Plain Dealer: Ohio members of Congress bring vets, VIPs to State of the Union speech

Just because President Obama gets the bully pulpit at tonight's State of the Union speech, doesn't mean that Ohio members of Congress won't use the event to make their own political statements.

One way of doing that is by distributing the guest ticket that each member of Congress gets to the occasion.

Warrensville Heights Democratic Rep. Marcia Fudge and Cleveland Democratic Rep. Dennis Kucinich both gave theirs to local U.S. Marine veterans of the Iraq war.

Fudge's guest is Joseph Collins of Cleveland, who is currently unemployed. Kucinich's guest is Joseph Sykes of Parma, who works in the Veterans Affairs office at Cleveland State University, where he is studying to become a social studies teacher.

"The men and women who have served in Iraq are coming home to a divided nation and a tenuous economic situation," Kucinich said in a press release. "With high levels of unemployment, foreclosures and continued economic hardship acorss the country and in the state of Ohio, it is harder than ever for returning veterans to reintegrate post-service."

Democratic Rep. Betty Sutton of Copley Township is bringing the father of a fallen service man from Green, Ohio, as her guest. Les Kuglics' son, Air Force Staff Sgt. Matthew Kuglics, was killed in Iraq during 2007 by an improvised explosive device.

"The entire Kuglics family is a reminder of the bravery and sacrifice of so many military families across our nation and the debt we owe to them as a country," Sutton said in a press release.

Toledo Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur invited the widow of a fallen Sandusky police officer to be her guest at the speech. Julie Dunn's 30-year-old husband, Andrew, was fatally shot during a traffic stop last March, leaving her with two young sons.

According to the Lorain Morning Journal, 50-year-old Kevin D. Randleman of Sandusky is awaiting trial for Dunn's murder.

"We will never forget Andy's courageous service and we must always remember to keep his family in our thoughts and prayers and deeds," Kaptur said in a press release.

Several GOP legislators announced they'll sit with Democrats at the speech to emphasize their willingness to work across party lines.

Wadsworth GOP Rep. Jim Renacci said he'll sit with a bipartisan group of legislators he's been meeting with since last April, while Ohio GOP Sen. Rob Portman said he'll accompany Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, with whom he's collaborated on energy efficiency legislation.

"True bipartisanship has to be about more than appearances - it has to include a commitment to finding bipartisan solutions," said a joint statement from Portman and Shaheen which touted their bill as a way to address energy challenges Obama's speech will mention.

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown said his guest at the event would be General Motors Lordstown auto worker Elizabeth Williams, a single mother of two.

“At last year’s State of the Union, President Obama spoke about the need to out-innovate, out-educate, and out-compete other countries," Brown said in a press release. "Our ability to do so requires us to out-manufacture them—to stamp the Made in America label on products sold around the world."

Rep. Tim Ryan, a Niles Democrat, will bring Summit County Executive Russ Pry to the speech, a spokesman said.

Bainbridge Township GOP Rep. Steve LaTourette will miss the speech because of illness, his office said, declining to release more specifics.