Ohio Rep. Kucinich brings presidential campaign to L.A.
Originally published in the Mercury News
Posted on Sun, Nov. 23, 2003
Ohio Rep. Kucinich brings presidential campaign to L.A.
JEREMIAH MARQUEZ
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES - Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich reached out to inner-city voters Sunday while opening a campaign office in their neighborhood.
Speaking at an event with actor Danny Glover, the Ohio congressman reiterated his opposition to President Bush's handling of the war in Iraq and called for increased funding for education.
Addressing a crowd of about 100 at a school in East Los Angeles, a low-income neighborhood heavily populated by Hispanics, Kucinich voiced support for a California law granting drivers licenses to illegal immigrants.
Afterward, Kucinich and a bevy of supporters caravanned to his new nearby campaign office, which he said symbolized his connection with the inner city.
"I want the whole country to know this campaign is in the middle of the community and committed to people at the neighborhood level," he said. "I am the one candidate who's here reaching out to people."
Kucinich also has a campaign office in the western part of the city.
Kucinich brushed aside recent polls showing him near the bottom of Democrats seeking their party's presidential nomination. In the latest poll of likely voters in the New Hampshire primary, Kucinich received 3 percent of the vote. The American Research Group poll placed former Vermont senator Howard Dean in first place, with 38 percent.
Of the nine Democratic presidential hopefuls, Kucinich is the only one seeking two elected jobs. He is favored to hold onto his U.S. House seat in November 2004.
California's presidential primary is March 2.
"We're going to beat all the expectations," Kucinich said. "Our campaign will be the surprise of 2004. ... There's plenty of time."
Glover said Kucinich inspired him to publicly support a candidate for the first time since backing Democrat Michael Dukakis in 1988.
"He tells the truth," Glover said. "And more than any other candidate, he's consistent with the things I support."
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