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Posted by Dennis Kucinich · July 18, 2024 2:40 PM · 7 reactions
For immediate release
Rep. Miller (R-OH) tried to Derail Sen. Vance’s Chance to Become VP Nominee; Statement to NYT: A Failed Effort to Block Fellow Ohioan’s “Historic Opportunity”
CLEVELAND, JULY 18 (Thurs). Rep. Max Miller (OH-7), in an April 30, 2024, interview with the New York Times, called U.S. Senator J.D. Vance “a one issue senator,” rebuking Sen. Vance’s efforts to stop the war in Ukraine, calling Vance’s statements “dangerous.” Miller’s criticism of Sen. Vance, in the most prominent liberal publication in America, came at a time when Senator Vance was under active consideration for Vice President on the Trump ticket, and Miller was demonstrating his establishment neocon credentials.
“This was clearly an attempt to derail Sen. Vance’s chances, and to open up a line of attack in the media against the Senator. However it failed, because Former President Trump picked Sen. Vance as his running mate. It was particularly vicious because Rep. Miller tried to hurt a fellow Ohioan’s historic opportunity to achieve the second most powerful position in America, the Vice Presidency,” noted independent candidate for Congress in OH-7, Dennis J. Kucinich.
Kucinich was a long-time congressman for much of the district he and Miller are vying for in November (OH-7). Kucinich has a long and established congressional record of opposing forever wars, warrantless surveillance, and shipping U.S. jobs overseas to China via sweetheart trade deals.
The record shows Miller has consistently voted for endless wars, adding to the huge national deficit, and cast a decisive vote in favor of legislation expanding government powers to spy on Americans, under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). This is counter to the positions of populist Republicans and Senator Vance.
After Miller’s attack on Senator Vance was published, Kucinich, the independent candidate for the same seat, chastised Miller and supported Vance with this tweet:
@MaxMillerOH is unusually disrespectful of @JDVance1. Senator Vance should be congratulated for standing up for the Constitution, for the American people, for freedom and for not adding to the debt with endless war in Ukraine. In the interview, Max Miller criticized Senator J.D. Vance: “He’s a one-issue senator, and it’s all about Ukraine . . . His rhetoric is very dangerous:” https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/30/us/politics/republicans-ukraine-aid-vote.html
Kucinich has challenged Miller several times to debate his establishment neocon positions but thus far, Congressman Miller, has refused.
For further information contact: [email protected]
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Kucinich Scores "Mixed-Up" Max Miller
Posted by Dennis Kucinich · May 14, 2024 1:58 AM · 1 reaction
Kucinich Scores "Mixed-up" Max Miller:
"Gives Biden $95 BILLION in Taxpayer $$$$
For More War, Then Bites President’s Hand."
Miller Resolution Condemns President…and Himself
For Immediate Release
CLEVELAND, May 14 (Tues.) - - Former U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich challenged Rep. Max Miller on his stated intention to bring a resolution to Congress this week condemning the Administration for pausing the delivery of high-impact munitions, as its ally in the Middle East contemplated a full-scale attack on over a million people in Rafah.
”Since, Mr. Miller has been demonstrably supportive of President Biden’s agenda in the Middle East, he’s condemning himself,” Kucinich said.
"However, Mr. Miller has continuously jeopardized Israel's security and legal standing by publicly invoking genocidal rhetoric which violates international law, such as: "We are going to turn Gaza into a parking lot..." He called for Gaza to be "eviscerated," and predicted it "would go away soon."
"Mr. Miller would censor anyone who criticizes him. He has aligned himself with the extreme, deadly actions of the most fanatical elements of the Knesset who openly advocate ethnic cleansing and genocide," Kucinich said.
'Miller's statements consistently violate international law, i.e., the Convention on the Prevention of the Crime of Genocide, Article III, Section C, and violate the First and Fourth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, as well as defying common sense," Kucinich said.
"One week MIller gives President Biden $95 BILLION to pursue endless wars and conduct warrantless spying and the next week condemns him for not supplying the bombs fast enough! Whoa.”
