Mary Jo Kilroy announces

Among the crimes committed by uninformed voters last year was putting good solid advocate for regular working people Mary Jo Kilroy out of Congress in the Columbus area in favor of slimy banking lobbyist Steve Stivers, no friend of those who do actual work rather than move abstract money around in the ether. Kilroy beat Stivers in 2008, but last year was a bad one. And the old 15th district is difficult territory, as it parsed up Columbus in several directions, diluting Democratic voters.

But the new map packs Columbus-area Democratic voters into one district, creating a safe Democratic seat there (Unfortunately, it turns around and does even worse damage to Cuyahoga County). Kilroy has announced that she will run for that seat:

"I have exciting news to share. I plan to seek the Democratic nomination for the new congressional seat in Franklin County, Ohio. I am running because our community needs a strong voice in Washington, who will remain focused on jobs, and will work to protect Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security from Republicans.

I have fought for working people in our community throughout my career as a school board member, county commissioner and Member of Congress. I have a track record as a Member of Congress that demonstrates that I have the right priorities to represent this district. I pushed for vital health care reform, pushed to protect us from big predatory banks and pushed for a real jobs plan to put our community back to work.

I will demand more accountability from Wall Street and better protections for consumers, like my work on the Wall Street reform bill and my votes to protect you from abusive practices of credit card companies.

I will stand up for LGBT rights and fight to end discrimination wherever it may exist. I was proud of my many votes in Congress to end Don’t Ask Don’t Tell and other pieces of legislation to promote equality.

I went to Congress to make health care more accessible and affordable, to make sure people with pre-existing conditions could obtain coverage, to lower the cost of health insurance, and to keep our young people on their parents’ polices until they turned 26. I will continue to work hard to build on and improve on that work.

I voted for the Recovery and Reinvestment Act that brought needed resources to our state, saving the jobs of teachers and firefighters, funding the construction and repair of roads, bridges, and sewers, and putting more money into food stamps and unemployment compensation. I know that more work needs to be done and we need leaders in Washington who will stand up for working families."

If you'd like to throw a few dollars her way, go here:
https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/entity/17758?refcode=EM110915