committee, please visit www.libertycommittee.com.

Lance Reed - R Candidate for OH-13

Another name has entered the race for Ohio’s 13th congressional seat.  Meet Lance Reed: entrepreneur, conservative, and founder of JobVue.  Lance is entering the race as a republican candidate.

Our government is out of control. Powers never granted to the federal government are exercised at will. Worst of all, our leaders in Washington have forgotten who gives them their power and in which document our Founding Fathers wrote their exact powers down. The people of this great nation, sadly, have allowed freedom to erode right out from under their feet. Congress is out of control… and more pointedly Ohio’s Representative of the 13th Congressional District, Betty Sutton, is out of control.

I am seeking office under the solemn promise that I will follow the Constitution above all else. My family and my friends are far too important to allow this country to slip into tyranny, or even take one more step down this road. Fortunately, I am not alone. We can turn this around. We must turn this around. We cannot delay. – http://www.reedfor13.com

Visit lance’s website to learn more: http://www.reedfor13.com/

Bill Haney For OH-13

Welcome the latest addition to the OH-13 Liberation Team. Bill Haney of Brunswick is now in the race for Ohio’s 13th district house seat.  Running as a republican, Haney is a conservative values candidate.  Haney promotes traditional family values, fiscal responsibility, and a respect for the Constitution.  Basically,  everything Congresswoman Betty Sutton is against.

Haney's official announcement of his candidacy.

“The government needs to live within its’ means and must pass a Constitutional Amendment to balance the budget.  Any bailout of private companies is absolutely ridiculous and can not be tolerated.  Congress should be looking out for the needs of the country and not their own personal concern of re-election and escalating pork.  We need to account for 90% of the money we take in and allocate where needed, without over spending.  The remaining 10% goes into reserve.  Zero based budgeting should be standard.  Regulation for businesses should be cut back tremendously.  Capital gains and inheritance taxes should be eliminated.  We should be energy independent by drilling in Alaska and other high resource areas, eliminate tax and regulatory impediments to building more refineries, and spend research dollars on clean coal and wind technologies.  We can not allow a government take over of our medical industry.” – http://billhaney.org/

OH-13 Republicn Candidate Jason Meade 2010

Meet another of Betty Sutton’s challengers, Republican Jason Meade.

Every day, I share in conversations with family members, neighbors, co-workers and friends that are worried that we are not handing our children the same opportunities that we had. In these conversations we spoke of a need of more concerned people getting involved. As our conversations went on, we realized we needed people with an appreciation of the things we spoke of to be our representatives. I decided to try to accomplish that goal in my own district.

To Betty Sutton:
You ignore the well being and liberty of individuals for your own selfish goals.

It is not out of some egotistical hubris that I made that decision. I claim no radically new ideas; I have no new philosophies; I do not have the oratory skill to tempt me to try to change the world. I do know that our government has strayed from the Constitution. I do know that if we stick to the framework intended for this country, we will succeed. I do know that the government of the people means just that; you and I. Just as my family, friends, neighbors and co-workers have the common sense to offer solutions to the problems around us, so do you.

I do not believe that one person alone can do all the work needed to hold our country to its founding principles. It will take the work of many individuals. Our responsibility, though, is to start here in our district to take care of our area. Others will need to do the same in theirs. As individuals throughout this country yearn for the order, morality and principles that founded this nation to be fortified, we will see sanity begin to be restored to our government. I ask that you join me and my team to help with the work that is set out before us.

Visit Jason Meade’s Website: http://www.jasonmeade2010.com/

Justin Wooden Democrat for U.S. Congress Ohio District 13

Betty Sue Sutton,

We repeatedly called upon you to do what was right.  We asked that you simply represent the people of this district.  Instead, you voted with the congressional delegation from California time and time again.  We pleaded with you for face to face meetings. You pretended not to notice.  We came to the steps of you palace for a redress of grievances.  You avoided us.

Betty, times are changing, the people don’t need you anymore. You see, we are finding solutions to the problem that is you.

Meet solution A.  He’s a resident of the district who isn’t afraid to share his core beliefs with the voters of OH-13.  From the looks of it, we have a real patriot running against you.  A veteran of the United States Navy, a husband and father, a man who has actually worked real jobs and struggled to make ends meet.

Best of all, he’s ready to go after you.  Wooden 4 Congress.com