"It is not in America's interest to be spending endless dollars to pursue endless wars and further build our crushing national debt. Mixed-up Max seems to be confused about who he is representing. What Miller represents is war to the Max, spying to the Max, spending to the Max, debt to the Max, and censorship to the Max.”
"Miller is fond of bringing special-interest legislation to the floor of the House to condemn people. How about condemning inflation, reckless spending and the high cost of housing, food, energy, and medical care?”
"The people of the 7th Congressional District, many of whom are struggling with inflation and trying every day to get by, to make ends meet, deserve a representative who will place their needs first.”
"America needs congressional representatives which will place our nation's interests above all other countries. I'm well-prepared to advise the end of wars, and to defend the economic needs and the Constitutional rights of the American people," Kucinch concluded.
for further information, or to verify, contact: [email protected] -
Kucinich challenges Cost of Stadium Fix-up
Posted by Dennis Kucinich · May 02, 2024 3:07 PM · 1 reaction
Kucinich Challenges $1,000,000,000 Cost of Stadium Fix-up; Browns’ Owners Want New Stadium? "Let Them Pay for It."
"Browns Not Going Anywhere," Says Kucinich, Author of Taxpayer Protection Act.
He Calls for a County-Wide Vote on Any Tax Expenditures for StadiumClosed door meetings fuel suspicions of influence-peddling, political pay-offs. “We don’t want another First Energy-type scandal on our hands, again.”
CLEVELAND, Thurs. (May 2) -- Dennis J. Kucinich, who authored an Ohio law which gives taxpayers serious leverage over pro sports team owners, today raised questions about the true cost of fixing the lakefront stadium where the Browns play and said that if the owners want a new stadium, they should pay for it.
"A 2019 report said the stadium could be improved for $35 million," Kucinich pointed out. Now taxpayers are being asked for at least a half a billion dollars to fix it, or pay more than a billion towards a new stadium." This is how billionaires become billionaires. They get the middle class to pay their expenses. It is time for the taxpayers to become shareholders.”
"Some communities could pay THREE times for a stadium, since state, county and local taxpayers will be asked to provide the funds, whatever the cost. Taxpayers have already paid at least $210 million for the existing stadium and now they are asked to pay again.&nxpayers, This is corporate welfare." Kucinich said.
"This multi-billion dollar proposal, which could likely cost taxpayers billions, is being discussed by owners and public officials behind closed doors. This is wrong. It fuels the worst suspicions of influence-peddling and political payoffs. The integrity of the process has already been undermined. We need full transparency. All proposals, including the 2019 report, must be brought forward so that the taxpayers can decide. I think, ultimately, the public should be able to vote on this," Kucinich said.
"I urge the county council to put this question on the November ballot. This is a decision which must be made by the taxpayers and not by a privileged group of office holders who are meeting secretly, behind closed doors, with team owners,” he insisted. “We don’t want another First-Energy type scandal on our hands.”
"If taxpayers decide to contribute, they should receive an amount of shares in the team commensurate with the value of the Browns, which is currently close to $5 billion, projecting a recent study published in Forbes Magazine. This means that if taxpayers give $500 million for a stadium, they should receive a 10% ownership," Kucinich said.
"The taxpayers cannot be steamrolled," Kucinich declared. "The law that I wrote in 1996 protects taxpayers from the threats which team owners make to 'either fork over billions or they will move.'ORC 9.67, Kucinich's law, requires team owners who have received taxpayer support to give the city or local investors the option to purchase the team. "The Browns aren't going anywhere," he said, except perhaps to the ballot to decide if the taxpayers want to provide billions of dollars."
For further information: Email: [email protected] or call/text: 216-202-0598 -
Kucinich Warns on New FISA Section 702 Threat
Posted by Dennis Kucinich · April 16, 2024 3:31 PM · 1 reaction
"AN OPEN DOOR TO A POLICE STATE IN AMERICA," KUCINICH WARNS ON NEW FISA SECTION 702 THREAT
CLEVELAND, April 16 (Tues.) Former Congressman Dennis J. Kucinich, who in 2001, led the effort against the passage of the Patriot Act, and who relentlessly worked to repeal its provisions, called the House revisions to the reauthorization of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), "an open door to a police state in America, tech companies will be forced to do the government's bidding, to spy on their customers."
