A GUIDE TO THE CONGRESSIONAL RACES: OHIO

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The "boy wonder," mayor of Cleveland at 31, is now 50, and the Democrats feel the seasoned Kucinich can be a winner. He wants more money for education, more protection for senior citizens' health and stronger crime prevention. But true to his maverick reputation, he refused to answer TIME's issues questionnaire because "YES and NO is too simplistic." Both he and Martin Hoke are known for shooting from the lip, so the race may depend on who shoots last and least.

THE ISSUES

Budget NR Medicare NR Defense NR Abortion NR Guns NR Gays NR Bosnia NR NAFTA NR Welfare NR Medical Leave NR (For an explanation of these issues, see the front of this guide.)

QUOTE OF NOTE: "This country, a land of so much promise for so many, must renew that promise for the youth of our nation."

LOUIS STOKES (D) District 11 (Cleveland--east side and suburbs)

BORN: Feb. 23, 1925, Cleveland EDUCATION: Case Western Reserve U, 1946-49; Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, J.D., 1953 FAMILY: Wife, Jeannette; four children RELIGION: African Methodist Episcopal Zion MILITARY: Army, 1943-46 OCCUPATION: Lawyer POLITICAL CAREER: U.S. House, 1968- ADDRESS: P.O. Box 99358, Cleveland 44199. Tel.: 216-561-7718

The first African American to sit on the House Intelligence Committee, the 70-year-old Stokes survived a brush with impropriety during the 1992 House bank scandal. But this veteran of the civil-rights movement, whose brother Carl was Cleveland's first black mayor, is favored to win his 15th trip to Congress.

THE ISSUES

Budget NO Medicare NO Defense YES Abortion NO Guns YES Gays NO Bosnia NO NAFTA NO Welfare NO Medical Leave YES (For an explanation of these issues, see the front of this guide.)

QUOTE OF NOTE: "A congressional leader who opposes affirmative action should realize that jobs do not belong specifically to one race of people. Black Americans born in this country also have a contract with America."

JAMES SYKORA (R) District 11

BORN: Dec. 4, 1942, Cleveland EDUCATION: Hampton Institute, 1965-68; Cuyahoga Community College, 1968-69 FAMILY: Single RELIGION: Roman Catholic MILITARY: Army, 1961-62 OCCUPATION: Market researcher POLITICAL CAREER: Republican candidate for Cleveland City Council, 1973, 1984, 1985, 1988; 1989; Republican nominee for Ohio House, 1988; Republican nominee for Ohio Senate, 1990 ADDRESS: P.O. Box 603659, Cleveland 44103. Tel.: 216-391-6215.

Sykora gets his appreciation of inner-city problems--build schools not prisons, he says--from a park bench, where he slept during a period of homelessness in 1988, and his political experience from losing more elections than the average politician. At least, says Sykora, voters know who he is.

THE ISSUES

Budget NR Medicare NR Defense NR Abortions YES Guns YES Gays YES Bosnia NO NAFTA YES Welfare NR Medical Leave YES (For an explanation of these issues, see the front of this guide.)

QUOTE OF NOTE: "What I'm concerned about is the dignity of everyone, from the unborn to the terminally ill. We have to care about everyone."

JOHN R. KASICH (R) District 12 (Central--eastern Columbus and suburbs)