Expect Republicans and their libertarian allies to use scare tactics

at every opportunity both in Ohio as well as here on this issue:

Issue could alter Ohio's political picture; Democrats might ride coattails of Ohio minimum-wage proposal

Sunday, June 11, 2006
Diane Suchetka
Plain Dealer Reporter

It's the ace up the Democrats' sleeve.

That's what some say about the drive to raise Ohio's minimum wage.

If labor and anti-poverty groups can get that issue on the November ballot, some political experts contend, Democratic voters will be much more likely to go to the polls. They will pick their party's candidates to serve as governor and U.S. senator and in a fistful of other key positions. And, in the process, they'll wrest political control of Ohio -- maybe even the U.S. Senate -- from a Republican Party hampered by scandal and a president with a historically low approval rating.

But will the plan work?

On the surface, it seems a sure bet.

For years, studies have shown a majority of Americans -- 86 percent, according to a recent poll conducted for the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press -- favor boosting the minimum wage.

The issue is especially favored by Democrats, blacks and low-income voters.

But whether it can help Democrats win is debatable.

A coalition of anti-poverty, labor and faith groups wants voters to decide this fall if Ohio should increase its minimum wage from $5.15 to $6.85 an hour and increase it every year after that, based on inflation.

To get the issue on the ballot, the groups must gather signatures from more than 320,000 voters across the state by Aug. 9. Leaders of the campaign say they're more than three-quarters of the way there.