Newsmaker 1: Betty Sutton, U.S. Representative-elect. She'll be the new House representative from the 13th District. The Democrat defeated Lorain Mayor Craig Foltin to take the House seat formerly held by Senator-elect Sherrod Brown. Sutton, a lawyer, has extensive political experience with stints in the Ohio House, Summit County Council and Barberton City Council.
Newsmaker 2: Michael Vu, director, Cuyahoga County Board of Elections. November seventh was the Democrats’ day to celebrate, but the smiles may have been just as broad at the elections board in Cleveland. The election and the vote count ran smoothly compared to the error-plagued primary in May when it took a week to count the absentee ballots. But success came with a hefty price tag. The county spent an estimated $8-million on run the election.
Roundtable: Joan Mazzolini, reporter, The Plain Dealer; Greg Saber, reporter, WTAM Radio; Mark Naymik, politics reporter, The Plain Dealer.
Decision 2006: Voters went to the polls and substantially altered the Ohio political landscape. They’ve put Democrats back in the driver’s seat for the first time since the end of the 1980s. Governor-elect Ted Strickland led a slate of Democrats who took most of the statewide offices and ousted a sitting Republican United States Senator. They also voted to increase the minimum wage, approved a statewide smoking ban in most public places, and rejected casino gambling for the third time since 1990. In Cuyahoga County, they voted to impose a tax on cigarettes to provide millions of dollars for arts organizations. Our panel will discuss the local, state and international implications of decisions we made at the ballot box on November 7th.
Rumsfeld Resigns: Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld stepped down following the election, after it became clear Democrats had gained the majority in the House. He’ll stay on until the Senate confirms his successor. President Bush named Texas A&M president and former CIA director Robert Gates to take over as Pentagon boss. The resignation of Rumsfeld is expected to herald a change in U.S. strategy on the war in Iraq.