Kucinich feels comfortable campaigning in Oregon
Originally published in the News Review
March 29, 2004
Kucinich feels comfortable campaigning in Oregon
JOHN SOWELL
When he was mayor of Cleveland in the late 1970s, Dennis Kucinich fought against the private takeover of the city's public-owned power company. Later, banks that would have benefited from a partnership with the company that would have taken over the utility drove the city into default.
Later, Kucinich was defeated in his re-election bid and he found himself blackballed in trying to find another job. He applied for a position to head the Emerald People's Utility District outside Eugene.
Out of more than 200 people to apply for the job, Kucinich was one of the candidates interviewed for the position. He was runner-up to the person eventually selected for the job, but that didn't discourage him from liking Oregon. He's come back to the state several times for vacations.
"This is a state where I feel right at home," Kucinich said, during an interview after his speech Sunday in Roseburg.
Oregon has a long history of political activism and a reputation for being progressive, he said. It's one of the reasons he scheduled four days of speeches in the state to talk about issues that he said are important to him.
"Oregon is the place where we can change the whole direction of the Democratic Party," he said.
Kucinich said he hopes to convince enough Oregonians to vote for him to place pressure on the national party to adopt some of his issues on the party platform. He said he never considered dropping out of the race after Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts earned enough delegates to secure the Democratic nomination for president.
"To me, it isn't just about whether I win. It's about whether the American people win," Kucinich said. "By staying in this campaign, it gives the people a voice."
Kucinich said he was buoyed by the enthusiasm of the Roseburg crowd.
"I'm very excited about the response I got here tonight," he said. "The response on NAFTA and the WTO were as strong here as any place in the country."
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