BY KYM LIEBLER
The Cincinnati Enquirer
MASON -- The charm of a Morrow winery and the high-tech automation of a automotive parts plant in Mason exemplify the diverse economy Lt. Gov. Nancy Hollister promised Friday to foster if elected the first congresswoman in Ohio's 6th District.
Already a household name in the eastern part of the elongated district that runs along the bottom of Ohio, the former Marietta mayor has zeroed in on the western end of the district in the waning days of the primary campaign.
Voters go to the polls Tuesday.
"What is being done in Warren County absolutely can be replicated in other counties in the district," she said of the booming region. "I'm committed to this kind of economic and work force development throughout the district."
Some of the region's most powerful legislators -- state Rep. George Terwilleger, R-Maineville; U.S. Rep. Dave Hobson, R-Springfield; and U.S. Rep. John Boehner, R-West Chester -- accompanied Mrs. Hollister on the daylong trek that started at the American Legion in Blanchester and wrapped up in downtown Lebanon.
Mrs. Hollister is running against former U.S. Rep. Frank Cremeans, a businessman from Gallipolis who lost the seat two years ago; Michael Azinger, an insurance salesman from Marietta; Thomas Sharpe, an English professor at Washington State Community College in Marietta; and Grant Michael Browne, an accountant from Chillicothe. Whoever wins will challenge incumbent U.S. Rep. Ted Strickland, D-Lucasville, in November's general election.
Mr. Cremeans, considered to have the best chance of defeating Mrs. Hollister, planned to spend Friday and the weekend campaigning by phone from his campaign headquarters in Gallipolis.
Considered more conservative than Mrs. Hollister, Mr. Cremeans has been endorsed by Ohio Right to Life, but not by the huge cluster of prominent state and national Republicans that has embraced Mrs. Hollister.
"I took a look at this seat myself," Mr. Terwilleger told 15 Hollister supporters who met at Valley Vineyards, "because I wasn't satisfied with representation in the 6th District.
"We need new representation and we will have the best," he said. "She knows this state and she knows rural communities, and she won't forget where she comes from."
During the 1996 Republican primary, about 60,000 Republicans voted in the 6th District primary. About 52,000 Republicans voted in the 1994 primary, a number thought to be low because it was a non-presidential election year.
Chris Baldwin, Mrs. Hollister's campaign manager, estimates about 55,000 people will vote Tuesday in the 6th District.
"We're expecting more of a turnout than in '94 because of Issue 2," he said.
Issue 2 is the ballot initiative that would raise the state sales tax by a penny on the dollar to pay for schools.
