Santa Cruz embraces Kucinich message
Originally published in the Santa Cruz Sentinel
November 5, 2003
Santa Cruz embraces Kucinich message
By LEN LA BARTH
Sentinel staff writer
SANTA CRUZ — Welcome to Kucinich country.
Dennis Kucinich’s presidential bandwagon rolls into town this weekend, with three events Sunday featuring the Ohio Democrat — an afternoon forum with student leaders at UC Santa Cruz and two fund- raisers at the Rio Theatre.
"We know there are a lot of people who want to hear him speak," said Steve Graves of the Santa Cruz-Area Kucinich for President Campaign.
Fervor for the liberal, four-term congressman here is fueled by more than 700 local supporters, including a core group of between 60 and 100 who meet once a month, said Graves.
Kucinich, 57, trails badly in the polls, but his fans refuse to be deterred. Paddy Easton Graves acknowledged the uphill battle but said, at the very least, a vote for Kucinich is a demand for change.
"He represents hope. And when we lose hope, we lose everything," said Graves.
Many find inspiration, no doubt, in Kucinich’s rise from his hardscrabble early life — growing up, his family "lived in 21 places, including a couple of cars," according to his Web site — and his political comeback after a disastrous term as mayor of Cleveland, Ohio.
The early fund-raising event at the 700-seat Rio, hosted by Santa Cruz Mayor Emily Reilly, will include an introduction by local author John Robbins ("The Food Revolution"). The higher-priced evening event, hosted by the Rev. Carol Carnes of the Center for Conscious Living, features a performance by singer-songwriter Michelle Shocked.
Plenty of tickets remain for the Rio events, but Steve Graves isn’t worried. "This is Santa Cruz — people tend to wait until the last minute" to buy tickets, he said.
Earlier in the day, Kucinich will address a panel of student leaders and activists as part of a "DemoCreation Project" event on the UCSC campus. Kucinich’s appearance will be followed by several hours of music and arts-related events. Between 700 and 1,000 students from campuses throughout Northern California are expected to attend.
Kucinich’s campaign is building on the support of people like Denise O’Connor of Soquel, who decided to leave her magazine publishing career after catching Kucinich in action in Palm Springs last year.
"When I saw him there ... I knew that I would get involved," said O’Connor, who’s now the area campaign’s events coordinator.
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