BY HOWARD WILKINSON
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Ohio Senate President Richard Finan has already booked $87,000 of TV ad time to save the seat of State Sen. Janet Howard, who faces a tough race this fall against Democratic challenger Mark Mallory. "We'll spend more than that, too," said Mr. Finan, the Evendale Republican who controls the Ohio GOP's state Senate campaign fund. "We are not going to lose this seat."
Democrats believe their chances are good for winning back the 9th Ohio Senate District, which they lost four years ago when longtime Democratic incumbent William Bowen retired.
Mr. Mallory, an Ohio House member since 1994, is considered a much stronger candidate than the one the Democrats fielded four years ago, Cincinnati Councilman Tyrone Yates, who ended up with only 43 percent of the vote in what used to be considered a "safe" Democratic district.
Demographics speak
Mrs. Howard was a Forest Park councilwoman when she was recruited by then-Ohio Senate President Stanley Aronoff to run for the 9th District seat. Mr. Aronoff poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into her campaign.
High-profile Ohio Republicans such as Ohio Gov. George Voinovich and State Treasurer J. Kenneth Blackwell stumped for Mrs. Howard, and she won in a year when the GOP was sweeping state and federal offices. But Mr. Mallory's name is well-known in the district, particularly among the approximately 40 percent of the electorate who are African-American voters. His father, William Mallory Sr., held the Ohio House seat for 25 years before his son took it over.
"I'm going to focus on experience and leadership and the fact that I grew up around the Ohio legislature, learning how to be a legislator from my father," Mr. Mallory said.
Mr. Mallory said he hopes to raise and spend at least $200,000 in his campaign to unseat Mrs. Howard.
Mrs. Howard, on the other hand, is going to have to raise relatively little money on her own. Mr. Finan said he is willing to spend "whatever it takes" from the Ohio GOP Senate campaign fund to help her keep the seat.
Mr. Finan said the race in the 9th District, which includes most of Cincinnati's east side and suburbs Blue Ash, Sharonville and Wyoming, is one of two among the 33 Ohio Senate seats that he has targeted for special attention this year.
The other is the 31st District in central Ohio, where Republican State Sen. Jay Hottinger faces a tough challenge from a former Democratic state senator, Eugene Branstool.
So far, Mr. Finan has reserved $87,000 in TV ad time on Cincinnati's four network television stations for Mrs. Howard's campaign commercials. The Republicans now hold 21 of the 33 seats in the Ohio Senate. Mr. Finan said there is no danger of the Republicans losing control in this fall's election.
"But we're determined to keep our majority right where it is, or build on it," Mr. Finan said. "In the Senate, we don't have to worry about getting Democratic votes for our legislative agenda. I want to keep it that way."
Democratic stronghold
In order to win the seat, Mr. Mallory is going to have to pile up large numbers in the district's Cincinnati portion, which makes up about 60 percent of the district's voting population, and cut into Mrs. Howard strength in the suburbs.
Four years ago, Mr. Yates won 55 percent of the city vote, but only 27 percent of the vote outside the city.
With the exception of the Howard-Yates race in 1994, the district has been consistently Democratic in recent years. In the 1996 presidential election, the 9th District gave 62 percent of its vote to Bill Clinton.
