BY HOWARD WILKINSON
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Democrats in Hamilton County's 1st Congressional District have a choice Tuesday between one of the best-known names in local politics, and one of the least-known names.
Cincinnati Mayor Roxanne Qualls, the top vote-getter in the council election last fall, was heavily courted by the national Democratic Party leadership to run in the 1st District against two-term Republican incumbent Steve Chabot.
Ms. Qualls has the backing of the party, but she does not have a free ride in Tuesday's primary.
Ray Mitchell, a 46-year-old retired Air Force veteran from the Dayton suburb of Moraine, filed in the 1st District, which includes most of Cincinnati and much of the county's western and northwestern suburbs.
Mr. Mitchell does not live in the district, but there is nothing in the U.S. Constitution that requires a member of the U.S. House to to be a resident of the district he or she represents.
Ms. Qualls' challenger lives in the 3rd District, but his previous congressional races have been in the 6th District, where he unsuccessfully challenged then-U.S. Rep. Bob McEwen, and in the 2nd District, where he was an unsuccessful candidate in the special congressional primary of 1993.
"I have a lot of family connections in Cincinnati," Mr. Mitchell said. "I know this community."
Mr. Mitchell said that, if elected to Congress, his priority would be working on saving Social Security.
Mr. Mitchell said Congress also needs to make sure "all older Americans have good health insurance they can depend on. We have to make sure Medicare works."
The 43-year-year Cincinnati mayor has been on council since 1991 and was first elected mayor in 1993.
In a speech announcing her candidacy in February, Ms. Qualls said the campaign between her and Mr. Chabot would be "about who will address the everyday, kitchen-table concerns of the working people of Cincinnati."
Ms. Qualls said she believes all projected federal budget surpluses should be reserved "until we've saved Social Security."
In February, Ms. Qualls outlined an agenda that closely matched many of the issues mentioned by President Clinton in his 1998 State of the Union address, including targeted tax cuts for education and for child care.
As of March 21, Ms. Qualls had raised about $124,000 for her congressional campaign -- money she has not had to spend in the primary campaign. Mr. Mitchell said he has spent no money on his primary challenge to Ms. Qualls.
