Clinton speaks in Belpre tonight

By Patrick Cooley, pcooley@mariettatimes.com
Ten days after her husband stumped for her in Marietta, Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton herself will speak at Belpre High School tonight.

The New York senator is scheduled to speak at 9:30 p.m. in the school’s gymnasium, in an event Belpre Mayor Mike Lorentz said is unprecedented for the city.

“We’ve never, to my knowledge, had a presidential candidate stop in Belpre,” he said. “This a town of 6,800; how many times are you going to see that happen?

“The whole city is in an uproar. Everyone is excited about this regardless of their political party. I’ve had people ... that I don’t even know coming to me wanting to get front row seats,” he said.

Seating actually will be on a first-come, first-serve basis, with doors opening at 8 p.m. Admission is free. There will be an overflow room in the auditorium in the Lawton building, where attendees will be able to hear the audio of the speech.

Former President Bill Clinton spoke to about 1,600 people in a Feb. 17 event at Marietta College.

Ben Kobren, a spokesman for Hillary Clinton’s campaign in Ohio, said the school was chosen because it was a gathering place in the area that could accommodate a large crowd.

Clinton will be coming to Belpre from Zanesville in Muskingum County. She is scheduled to attend an economic summit at 1:30 p.m. at Zane State and the Ohio University Zanesville campus.

“Anytime you have a dignitary or a president or even a presidential candidate come to the county, it’s good for the community, regardless of their political affiliation,” said Washington County Commissioner Sam Cook. “People are interested in seeing the candidates.”

Michele Filon, principal at Belpre High School, said this is the first time she’s heard of a candidate coming to the school.

“It’s exciting, especially for the students,” she said. “A lot of the kids have been part of our Ohio Agenda program, which encourages them to be active in politics, but anytime you bring a candidate into their own back yard, that itself encourages students to become more political and exercise their voice.”

The gym can comfortably hold 1,500 people, but it has held as many as 2,200 Filon said. Washington County Sheriff Larry Mincks, whose office is assisting with security along with the Belpre Police Department, expects a capacity crowd.

“It’s hard to come up with an exact figure (of people who will attend),” he said. “She’s a very strong draw being a presidential candidate, so you’ll see a lot of people.”

Sharon Adams, president of the Washington County Women’s Republican Club, said Clinton is coming to this area because there are so many Democratic officials.

“The governor is a Democrat and many of the elected officials in the area are Democratic,” she said. “She wants to win this area so she can have all the votes from the state, but if we had a Republican governor, you would probably never see her here.

“But I’m very happy to see that somebody is going to a small town like Belpre,” she said.

In the race for the Democratic nomination, Clinton is trailing Illinois Sen. Barack Obama heading into the crucial Ohio primary on March 4.

Obama’s wife, Michelle, will be in the region Thursday, speaking at Ohio University’s Memorial Auditorium in Athens. Doors open at 3:15 p.m., and the program begins at 4.

While he has campaigned in Ohio, Sen. John McCain of Arizona, the likely Republican nominee, has not visited or sent a representative to the Mid-Ohio Valley. However, Ohio’s primary would seem to be of more strategic importance to the Democratic candidates, who are still locked in a tight race.

A national GOP figure will visit the area Thursday, though, when former White House budget director Rob Portman speaks at the Washington County Republican Party’s annual Lincoln Day Dinner. An Ohio Republican, Portman is considered a possible vice presidential candidate.