Sherrod Brown

U.S. Sen. George Voinovich stepped into the national spotlight that’s shining on the teetering automotive industry during a press conference in Washington on Thursday.

Voinovich (R-Cleveland) helped draft a plan to make auto companies eligible for $25 billion in loans to support the operations of General Motors, Ford and Chrysler before they exhaust their cash reserves. The plan Voinovich worked on aims to free up $25 billion already approved by Congress to auto makers in pursuit of “green” car technology.

Subdoh Chandra

Subdoh Chandra

Former attorney general candidate Subodh Chandra wants to be the next U.S. attorney from Ohio.

Chandra ran against Marc Dann in the Democratic primary for attorney general two years ago and now said he's interested in appointment as the chief prosecutor of federal law for the northern district of Ohio. The office has jurisdiction 40 counties with 75 attorneys, which Chandra said can make a big impact in law enforcement

Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Bill Mason (D) has endorsed his assistant to be the next U.S. attorney for the northern district of Ohio.

Spokesperson Ryan Miday said Mason endorsed Steven Dever, who has been assistant county prosecutor for 24 years. Dever, 50, is currently the chief trial counsel for the prosecutor’s office.

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Lorain) told the Senate Banking Committee that the federal bailout won’t work if it doesn’t target foreclosures and there isn’t enough oversight of the bailout.  

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson announced he would not seek to use taxpayer money to purchase mortgage-backed assets, but instead put money directly into banks hands to facilitate lending.

Early this week, cargo shipper DHL's German parent company said it would cut 9,500 jobs in the United States as well as eliminate shipping within the U.S. by land and air, but DHL spokespeople are saying the air cargo hub in Wilmington will continue to operate for now.

DHL, however, is still planning on a deal with UPS that would compromise the Wilmington hub and could result in the loss of around 8,000 jobs. DHL says it expects a decision with regard to the UPS deal by the end of the year.

U.S. Sen. George V. Voinovich (R-Cleveland) released a statement in reaction to the closing of DHL's domestic-only operations, saying the majority of the U.S. jobs lost would come from Wilmington.

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Lorain) held a press conference Monday afternoon outside his Cleveland office to discuss the news that freight carrier DHL will lay off people at its Wilmington facility.

Earlier this year, the estimated number of people who were going to be put out of work once the DHL-UPS merger occurred was 8,000. However, a DHL spokesman said the 9,500 people to be cut work throughout the country and will not be all cut from Ohio.

Brown said that he was deeply distressed by the news from DHL.

"The Ohio Congressional delegation, the governor, ABX, ASTAR, and Wilmington-area workers offered to work out a plan to help keep the company viable and save Ohio jobs," Brown said. "It saddens me that DHL refused to consider any proposal."

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Lorian) said that history will mark 2006 as the end of a conservative period in American that began around 1980.

"Voters clearly in 2006 said no to that conservative era and marked the closing of that conservative era," Brown said. "What happened in 2006 was voters basically said no to the betrayal of the middle-class, the betrayal of long-held American values, the undermining of American values. They said no to the drug companies writing medicare laws. They said no to the oil industry dictating energy policy. They said no to insurance companies writing healthcare law. They said no to Wall Street pushing through these trade agreements that cost us millions of manufacturing jobs in [Ohio] and across the country."

Brown said that 2008 is the launch of a new progressive era.

"O-H," Gov. Ted Strickland said to the hundreds of people crowded into the Columbus Renaissance Hotel 2nd floor ballroom.

"I-O," they screamed back at him.

Strickland told the crowd of Ohio Democrats that he was proud of his state, following the projections by several news organizations that Barack Obama would win in Ohio.

"What a great night this is," Strickland said, joined on the platform by Ohio Democratic Party chair Chris Redfern, Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman, Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher, Ohio House Minority Leader Joyce Beatty, state Treasurer Richard Cordray, U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan and U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown.

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Lorian) told the gathering of Democrats at the Columbus Renaissance Hotel that Ohio has given Barack Obama the presidency.

Brown's remarks came after several news organizations projected Obama the winner of Ohio in the 2008 presidential election.

"Ohio is the state that matters and you are the reason that Barack Obama is the next President of the United States," Brown said.

Brown said that on th Senate floor he sits right behind the junior Senator from Illinois, Obama.

Brown said that when he goes back to Washington he's going to go up to Obama and say, "Good afternoon, Mr. President."

State Rep. Steve Driehaus (D-Price Hill) held a conference call with U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Lorain) Wednesday afternoon to address what the Driehaus camp called the latest unfounded smear from the campaign of U.S. Rep. Steve Chabot (R-Westwood).

In the call, Driehaus reiterated his "commitment to protecting Social Security and Medicare." The Driehaus call was to hit back on a ad from the Chabot camp accusing Driehaus of wanting to cut Medicare by $193 million.

The Driehaus camp previously called Chabot "down and desperate" for releasing the ad.