2002 OFCC PAC Endorsee John Boccieri fighting for more than office

MaArea representative deployed with Air Force Reserve unit in Middle East might not be back for election. Constituents' concerns are still being heard

March 04, 2004
Akron Beacon-Journal

John Boccieri is like many Ohio residents who have enlisted in any of the reserve branches of the military: He has been called up and deployed to the Middle East.

What sets Boccieri apart, however, is that he has another significant public duty on his plate: He is the Democratic representative for House District 61, which covers parts of Stark, Mahoning and Tuscarawas counties, and all of Carroll County.

Boccieri, a captain in the Air Force Reserve, left for the Middle East on Feb. 7 and could be gone for a year. That could mean Boccieri, 34, won't be able to campaign on his own behalf for re-election in November, when he will face Randy Pope, who defeated Jonathan E. Swift in Tuesday's Republican primary.

What that doesn't mean, however, is that his constituents have no representation in Columbus. Far from it, actually.

"We knew that there was a chance that this would happen, and John has always known that he would have to set aside his duties to the caucus in order to serve the country, which is fine,'' said House Minority Leader Chris Redfern, D-Catawba Island.

Before he departed, Boccieri relinquished his role as House minority whip to Rep. Lance T. Mason of Shaker Heights. Redfern said the entire Statehouse -- Republicans and Democrats -- was supportive of Boccieri's new role.

"He's on a mission to serve the country, for gosh sakes, it's not like he's on a Club Med vacation,'' Redfern said. "People understand what he was called to do.''

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Boccieri intends to set up his own Web site from his deployment area and communicate with the district as time allows.

In the meantime, Boccieri's wife, Stacey, and his chief aide, Lyn Falk, along with two volunteer aides, have combined to handle the day-to-day work in the district. That includes clearing e-mails sent to Boccieri's Web address with the state at [email protected], which means that mailings, grant proposals, and other constituent concerns are being addressed.

"He is being represented as much as he can be, considering,'' said Stacey Boccieri. She said she has been attending functions in John Boccieri's stead, and constituents have continued to send "a ton of mail'' to their house, all of which is read and sorted.

"Everything's the same. They (constituents) know that the office is functioning,'' Stacey Boccieri said.

Falk, who has been John Boccieri's aide for three years and has a total of 11 years in the Statehouse, is able to put her experience to use.

"Pretty much, if I don't know what to do, I have a lot of people I can turn to. I can get people where they need to be. I'm like a conduit,'' Falk said.

Redfern and some other House Democrats are also planning to show residents in District 61 that they are aware that the area is without a voting representative. A group of officials will hold periodic town hall meetings in Alliance, starting today. That meeting is scheduled from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the YWCA, 239 E. Market St.

Eleven members of the House are scheduled to attend the first meeting, and Redfern said that was because he wants residents to know they could still be heard, without politicizing the process.

"We talked about it a lot. We felt we didn't need to be perceived that we were going to swoop in and save his seat, but that we would still ensure that his district has representation,'' Redfern said. "They'll get a lot of talented people in the room, all at the same time, to get their questions answered.''

With that, Falk said, it really is business as usual in the district, even though its representative isn't readily available.

"I don't know how anyone can fault what we're doing, but if you can, don't be shy -- step forward,'' Falk said. "John can't be here right now, and he can't vote. Give us a shot, let us try to solve the problem.''