Springer - NO! Clooney - YES!

[Miss Mary]

Now here's a celeb with local ties I would vote for! I can't though, I'm a resident of Ohio. Darn. Nick Clooney (George's father) is a very decent human being. Sure hope if he runs, he wins!

____________________________

Cincinnati Enquirer
Monday, November 24, 2003
http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2003/1 ... c1aky.html

Lucas won't run; Clooney will

By Patrick Crowley
The Cincinnati Enquirer




FORT MITCHELL - Kentucky U.S. Rep. Ken Lucas, a Boone County Democrat, will announce today that he will retire from Congress and not seek a fourth term next year, sources close to Lucas said Sunday.
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Nick Clooney, a television personality, newspaper columnist, Democrat from Augusta and the father of actor George Clooney, will announce plans to run for Lucas' Fourth Congressional District in the 2004 election, the sources said.

Clooney did not return phone calls made to his home Sunday. It is not clear if he will continue to write a column for the Cincinnati Post once he begins raising money and campaigning for the race. Post editor Mike Philipps declined to comment Sunday night.

Lucas is out of town on a family vacation. He will release a written statement early today announcing and explaining his decision, sources said.

In the face of huge gains by Kentucky Republicans, including a landslide 10-point win by Ernie Fletcher in the Nov. 4 gubernatorial race, Lucas is one of the few Democrats still holding a major office in the state.

He is the only Democrat in Kentucky's eight-member Washington delegation. His decision is motivated by his unwillingness to break a pledge to serve just three terms, the sources said.

"He was bothered by breaking his word," a source said.

Lucas, a corporate financial planner and former Boone County official, spurned offers from the White House earlier this year to switch parties. Though he is a Democrat, Lucas has voted often with the Republicans.

Clooney has never run for or held office but has published columns and made statements that Republicans would label as liberal.

His name recognition and star power will give him instant credibility, a political asset exploited by Arnold Schwarzenegger in his recent election as governor of California.

Two Republicans are running for the party's nomination in the Fourth District: Geoff Davis, a Boone County business consultant Lucas barely beat last year, and Kevin Murphy, an Erlanger lawyer.

_____________________

Use the link I provided, look at Nick's wife Nina. That's who I named my daughter Nina after. Seriously! Both Nick and Nina were patients in a doctor's office I worked at years ago. They were two of the nicest people we ever had as patients. Even though they were in the entertainment industry, they never acted like celebs can and often do. Nick would talk with all of us with such sincere interest. I never forgot that. Can see where George gets his good looks from and most importantly, his personality.

Mary

[Skywatch_NC]

Mary, I can't say enough about how I admire and love the Clooney family!!! Nick was always my favorite news anchorman on the then Eyewitness News WKRC-TV12 (ABC) network...he and Meteorologist Ira Joe Fisher (they worked together)
were always my favorite local TV news/media personalities while in Cincy!!

I wish Nick the VERY best in this new venture of his life!

Eric

[Miss Mary]

Mary, I can't say enough about how I admire and love the Clooney family!!! Nick was always my favorite news anchorman on the then Eyewitness News WKRC-TV12 (ABC) network...he and Meteorologist Ira Joe Fisher (they worked together)
were always my favorite local TV news/media personalities while in Cincy!!

I wish Nick the VERY best in this new venture of his life!

Eric

Eric - I wish only the best too in this new venture. Trouble is he's more well known over here in Ohio it seems to me. Hopefully he has a strong following in KY too. He and his wife still reside in Maysville, KY part of the year I think.

I remember Ira Joe! His claim to fame was that he could write backwards on the board, drawing fronts coming thru on maps. When he started doing that, he had the town talking. I miss him! He sure seemed like a nice guy.

Mary

[Skywatch_NC]

Mary, that's great that Nick and Nina still are in Maysville for part of the year. Yes, in their earlier years they lived in Mason, OH (not too far from Paramount King's Island).

In January 1981 I wrote and sent a fan letter to Ira Joe and he responded and I still have that letter in an album/scrapbook somewhere! You can still catch Ira on the CBS Saturday Early Show with news achors Russ Mitchell and Gretchen Carlson. Ira also was a co-host for a while of a Cincy PM Magazine variety show!

Eric

[ColdFront77]

I knew the name Ira Joe sounded familar. Although I don't watch the CBS Saturday Early Show [or any morning shows]. I believe I've seen him on CBS a few times.