For the last decade, Stephanie Tubbs Jones was the smiling face of the 11th congressional district. She was reliably liberal in a decidedly liberal district, and a colorful fixture at events in the region. Here she is introducing her friend Hillary Clinton at a Lyndhurst rally during the primaries.
TUBBS JONES: I represent the interests of all of you. Little did I ever expect that I'd have the opportunity to be able to say to candidates for President that the people of my congressional district deserve better jobs for better pay.
RAWSON: Stephanie had a huge personality. Nobody could try and duplicate that.
Former Shaker Heights Mayor Judy Rawson has worked with both Tubbs Jones and her presumed successor Marcia Fudge.
RAWSON: I think what Marcia will be known for is being very practical, no-nonsense. Once she figures out what is needed she will work tirelessly to achieve it.
Fudge now sits in the Shaker Heights campaign office Tubbs Jones used to occupy. Mementos from the late congresswoman still adorn the walls. But Fudge knows she brings her own style to the job.
FUDGE: I like to sit behind my desk and get my work done. And I go out when I need to, and I talk to people when it's important to do that. And, I'm always open, as was she, to listen to people, but I just do it in a very different way.
Fudge served briefly as Stephanie Tubbs Jones' chief of staff during her early days in congress, and has been mayor of Warrensville Heights for the past eight years. She has cultivated a reputation for being a tough collaborator. While sticking up for her town, Rawson says Fudge thinks regionally.
RAWSON: She understands cities other than just Warrensville Heights, and is able to think in a pretty creative way about what might be helpful to each of the cities in that particular cluster.
Fudge says running an inner ring suburb has given her an up-close view of the region's economic woes.
FUDGE: We need jobs. That's a huge part of this. We need some real development. We need affordable housing. We need to deal with predatory lending and the crisis on Wall Street. Everyone has the same issues I think.
And she wants more people trained for the region's healthcare jobs.
FUDGE: There are three things that are going to move this district forward. One is the healthcare industry, of course. One is small manufacturing, which I think we've tended to overlook recently. And another is technology, obviously. So maybe we don't necessarily get involved in wind energy or something. But we have the people here who can build it. We might not be able to design it, but we certainly have the wherewithal to build it.
On issues in the news, Fudge says she would have initially voted against the bailout bill, but supported the sweetened version. She's in favor of earmarks if they create and keep jobs or preserve something important in the district. And, she's OK with Eaton moving its headquarters from downtown Cleveland to the suburbs because a number of towns will share the tax revenue.
Some have likened Fudge's nomination as an anointment, but she does face nominal opposition from Republican Thomas Pekarek, who has no campaign budget and no website. Pekarek hopes his personal experiences will resonate with voters. He's gone through foreclosure, seen his computer business fail, and even spent time in transitional housing.
PEKAREK: To actually experiencing the housing crisis before it became full blown, the financial crisis before it became full blown. These are things that if the standard politician that's in Washington right now would have experienced, they wouldn't have put us in this situation with this rescue plan or bailout or however you want to call it.
While few expect Fudge to have any trouble winning the seat, she says she isn't taking her election for granted.
FUDGE: he's not doing very much campaigning, and I'm doing a lot of campaigning as well as I'm trying to get my record out there, and trying to let people know who I am. So I'm very hopeful that I can win this election on the fourth.