The House tabled a motion to reconsider the bill last night, so it moves to the U.S. Senate.
"It not only permits the government to spy on US citizens, it establishes a new infrastructure requiring Americans to spy on their fellow countrymen and women," Kucinich said. "The government is not just revising FISA, it's revising the Constitution and striking the Fourth Amendment and the protections provided Americans from the government."
Elizabeth Goitein, Co-Director of the Liberty and National Security Program at the Brennan Center for Justice, yesterday pointed out on X (formerly known as Twitter) that the bill in its present form provides that "any company or individual that provides ANY service whatsoever may be forced to assist in NSA [National Security Agency] surveillance, as long as they have access to equipment on which communications are transmitted or stored --such as routers, servers, cell towers etc.,"sweeping in U.S. businesses that provide wifi to their customers."
U.S. Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon, who is leading opposition to the bill in the Senate this week appraised the House bill as "on of the most dramatic and terrifying expansion of government surveillance authority in history.....It allows the government to force any American who installs, maintains, or repairs anything that transmits or stores communications to spy on the government's behalf."
Kucinich is running to return to Congress, as an independent. He has pointed out that had he been in Congress, the Biggs Amendment to Section 702,which was defeated in a tie vote this past Friday, would have passed, requiring the government to obtain a court-approved warrant before spying on any American.
Kucinich's opponent in the race for Ohio's 7th District, incumbent Max Miller, has cast a total of five votes which advanced the FISA legislation: (1) the NDAA Reauthorization; (2) The $1.2 trillion omnibus spending bill; (3) His vote against the Biggs Amendment; (4) The vote Friday for passage of the reauthorization of Section 702 and (5) His vote yesterday to table the motion to reconsider by Congresswoman Luna.
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House OK's Government's Warrantless Spying
Posted by Dennis Kucinich · April 14, 2024 4:38 PM · 1 reaction
On Friday, Congressman Andy Biggs of Arizona attempted to protect the US Constitution's Fourth Amendment, by amending FISA to expressly prohibit illegal, unconstitutional, warrantless searches of Americans.
Shockingly, the House of Representatives, including my opponent, voted to defeat the Biggs Amendment in a 212-212 tie vote, and then went on to approve a two-year extension of FISA.
Any member of Congress who voted against the Biggs Amendment could have changed the outcome and cast a vote to protect our Constitutional rights under the Fourth Amendment.
If I had been in Congress, my single vote would have saved the Fourth Amendment. I would have voted for the Biggs Amendment, broken the tie and the Constitution would have won!
The vote on the Biggs Amendment and the FISA extension were two of the most consequential votes cast in Congress this year.
Years ago, as a Member of Congress representing some of the same constituents, I voted against the Patriot Act because I wanted to protect the people from the exact type of abuses of power by the government which are occurring under Section 702 of FISA, and because I saw it as an unconstitutional intrusion on the privacy rights of Americans.
Most unfortunately, Congressman Max Miller of the 7th District of Ohio voted against the Biggs Amendment, thereby permitting the government to continue to spy on Americans, without a warrant. He then went on to vote for the two-year FISA extension. Mr. Miller has yet to explain his vote.
Elect me to Congress OH-7 and I’ll always protect America’s freedoms and civil liberties.
With your support in November, I'm looking forward to returning to Congress to continue the fight to fully restore all of our Constitutional rights. The abuse of FISA is not the only Constitutional issue at stake.
Please do everything you can to support my campaign for election to OH-7. My vote in Congress will make all the difference. Help spread the word. America needs us!Yours faithfully!
Dennis Kucinich
Candidate for U.S. House, District 7
Member, U.S. House of Representatives
(1997 – 2013)The Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution:
“The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.” The Fourth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, stands to protect Americans from government abuse of power.
Although Members of Congress, the Administration and the Supreme Court take an oath to uphold the Constitution, U.S. government agency officials in the FBI, CIA and NSA, acting under the color of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance (FISA) Act, routinely search and retain information on Americans' phone calls, emails and texts, without a required warrant.
