Kucinich's brother running in neighboring congressional district
Originally published by the Akron Beacon-Journal
Posted on Tue, Feb. 21, 2006
Kucinich's brother running in neighboring congressional district
THOMAS J. SHEERANAssociated Press
Democrats in the 13th Congressional District may recognize a familiar name on the May 2 primary ballot: Kucinich.
Gary Kucinich, brother of Dennis Kucinich, the former "boy mayor" of Cleveland and current Democratic
congressman, is running in the nine-way Democratic primary for the congressional seat being vacated by Sherrod Brown. Brown is seeking the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate.
Eight Republicans are running in the GOP primary.
Gary Kucinich, 55, who lives in Strongsville in the middle of a district that wraps around Cleveland's western and southern suburbs and past Akron, said Tuesday that he had discussed his campaign with his brother and won Dennis' endorsement. The district is to the west and south of the district that Dennis serves.
"I'm happy to have his support," said Gary Kucinich, a former elected Cleveland school board member and former Cleveland city councilman who works for a car dealership.
Dennis, 59, is the oldest of seven children. Gary is the third oldest.
Gary predicted the Kucinich name would help him in the crowded field.
He said he would emphasize opposition to the war in Iraq and job, trade and health care issues - all staples of his brother's failed bid for the Democratic nomination for president in 2004.
"If I'm successful, we will work together on a lot of issues," Gary said.
Dennis lived up to his big-brother role with a glowing endorsement of Gary. "He's got the intelligence, the honesty and he's not afraid to take on some of the corporate interests that are controlling Washington right now," the congressman said by phone.
Siblings serving together in Congress include California Democrats Loretta and Linda Sanchez and Florida Republicans Lincoln and Mario Diaz-Balart.
Dennis and Gary have experience working together on legislation - their respective tenures on Cleveland City Council overlapped for several years after Dennis' mayoral term.
Another Democratic candidate, Elyria Mayor Bill Grace, agreed that the Kucinich name had wide recognition in the Cleveland area but not necessarily in the District. Some people might associate the name Kucinich with someone from out-of-town, he said.
The other Democrats running in the 13th District primary are Capri Cafaro, Norbert Dennerll Jr., Daniel Goulder, Michael Lyons, Tom Sawyer, Betty Sutton and John Wolfe.
In the GOP primary, the candidates are Craig Foltin, Ruth Nader Abboud, Paul Burtzlaff, Anthony Cirino, Charles Delorean, Laurence Jaycox Jr., David McGrew and Joe Ortega III.
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