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With the housing market on the decline and the national economy heading into recession, it is imperative for citizens of the 10th District to know who they want as their elected representative. In the present, it is the West side's own Dennis Kucinich.

Congressman Kucinich knows Cleveland very well. At the age of 31, he was elected as Cleveland’s youngest mayor, in 1994 he was elected to the State Senate and in 1996 he represented the region as the Congressman from the 10th District. He has fought for the region since his career began in 1967. He knows the psychology of the people of Cleveland because he has been a part of it his entire life.

“My life has always been one of service,” Kucinich explained in a candid interview at his Lakewood office. “Also, to speak the truth, which is an obligation to those of us who serve” he added.

Dennis was quick to point out how Abraham Lincoln stated that the US Government should be “Of the people, by the people, for the people”. His public service career was carved out of his experiences growing up. His family never owned a home, and Dennis was often on the move as child; He sometimes lived in a car to make ends meet. His knowledge of the streets of Cleveland have been shaped by Kucinich’s upbringing as an impoverished child.

Kucinich’s motivation is to provide people with their basic necessities, such as jobs, health care, education from pre-school to college, retirement security, and housing. His office is located right next to the senior citizen building in the heart of Lakewood, and for good reason. Congressman Kucinich states that the office should be accesible to citizens seeking help.

He calls Lakewood “A community that comes together to celebrate the arts and culture, and has many different countries represented in its schools”. He explained that the many different cultures and ethnicities that are in Lakewood add strength to the city because it creates “A beautiful mosaic”.

“We’re proud to be part of the community,” Dennis adds. “Lakewood represents all the potential that the state of Ohio has”.

On the national level, Congressman Kucinich has made many friends in Congress, the Senate, the House of Representatives, and the United Nations. Presidential hopeful and Republican maverick Ron Paul endorsed Kucinich as the person he would likely vote for in the 2008 Presidential Election. Ultimately, that respect and network helps this region get a fair representation within Washington DC.

Kucinich’s long career is full of many memories. Three that specifically came to mind in this interview, the first, when he met his wife, Elizabeth, in Washington DC after a hearing.

“Love at first sight,” he recalls. “It was amazing”.

The second was when he meet Pope John Paul II, who gave him the key to the Vatican. The Pope placed his hand over Kucinich’s head and gave Dennis a personal blessing.

“He put his hand on my head and said ‘My son I give you my special blessing’ and I felt something”, Kucinich explained. “It was very powerful”.

The third occurred one morning when Dennis was the mayor of Cleveland. He was on his way to work and saw a man collapse on the sidewalk. Dennis pulled his car over and performed CPR on the man until the paramedics arrived. Kucinich's heroic actions helped to save the man’s life. In the end, the man passed away a few weeks later, due to a heart attack.

His accomplishments in the last decade as the Congressman from the 10th district are noteworthy. Kucinich was the driving force that helped save the Social Security building in downtown Lakewood. He helped to work out the largest and only deal with the nation’s leading railroad system. This accomplishment helped to divert trains and facilitated the rebuilding of infrastructure of the railways in the southern part of the district with an $88 million infusion into the railway system. Before Kucinich’s stand against heavy train traffic, 48 trains would move through the 10th district daily and created nuisance violations and safety concerns. In communities like Lakewood and Rocky River, where backyards are so close to the tracks, this legislation was essential to keeping the peace. Dennis helped to limit the number to 12 trains per day maximum, a maximum which is rarely met.

He also worked closely with the Steel factories and helped to save Cleveland. Currently, Cleveland’s steel mills are the anchor of the steel industry in America. This was due to the fact that Kucinich did not give up on the region or its workers.

Kucinich has been a man of truth, compassion and diplomacy. In 1978, Cleveland's banks demanded that he sell the city's 70 year-old municipally-owned electric system to its private competitor. Otherwise, the banks threatened, they would not roll the city’s debt until the next year's tax revenues were received. Kucinich refused to sell Muny Light, the banks decided not to roll over the city’s debt which pushed the city into default. It turned out the banks were associated with the private utility, CEI, which would have become a monopoly after buying Muny Light from the city.

Muny Light is now Cleveland Public Power. It is a big part of the city that saved its customers $195 million over what they would have paid CEI. Kucinich sticks to his word and doesn’t let any private investors, banks, business men, or developers buy his seat. In this era of corporate power, Kucinich refused to back down from the power brokers who so often drive public policy in the name of the public good.

“Developers are only concerned with protecting their economic interests and they’re not concerned with the community”, Kucinich states. “Throughout my career, I’ve been standing up for people.”

Dennis Kucinich is a qualified representative of this district and state because has over 40 years of experience.

“The question is:” Kucinich proposed, “Where does your experience come from and does it come at the expense of other people? If you sell out the American people, or you sell out your community, you might have experience in office but to what avail?” Kucinich said.

“My career started in 1967”, Dennis said, “throughout my career I’ve been standing up for people. It started with saving an electric system, promoting environmental sustainability or saving a Steel Mill. Promoting peaceful exchange by bringing groups of Muslims, Jews and Christians [to his Lakewood office] to have inter-faith discussions, or going to the Middle East and working there”, he continued. Dennis and his wife Elizabeth took a trip to the Middle East to see things first hand and to speak with ambassadors and politicians about resolving issues of conflict.

“All these things encompass a lifetime of experience, which really is the knowledge of people”, Dennis added. “It’s really not about what offices you’ve held, do you know people? Because if you understand people then you can make a contribution far beyond what you can even imagine. The only way to know people is to be with them and to serve them”.

Kucinich says he’s not afraid to stand up for the citizens of Cleveland and do what feels right for his district and country.

“I’m not a guy who can be lead by the nose.” Kucinich stated. His actions speak for themselves as he has consistently been on target from the WMD threat in Iraq, to the failure of the Patriot Act.

“I was against the Patriot Act because I read it.” He joked.

The wide spectrum of cultures that embody Cleveland makes it the type of place that Dennis Kucinich wants to represent. He firmly believes in diplomacy, talking not only to those that are for him but also those that are against his campaign. He has a keen sense of what is good for this region; he knows the people and knows their struggle. His strong compassion for people from all backgrounds and situations will lead him to do what is right. Dennis Kucinich is perhaps the most modest public service official now working in government. He has no intentions of taking money from investors, private organizations, developers or any interested intent on financial gain at the expense of the common citizen.

Dennis Kucinich has always stood by what he believes is right. He carries a small Constitution in his coat pocket to remind himself of what this country was founded upon. Notes, underlined sentences, and asterisks fill the pages of the pocket sized Declaration of Independence and Constitution. He reads these documents on a consistent basis and works hard to represent his district in Washington DC. In this era where the desecration of the constitution is allowed by the mainstream media, Kucinich has stood firm in his rejection of the Patriot Act.

Dennis has four challengers that are vying for the seat he has held for the past 11 years. He has stayed true to his district for those 11 years, never taking “dirty money” which can tilt and shift an election. His election to the seat in 1996 and his re-elections in 2000, and 2004 are rooted in the person that Dennis Kucinich is and the things that he has done for the 10th District of Ohio. Hopefully, his character will stand out again, delivering a Kucinich victory in the 2008 election.

“I can’t be bought” Dennis Kucinich explained, “And neither can his seat” his wife Elizabeth added.