Newspaper: Heiress spends early, often

The Youngstown Vindicator is reporting that the heir to an anti-gun shopping mall chain is busy self-financing her (next) campaign for U.S. Congress.

From the story:

She doesn't hold a congressional seat and can't run for one until next year, but Capri Cafaro's political campaign spent more money during the first three months of this year than any U.S. House member who represents the Mahoning and Shenango valleys.
Through March 31, Cafaro, a millionaire shopping heiress, spent $91,314 as she prepares for a 2006 rematch with U.S. Rep. Steven C. LaTourette, a Concord Republican who represents the 14th Congressional District.

Cafaro's most recent report filed with the Federal Election Commission for the first quarter shows she loaned $94,551 to her campaign preparing for the 2006 election, or 97 percent of her campaign's total revenue during that period.

Most of that money went to media and field consulting, for legal and accounting services, and to pay the salaries of 11 campaign staff members.

Cafaro had $7,630 on hand as of March 31. A Liberty native, she lists a Chagrin Falls address on her most recent FEC financial report.

LaTourette beat Cafaro, a Democrat, by a nearly 2-to-1 margin in last year's general election, the most expensive U.S. House race in Ohio.

During that campaign, Cafaro raised $1.98 million, including $1.74 million of her own money, spending nearly all of it. She also accumulated $2.05 million in debt, about half of it owed to herself.

The 14th District includes all or parts of seven northeast Ohio counties.

While the OFCC PAC does not make endorsements in races for national offices, any campaign by Ms. Cafaro should draw the attention of every law-abiding, self-defense supporter in northeast Ohio.

Why?

Because in her failed 2004 campaign, Capri Cafaro emulated John Kerry in trying to pretend she is pro-gun. Because Cafaro's campaign funding comes from her family's shopping center empire. And because those shopping centers were all posted with "no-guns" signs following passage of Ohio's new concealed carry law.

Click on the "Read More..." link below for more.

From an Oct. 11, 2004 article in the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Cafaro claimed she "supports Second Amendment gun-ownership rights. 'It didn't prove effective,' Cafaro said of the federal assault-weapons ban that recently expired. 'Concealed carry [of guns] has been effective in reducing crime in the states that it has been in.'"

Yet when a customer of one of her family's malls wrote to complain about the discriminatory signs, Cafaro responded in an April 15, 2004 email (provided by the recipient of the email to OFCC) as follows:

"You are not the first to express this sentiment regarding my family's properties and the CCW ban.

I, unfortunately, have no authority over what they do or what policies they set.

While I am not and have never been involved in my family's commercial real estate business, I believe they, along with all property owners, have reserved the right to determine who and what goes on within the boundries [sic] of their private property. It is possible that many public places, such as bars and restaurants, will follow suit, due to liability purposes."

If Cafaro was at all familiar with Ohio's new concealed carry law, she would know that the Ohio General Assembly inserted an immunity clause for businesses, protecting them whether or not they choose to post these discriminatory signs.

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This much is clear. Capri is quite willing to spend the money these 'no-guns' shopping malls bring in. But when it comes to taking responsibility for how gun owners are discriminated against and rendered helpless when they go there, she claims she has no involvement with the malls. Like John Kerry, she is trying to have it both ways with gun owners.

According to supporters who have contacted OFCC, customers can't even drive to the mall and leave their firearms in their car if they chose, because the ban is effective in parking lots. By prohibiting firearms in its parking lots, the Cafaro Co. has not only made their customers and employees more susceptible to violence while at the mall, but has effectively disarmed them while driving to and from.

Rep. LaTourette was quoted in that same October newspaper story as saying recently that he is "unnerved" by Cafaro's ability to write herself huge campaign checks.

"I'm concerned she could buy the race...". "I think people deserve to know what she thinks about things, not just how she looks on television."

On that, concealed handgun license-holders who are disarmed at Cafaro-owned shopping malls couldn't agree with you more, Rep. LaTourette.