Ohio AFL-CIO, Maumee Democrats, and TPPA

On Monday, I was very pleased to receive a letter from Tim Burga, Director of Government Relations for the Ohio AFL-CIO announcing that our campaign had received the statewide endorsement from this leader among labor organizations for the 46th District House of Representatives. As a former member of the AFL-CIO for 18 years, I am honored to accept this endorsement reflective of the many hard working Ohioans the union represents.

Wednesday, we hit the road in the morning for a meeting with the Toledo Police Patrolman's Association as I met with their screening committee to talk about issues important to them in 2006 including pensions and benefits. The TPPA represents many hard working men and women who are charged with the difficult task of protecting and serving and I just want to thank these folks for a job well done, sometimes under very trying circumstances. I urge everyone to thank these men and women for the job they do to protect our citizenry.

In the evening, we were fortunate to meet with the Maumee (OH) Democratic Organization and I want to thank them for their hospitality in adding me and other candidates to their agenda for the evening. Guest speakers included our Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur who spoke about issues important to all of us including the war in Iraq. Dr. James Patrick gave an informational talk about the possible bird flu pandemic and steps that Lucas County is taking to be prepared.

I had not been back to Maumee's meeting since the May primary and I was able to express my appreciation for the support we had received to help our campaign gain a spot on the November ballot. I am thankful for the encouragement and well wishes I received and our campaign will be in Maumee for the Maumee Summer Fair the weekend of August 18-20 and we'll participate in the Parade on August 19.

In what I hope is a sign of things to come, I spoke with one gentleman who told me that for the first time in 26 years, his wife is fed up with the Republicans in Columbus and is strongly considering voting Democratic in the fall. More and more people are vocalizing their disgust with the abuses of power we've seen in Ohio and many more were recently turned off by the dirty tricks employed by a top operative in the Ohio Republican Party trying to smear Ted Strickland. Let's send them a message that we will not accept this type of sleaze in Ohio which only adds to the failures and ethically challenged behavior we've seen in the past several years .

Thank you and have a good evening.

Mark