Oberlin Redistricted Out of Sherrod Brown’s Domain
by William Singer

The city of Oberlin will now fall outside the congressional district of Rep. Sherrod Brown, under a new plan drafted and approved by the Ohio legislature and signed into law by the Governor.
The plan will redraw the lines that split Lorain County between congressional districts. Lorain and Elyria will remain in Rep. Brown’s 9th District, while Vermillion, Amherst, Oberlin and Wellington become part of Rep. Marcy Kaptur’s 13th District.
Kaptur, a native of Toledo currently serving her tenth term in the House, has more seniority than any other Democratic woman in the 107th Congress. A longtime member of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, she is now the ranking Democrat on the subcommittee on Agriculture Appropriations, which exercises budget control over the Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Rep. Kaptur was first elected to the House in 1982, beating an opponent who spent three times more money on the campaign than she did. Recently, she has easily carried her district on election day, winning 67 percent of the vote in 1998 and 70 perent in 2000.
Steve Fought, legislative director for Rep. Kaptur, says that the Congresswoman reacted with “mixed emotions” upon learning of her new district. She will no longer represent some areas around Toledo, including heavily Republican Fulton County, where she had worked especially hard over the years to win votes — and respect.
But Kaptur also notices the positive potential of the changes. For example, she plans to be a stronger advocate of the environmental health of Lake Erie, now that her district spans 70 miles of its coastline.
In a Jan. 27 article in the Lorain Journal, Kaptur singled out Oberlin among the rest of her new territory as a town she would enthusiastically represent. “It makes me very proud and excited that I know I have the opportunity to win the votes of constituents in that city, which has always been ahead of its time,” she told the paper.
Fought dispelled the idea that Kaptur would remain chiefly concerned with issues in Toledo and northwest Ohio, the area she has represented for two decades. “Number one, it doesn’t matter how far they are from Toledo; Marcy takes care of her constituents,” he said. Lorain County holds 11 percent of the residents in the new 9th District, whereas it made up more than half of the old 13th District.
Congressional districts in every state are adjusted to evenly distribute seats in the House of Representatives after the completion of each Census. Barring a successful challenge in state court, the new boundaries will officially take effect on Jan. 1, 2003. The results of congressional races held this November will decide who represents the redrawn districts.
Although Brown will no longer be Oberlin’s representative, he predicted that redistricting would not end his close relationship with the school. “I will continue involvement with the College,” he said, such as a recent talk on moving environmental legislation through the Congress. “But I’m sad about losing Oberlin,” he added, because the community is one of the most progressive in Northeast Ohio.
Ronald Kahn, James Monroe Professor of Politics, believes that the changes in political geography will not adversely affect Oberlin’s interests. “[Brown] is still in the Congress and I’m sure he’ll still be a good friend of the College and civil liberties,” he said. “I don’t think we’re completely losing him.”
In addition, Fought suggested that some of Kaptur’s positions, like her concern for American and foreign workers, may make her a good match with Oberlin. Kaptur said in a press release, The current American way of globalization and trade…is not the way of freedom and democracy, but of corporate greed and executives who gild their own lives on the backs of millions who live in misery, who are forced to watch their children starve.”
Rep. Kaptur is also pleased with the House’s recent passage of the Shays-Meehan Bill, which is similar to a bill that has already passed the Senate. “She was fighting [for campaign finance reform legislation] before it was popular,” Fought said. “The system right now is designed [for] people with power and money.”
Brown predicted that Kaptur will represent her new constituents well. “I think they will like her and respect her,” he said.
Although his district has been changed, Brown said he “absolutely” intends, until the new boundaries take effect, to remain the congressman for the 13th District. He has already filed forms to run for re-
election this November.
Like many others, Matthew Kaplan, president of the OC Democrats, has reacted to redistricting with optimism, as well as positve memories. “Sherrod is such a friendly and open congressman, always willing to come to Oberlin to speak and listen to his constituents,” he said. “Even though Sherrod will be sorely missed, I very much look forward [to] dealing with Marcy Kaptur in the future.”

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