Ohio State Senator Nina Turner, a Democratic candidate for Ohio Secretary of State in 2014, to hold free campaign event with Comedian Rickey Smiley on Sunday, July 21, 2013 from 1-3 pm at the Vada Restaurant and Lounge in Cleveland, 1437 St. Claire Ave., food to be served and donations will be accepted

Ohio State Sen. Nina Turner (D-25)

By Kathy Wray Coleman, Editor, Cleveland Urban News. Com and The Kathy Wray Coleman Online News Blog.Com, Ohio's No 1 and No 2 online Black newspapers (www.kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com) and (www.clevelandurbannews.com). Kathy Wray Coleman is a former biology teacher and a 20-year investigative Black journalist who trained for some 15 years at the Call and Post Newspaper. Reach Coleman by phone at 216-659-0473 and by email at editor@clevelandurbannews.com  

CLEVELAND,Ohio- Ohio state Sen. Nina Turner (D-25), a Cleveland Democrat who launched her bid two weeks ago for the  Democratic nomination to try to unseat Republican Ohio Secretary of State John Husted in next year's election, will hold her second major campaign event since the announcement on Sunday, July 21 from 1 pm to 3 pm at the Vada Restaurant and Lounge in Cleveland, 1437 St. Clair Ave. (For more information call 614-893-7790. To reach the Vada Restaurant and Lounge call 216-298-4726).

Nationally Known Comedian
Rickey Smiley

Comedian Rickey Smiley, who is nationally known and stationed in Atlanta, GA, will headline the event, which has no cover and free food, though the Turner campaign said that donations will be accepted.

The Minority Whip for the Ohio Senate and a protege of former Cleveland mayor Michael R. White and current Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson, Turner, 45, is married to Jeff Turner and the couple has an adult son.  She  was a Cleveland Ward 1 city councilwoman before she became one of two Black Ohio state senators from greater Cleveland, and she teaches history at Cuyahoga Community College.

If the state lawmaker wins the Democratic nomination next year and goes on to unseat Husted ,Turner would be the first Black Democrat in Ohio to win a statewide office. She is running on the Democratic ticket with Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald, who announced earlier this year his bid to seek to unseat Republican Gov. John Kasich in 2014. 

Both FitzGerald and Turner have the support of Ohio Democratic Party Chairman Chris Redfern, an indication, say political pundits, that both could likely win the Democratic nomination.