Foltin 'thinking about' bid for Brown's seat

by SCOT ALLYN, Lorain Morning Journal Writer

01/19/2006

LORAIN -- Mayor Craig Foltin still has not committed to running for Ohio's 13th Congressional District seat, but insists he's giving it some serious thought.

''I'm thinking about it,'' said Foltin. ''A lot of regular citizens have been asking me to run and offering to volunteer. It's encouraging, but I haven't reached a conclusion yet. I want to see where the dust settles with other candidates first.''

Just this week two Democrats have announced their candidacy for the seat Sherrod Brown, D-Avon, has held for 13 years.

Capri Cafaro, daughter of controversial Youngstown-area shopping mall magnate J.J. Cafaro, recently moved to Sheffield Village and Tuesday confirmed through her spokesman, Vic Rubenstein, her intention to run.

Brunswick City Councilman and former congressional candidate Jack Shira also announced his candidacy this week, and former Akron Mayor and 14th District Rep. Tom Sawyer has said he expects to officially enter the race soon.

''Cafaro and Sawyer have much more money than I would ever have,'' Foltin said. ''It would be tough running against them.''

The 13th District has been a hotbed of rumors since Brown announced in October he planned to try to unseat long time Sen. Mike DeWine.

Foltin said he would not want to leave the mayor's office until he was sure certain projects would be completed.

''I want Lorain to get gambling,'' he said of his plans to bring a casino to the city's waterfront. ''I want to see the finalization of the renaissance of our waterfront and downtown. Redevelopment of the Ford plant is important, as are the widening of Cooper Foster Park Road and the extension of Tower Boulevard. If I ran for Congress, I would want to feel comfortable that these things would proceed.''

If Foltin does not run, he said, his party would field a good candidate. Joe Ortega, a Strongsville businessman who filed his paperwork to run in August, would be a good choice, he said.

''I know Joe Ortega very well,'' Foltin said. ''He has a good interest in the district. I hate to run against someone of that caliber.''

Ortega ran in the 2004 Republican primary for the district but lost to Robert Lucas.

Foltin said he might not decide for weeks.

''I'm not ruling anything out,'' he said. ''The filing deadline is Feb. 16, and I might not decide until then. It's a daunting district for any Republican. It's very skewed in the Democrats' favor.''

sallyn@morningjournal.com

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