Fri May 24 2013

Congressional Candidate Mary Jo Kilroy defends record after ‘mic check’ from Occupy Columbus
by Tom Over
January 27, 2012

One of the four Democrats vying for the new U.S. House seat created by Republican redistricting, Kilroy last week joined a gathering of about 70 people as they marked in protest the second anniversary of the US Supreme Court's Citizens United ruling. As she spoke, several activists with Occupy Columbus used the ‘People’s Mic’ to question her populist bonafides.

Cruz Bonlarron read from a crumpled piece of paper and several others with him repeated what he said, one phrase after the other. This was the total message of their repeat-backs; some parts of it were hard to discern even for someone standing nearby, so later Banlarron read it again for me :

“Despite running on a supposedly progressive platform, Mary Jo Kilroy has taken money from the 1 percent, including PAC’s related to AEP, Nationwide, Boeing, and AT&T. This election, vote smart and don’t get swindled by the 1 percent.”

(Bonlarron left)

Moments later, Bonlarron said , “I suggest we vote for candidates who will stick to what they say instead of candidates who will say something to us and then do the complete opposite when they get into office.”

Bonlarron admitted the amount of money from PAC’s Kilroy received was relatively small. Kilroy was the only candidate in the 4-way Democratic primary to show up to the protest which was part of an emerging national effort to overturn Citizens United, though Green Party Candidate Bob Fitrakis was there as well.

Kilroy’s opponents have legislative and city council careers and a review of their campaign finance reports indicates they also have taken campaign contributions from PACs and corporations. This is does not include Fitrakis.

In an email a week after the Jan 20 rally, Bonlarron said, "We chose to Mic Check her because she claims to be a progressive candidate yet she still took money from the major corporations that have created the mess we're in, from 5/3 Bank to corporations behind the military industrial complex like GE, General Dynamics, and Boeing. Although Stivers and Portman have received larger amounts from corporations, those who claim to be on our side shouldn't be taking money from the same people were fighting against no matter what the amount."

After her 'mic-checked' speech at the rally, Kilroy spent time talking with the crowd gathered outside the federal courthouse on Marconi Boulevard with signs and live music.

She said people should compare her campaign reports with those of other candidates.

“My campaign has been primarily funded by the people who live in Ohio and who vote in this district. My campaign is primarily funded by small donors who work hard for their campaign contributions, and I appreciate the sacrifice they make when they contribute to me and put their trust in me.”

In an email several days later, Kilroy said she has a long history as a “boots-on-the-pavement” activist.

“That's why I felt at home and welcomed by the concerned people who want to see Citizens United overturned. I respect those people who support other candidates, but I was the only Democrat running for the 3rd Congressional District to show up because I know we can only improve opportunities and create good paying jobs if we stand up for one another together. I stood with these same people and more than 2 million Ohioans in fighting Senate Bill 5, the unsafe, unfair bill that would have harmed all of us. I circulated petitions against Senate Bill 5. I went door-to-door with my neighbors and friends in Columbus and I called voters all across Central Ohio to get them to the polls to vote No on Issue 2.”

Kilroy said she takes money from PACs but that most of them represent hard working people, and that her contributions from corporate-oriented PACs are relatively small compared to other members of Congress. Kilroy, who is an attorney, said the biggest category of individual contributors to her campaigns have been colleagues from the law profession.

She emphasized people should look at her record.

“I stood up to the lobbyists in Washington and fought as hard as I could for Wall Street reform. We didn’t win all the battles but were able to work hard to try to hold Wall Street accountable for operating our economy like a casino and for taking our economy over a cliff and hurting the hard working people of our district.”

She said she went to Washington, not to work for the insurance industry but to work for better healthcare for the vast majority of Americans.

"(It was) to make sure people with preexisting conditions could get healthcare; and that people who couldn’t afford insurance could get healthcare; that children would be able to be insured; and so that we would finally have a system where the 50 million Americans without health insurance would be able to get covered and would be able to get primary care in an emergency room.”

She pledged to be proactive in the fight to reverse Citizens United and she said she supports a moratorium on fracking

She also talked about food policy , internet freedom, and medical marijuana