Warrantless electronic surveillance, by law, is supposed to be limited to foreigners. However, despite agency promises of reform, the government flagrantly abuses the Fourth Amendment and does, in fact, use Section 702 of FISA to spy on Americans, without obtaining a court-ordered warrant. -
Kucinich Scores Rep. Miller on Trillion $ 'Yes" Vote
Posted by Dennis Kucinich · March 23, 2024 2:42 PM · 1 reaction
“COULD HAVE SHUT BORDER, CUT DEBT, LIMITED WARS”
PARMA (Sat.) March 23 - - Dennis J. Kucinich, independent candidate for Congress in Ohio’s 7th Congressional District issued the following statement following Rep. Max Miller’s YES vote yesterday on the $1.2 trillion spending bill. Kucinich said, “This legislation was designed so the American people would not know what was in the bill. I doubt that Rep. Miller even read the bill.”
“Mr. Miller was ensnared in the oldest inside-the-beltway trap: ‘Vote for this or else the government shuts down.’ That false choice was promoted by the politically cunning and accepted by the politically naïve. This is what the swamp does to the weak to get them to vote against the interests of the American people. If Congress wanted to address even a few of the economic and security concerns of the people, this was the time to do it. Instead we get six months of more uniparty status quo.
“Rep. Miller could have used his vote as leverage to shut down the border, to cut the debt and to limit spending for more wars. Instead, he forgot the concerns of the people of the 7th District, failed to close the border, added to the debt and provided more money for which will be used for more war,” Kucinich said.
“Additionally, he issued a video in which Rep. Miller said: “If you shut down the government you don’t shut down the border."
"So, a shutdown would open the border? Perhaps Rep. Miller is unaware, but last year, more than 2.4 million people migrated to the southern border. As Rep. Chip Roy said in debate on the bill, '…when you fund the lawlessness, you fund the open border….' "
"Rep. Miller gave away his vote at a time when he could have stood up for the concerns of the people of the 7th District, concerns about the border, debt and war which are shared by all Americans. His weak explanation of his vote for $1.2 trillion in spending is a clear demonstration that he lacked the strength to take a stand, that he has no ability to negotiate on behalf of the people of the 7th District, and, as a result, hard-working Americans end up footing the bill.
"The 7th District needs an experienced statesman. I’m running to return to Congress as an independent, to leverage my vote to empower the people, to put Country above party, to protect America and to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse," Kucinich concluded.
If elected, Kucinich could become the only independent in a closely divided House where today a one-vote margin separates the two parties.
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"Placing Country above Party,” Kucinich Officially an Independent; Name will Appear on November Ballot without Partisan Affiliation
Posted by Dennis Kucinich · March 19, 2024 9:21 AM · 1 reaction
CLEVELAND (March 19) Weds. - - Dennis J. Kucinich, who served the greater Cleveland area for 16 years in the United States House of Representatives, filed petitions yesterday afternoon at the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections, to gain a place on the November ballot in the 7th Congressional District, which includes Cleveland-area suburbs in Cuyahoga County, all of Medina and Wayne County and northern Holmes County. Kucinich is running as an independent, without a party label. If elected he may well become the only independent elected to a closely divided, hyper-partisan Congress. Kucinich’s statement upon filing follows:
Statement of Dennis J. Kucinich upon Filing for Congress as an Independent
In this moment of sharp partisan divisions in our country, which endanger America domestically and abroad, I recognize the urgency of uniting America, of placing country above party, of pledging allegiance to America and to no other nation, to upholding our Constitution to protect our freedoms. I invite you, no matter your political persuasion to join this campaign.
Therefore I am thrilled to announce I have filed petitions to officially become a candidate for Congress in the 7th District of Ohio. I want to thank the more than 6,000 voters, Democrats, Republicans and independents alike, people from across the political and religious spectrum, who signed to get me on the ballot, as well as those who circulated petitions through freezing weather, through snow, through rain, and through flu season to make this moment possible.
I have found in speaking with the people of the 7th Congressional District that we are in alignment with each other. The people have made it clear they are seeking a representative who places country above party, whose allegiance is to America and no other nation.
In this campaign, I will focus, as I always have, on the economic needs of Americans, and the challenges so many families face today: Inflation driving up the cost of food, housing, health care, energy, utilities, and education, while the cost of credit rises and more and more Americans are going into debt.
