RELEASE: Boccieri -- Rahm's Candidate

This just in from the Stark County Republican Party...

(Canton) – Yesterday Youngstown politician John Boccieri went negative and voters of the 16th Congressional district got a flavor for the kind of campaign Rahm Emanuel and his hand-picked candidates plan on waging this year; a campaign filled with gimmicks instead of solutions.

It’s not surprising that Emanuel was eager to stump for John Boccieri yesterday given his history of recruiting candidates who fit a certain mold. In fact, in his book about Emanuel entitled The Thumpin, Naftali Bendavid describes the way Emanuel operates:

“Emanuel bragged repeatedly about how many military veterans he’d recruited.” Bendavid goes on to say that; “Emanuel’s efforts were more than just a attempt to attract the best-qualified candidates. Integral to his own style was a sort of macho strut, and that was reflected in his recruiting.” (page 23)

It appears that Boccieri fits the profile Emanuel was looking for. Last May when Boccieri was considering which Congressional seat he wanted to run for, he made his final decision based on polling that showed he might do well in the 16th district. In his own words Boccieri said “A big part of the decision-making process is how would I perform, and polling came back saying I'd do well.” (May 9, 2007, Youngstown Vindicator)

“If yesterday’s political gimmick is indicative of how John Boccieri is going to run his campaign then that’s sad because voters of this district deserve more than the Washington style politics Rahm Emanuel is used to engaging in,” said Stark County Republican Party Chairman Jeff Matthews. “Voters aren’t interested in political gimmicks; they want real solutions like accessing our own natural resources to lower gas prices now and end our nation’s dependence on foreign oil.”