Kilroy's opponent, Republican Steve Stivers, has had a different background. Stivers was a bank lobbyist for Bank One. His job was to work directly with the state legislature to protect his bank from over regulation. As a lobbyist, Stivers worked to promote and protect his employer. Even today, Stivers prefers the company of bankers instead of voters.
As a member of the Ohio Senate, Stivers has worked against consumer protection laws. Here is what Emily's List had to say about Stivers:
....Republicans have coalesced behind Steve Stivers, a right-wing state senator and former lobbyist for the banking industry. Stivers has repeatedly opposed legislation to protect consumers, including efforts to curb predatory lending. He has consistently earned “0” ratings from Ohio NARAL and even worked against an amendment requiring insurance companies to cover contraception.....
Do you want someone like Steve Stivers determining if and what type of birth control you can use? Do you want someone like Steve Stivers interfering with your reproductive freedom?
Stivers even suggested that the State of Ohio should not regulate or oversee mortgages. Here is the quote from the Dispatch:
....Sen. Steve Stivers, a Republican and former lobbyist for Bank One, said Ohio should remain one of only two states that exempts the mortgage industry from the Consumer Sales Practices Act....
....But Stivers isn't finding much support in his own caucus, much less among advocates for the poor....
"The bottom line is the homeowner has to have the ability to seek redress," he said, adding that consumers have more protections when buying a toaster than a house.....
OMG! It appears that Stivers thinks he was elected to the Ohio Bank Senate instead of the Ohio Senate. Do we really want to send someone to Washington DC who intends to protect banks instead of people? With the problems that some banks are having (see CNN), do we really need someone like Stivers who continues to be too cozy with the banking industry?
I do not think that Stivers has the judgment to go to Congress and represent the people of the 15th.