Our first job as a nation must be to protect our economic freedom here at home and not spend the treasure of our nation abroad in search of dragons to slay, not risking our future with an unsustainable national debt, where we put unnecessary wars and Wall Street bailouts on the national credit card.
This election is about supporting the economic interests of the job creators, of Ohio businesses small and large, farmers, and all who struggling to make it in this economy to hold onto everything they have worked for in a lifetime. It is about standing resolutely for the rights of workers to organize, for collective bargaining, the right to decent wages and benefits so workers can support their families.
This election is about rebuilding our strategic industrial base, our steel, automotive, aerospace and shipping industries. It is about investing in America and not sending money abroad for wars and for foreign military aid.
This election is about freedom. The voters I have spoken to are deeply concerned that we are losing our constitutional rights to free speech, to privacy, to unreasonable search and seizure, to a federal government which has, under both political parties, placed corporate interests about the U.S. Constitution and our sacred rights. At this very moment, in current negotiations, our government is poised to give away our Constitutional freedoms and U.S. sovereignty to the World Health Organization, just as it did to the WTO where critical decisions are made in foreign capitals affecting United States’ businesses, our jobs, our health and safety standards, without a vote of the people, or their elected representatives.
Guided by the U.S. Constitution, my leadership has always been rational, aspirational and practical.
Today I begin again to create a basis for a re-United States, transcending labels and partisan politics to play a unique role in the next Congress to help both Democratic and Republican colleagues to work together for the best interests of the American people, to help our nation to be able to communicate with itself at home and with other nations through diplomacy, the science of human relations, where we see each other as potential friends and allies, not as intractable enemies.
I will bring to Congress the enthusiasm and the energy of youth together with the wisdom of experience. For years I have been told that I am ahead of my time. Today I am on time. As a member of Congress, I will work to create policies through building coalitions across the political spectrum, to uphold the Constitution, protect and defend our rights and freedoms, to create policies which enable prosperity for all Americans, not just a few, to ensure that we have secure borders and a sane immigration policy; that we stand for responsible fiscal stewardship, reduce government waste, fraud and abuse, and help America, once again, to be a leader for peace and humanity in the world, rather than a nation that chooses to prosecute war everywhere.
I have been tested in a way that few in public office have been tested. Years ago, as Mayor of Cleveland, I took over a deficit-ridden city and ran it on a cash basis, while cutting spending by at least 12% without reducing basic services. I took on a corrupt utility monopoly, their banking partners and supporters in the media and even risked assassination to stand up for the right of the people of Cleveland to have an electric system they could call their own.
Although I attempted to pay off the debts I had inherited, the banks refused to take the money and instead demanded the sale of the city’s electric system as a condition of credit. I refused the blackmail. The banks put the city into default. I was smeared for challenging a corrupt establishment, and I learned never to be afraid because truth, though crushed to the ground, will rise again.
Cleveland’s municipal electric system endures to this very day. My leadership has been acknowledged to have saved the people of Cleveland hundreds of millions of dollars on their utility bills and saved taxpayers countless millions. That is what public service is all about.
Throughout my career, I have not hesitated to stand up for the people. I am a builder of bridges, a warrior for peace, a fighter for the people, unbossed and unbought.
At this critical time in our nation’s history, I urge everyone, to look beyond the chaos of the moment, the partisan divisions, and to look to a brighter future for our country where there are not winners and losers, where we, once again, find the source of our unity, where we are truly free and independent as a nation.
We must retain our faith in the highest principles of the United States, in liberty and justice and in our Constitution, and work to once again put them into action. This starts with electing a representative who will stand courageously for truth, justice and the Constitution. Let’s win this for the 7th District, for Ohio and for America. Please sign up at Kucinich.com to take back our country.
Thank you. -- Dennis J. Kucinich.
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Dennis Kucinich Announces His Independence
Posted by Dennis Kucinich · January 24, 2024 4:09 PM
STATEMENT OF DENNIS J. KUCINICH,
Independent Candidate for Congress, OH-7.
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
(1997-2013)
January 24, 2024The Bible teaches us that “a House Divided against itself, cannot stand." (Mark 3:25). Abraham Lincoln warned, almost one hundred and sixty-six years ago about the dangers of political polarization, how it could collapse our nation.
