ODP DINNER

With approximately 1,500 Democrats in attendance at the 2013 Ohio Democratic Party State Dinner, the theme at the Battelle Hall was PROGRESSIVES ROCK (see flyer).

Chairman Chris Redfern welcomed the throng and stated that John Kasich won the 2010 gubernatorial race by 77,127 votes; there were 172, 610 voters that were leaning-Democrat voters and they voted in 2008, 2011 and 2012, but NOT in 2010. If ONLY ONE-HALF of those voters had voted in 2010 as they usually did, Kasich would have been defeated. Redfern also stated that in 2012, there were 34,299 rejected Provisional Ballots and 20,120 Absentee Ballots rejected because the voters were not registered in Ohio. The Chairman outlined plans to make sure ALL those voters would be OUR voters in 2014!

We were treated to rousing speeches by Candidate for Governor Ed FitzGerald, Candidate for Secretary of State Nina Turner, and Candidate for Treasurer John Patrick Carney. Our favorite, David Pepper, Candidate for State Auditor, was not in attendance because he was on his honeymoon.

Senator Sherrod Brown introduced the Keynote Speaker, Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar, who gave a passionate 3-point speech about renewing our democracy, renewing our Congress, and renewing our economy. In a moment of levity, she remarked that with the number of women currently serving in the U. S. Senate, for the first time in history, there was a traffic jam at the bathroom for female Senators!

Before the Dinner, Gerald and I attended a fundraising reception for Candidate FitzGerald. Senator Klobuchar came to join him. I had taken a copy of her book, hoping to have it autographed. The book Uncovering The Dome had been her Master's Thesis in college and was published after she attained her Master's Degree. I asked her Aide, "Would you ask the Senator to sign this?" He said, "She would LOVE to sign it!" He tapped her on the shoulder and she exclaimed, "I can't believe you have this book!" and that was the inscription she wrote in the book. (See pictures.) After she autographed the book, I riffled the pages and she saw all the highlighting and then she said, "And you EVEN read it!"