Washington, D.C. today is a House Divided by partisanship, by special interest groups and by war. Sharp divisions are seen within the parties and between the political parties, often producing gridlock which is damaging to our national security.
Members on both sides of the aisle are engaged in partisanship so bitter and so divisive that the American people are losing faith in their government. Partisan battles are diverting attention from the needs of the people. Service to our nation must be superior to service to a political party.
Matters of great economic importance to the American people, war, inflation, the deficit, the cost of food, shelter, energy, housing, child care, education, and retirement security are affecting every family.
The people’s economic concerns, national and border security will be the focus of our campaign and of my work in Congress.
I am announcing my candidacy for the United States House of Representatives from Ohio's 7th District, as an Independent, because I am uniquely able to reach in and to help to heal the partisan divide, to bring people together and to help reestablish the sense of. unity which is the essence of who we are as the UNITED States.
The 7th District is familiar territory. I represented over 20 Cuyahoga County communities in this district for 16 years, constituting approximately 45% of the present district. Except this time, only my name will be on the ballot, no label, just Dennis J. Kucinich. I have a bond of trust with the voters which goes far beyond party labels.
Throughout those years, I formed a working relationship with each and every community, without regard to partisanship. And, as a result, we were able to achieve great things, saving Cleveland’s steel mill, saving a community hospital, diverting potentially dangerous rail traffic away from heavily populated areas, saving Defense Finance jobs, protecting the NASA-Glenn Research Center, and more.
There are generations of people who live in the 7th congressional district, in Cuyahoga County and beyond, whose lives were helped by my political independence and by the service-conscious work of my congressional staff.
The moment is crucial. America is at the threshold of a wide war in the Middle East. We have a $34 trillion budget deficit which portends approaching fiscal ruin for our nation. My experience in rooting out waste, fraud and abuse will help protect the U.S. Treasury. My experience in protecting America from foreign entanglements is crucial.
Many of you will remember that in the wake of 9/11, I warned against venturing into war against Iraq. Had the Administration and Congress listened then, America would have saved the lives of thousands of our service men and women, spared the lives of a. million Iraqis, prevented the waste of over $3 trillion and slowed its involvement in further wars in Afghanistan, Libya and Syria.
I have demonstrated proven foresight in matters of international affairs as well as the domestic economy, which I will bring back to Congress to help both Democrats and Republicans alike to think anew about America’s challenges.
Now, more than ever, America needs in Congress persons of experience and integrity, good will and political independence, to guide our nation through these difficult times.
In a closely divided Congress, as an Independent, my vote will become pivotal, the 7th District of Ohio will become one of the most important districts, and members of both parties will become well aware of the needs and priorities of my constituents.
I have the experience, the energy, the knowledge, the temperament and the willingness to serve my community and our nation, once again, to help heal the divisions in our nation by thoughtfully engaging individual members across the political spectrum, on a daily basis, as I did in the past.
I look forward meeting once again the people in northern Ohio, young and old, to visit them in their homes and neighborhoods, in cities, suburbs and rural areas, in farms and factories, in their places of work and worship, where they meet and play, and go to school. This is a people’s campaign, so I ask for your involvement. Please go to www.kucinich.com to see how you can help.
My public service has been an active expression of the tradition of government of the people, by the people and for the people. I believe that trust in the goodness of the American people is key in restoring people’s faith in government and sets us on the path to unity. People know I can be trusted to stand up for their interests. God Bless the United States of America.
Thank you.
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Formal Announcement of Dennis J. Kucinich, Independent
Posted by Dennis Kucinich · January 23, 2024 1:04 PM
For immediate release
CLEVELAND, OHIO (Jan. 22) - - Dennis J. Kucinich, who served 16 years in the U.S. House representing the greater Cleveland area, will hold a press conference on Wednesday, January 24, 2024 at 10:00 am at the Independence Civic Center, 6363 Selig Rd., Independence, Ohio, to formally announce his Independent candidacy for Congress in Ohio's 7th Congressional District.
For further information, or to confirm, please contact Lisa Casini at [email protected] or (216) 202-0598