Author: Lee Kirkpatrick

What you can do to help

The Republican-controlled Ohio State Assembly continues to disappoint. On January 14th the Ohio Supreme Court ruled that the newly drawn Congressional map was unConstitutional. They gave the State Assembly 30 days to draw new maps. Over the weekend both the House and the Senate finally scheduled a public hearing for today; this morning they canceled them both hearing. So here we are on day 25 of the 30 days period with no maps and no public hearings. In May of 2018, the people of Ohio voted overwhelmingly (75%) that they wanted a transparent, bipartisan process. No reason was given as to why the hearings were canceled, but Josh Rultenberg, Spectrum News reporter, said in a tweet: “I just spoke with @bobpetersonfarm who chairs the Ohio Senate General Government Budget Committee. He says because there are not 66 votes in the Ohio House, there is not a map that can be put forward at this time.” I don’t understand–no map has been presented how does he know it won’t get 66 votes? Contact your State Rep https://ohiohouse.gov/ and your State Senator https://www.ohiosenate.gov/ and tell them to do their jobs. Then call Senator Bob Peterson at (614) 466-8156 and tell him to introduce a map and hold hearings immediately.

Our office will be closed this week (Feb. 3, 4, and 5) due to the weather.

Ohio has some of the most egregiously gerrymandered districts in the county. In 2011, Ohio’s districts were drawn in a private hotel room. The public didn’t get a chance to view the maps until hours before they were voted on. These maps produced some of the most outlandishly shaped districts in the country, including “The Duck” (OH-04 – U.S. Rep Jim Jordan).In 2015 and 2018, Ohioans overwhelmingly voted for redistricting reforms to stop gerrymandering. These referendums rejected how redistricting had been done and overhauled the process. Your voice is needed to ensure the state’s current redistricting plan produces fair legislative redistricting maps. Ohio Democratic Party Chair Elizabeth Walters issued the following statement in response to the Ohio Supreme Court ruling: “Twice, Ohioans overwhelmingly demanded change and fair representation and I’m glad that the Ohio Supreme Court listened. The Supreme Court today recognized what Ohioans already knew – GOP politicians tried to ram through an unconstitutional map that further rigs the state in favor of one party over another. Now that the Supreme Court has ruled, it’s imperative that the commission actually do their jobs this time and create maps that reflect our state, not a Republican party wish list.

LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD!

Click on the link below for information on how YOU can take action!

https://mailchi.mp/c463ef89a919/greene-county-democratic-party-current-newsletter-20120433?fbclid=IwAR18gB-wEIqwSyuir-tMf6PQd3FKzkzwcCytn60OFW8Vto7MiySEQkeGJL8

We need more signatures for 2 more new candidate petitions!  We need Democratic signatures in order for these great Democratic candidates to be on the ballot in our Mid-Term Primary in May.  In order to sign, you must be a Greene County registered voter who is a Declared Democrat.  You are a Declared Democrat if you voted a Democratic ballot in the last primary election.  Encourage any voter you know, who meets these criteria. If you have already signed for the first 3 candidates, please stop & sign for the latest 2 candidates. If you haven’t signed for any of our candidates, don’t sit back. Greene County is great for being supportive. Don’t stop now. The candidates are: 1. Jennifer Brunner running for Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Ohio  2. Jeffery Crossman running for Ohio Attorney General 3. Marilyn Zayas running for Justice of the Supreme Court of Ohio 4. Taylor Sappington running for Auditor of State 5. Chelsea Clark running for Secretary of State To sign the petitions, please come to GCDP HQ at 10 S. Detroit St. in Xenia on Thursday, Friday, or Saturday from 10 AM to 4 PM  during the next 2 weeks (Jan. 6-7-8 & Jan. 13-14-15).

For the 17^th annual Adopt Greene County Families for the Holidays program, Greene County Ohio Democrats outdid themselves once again in their generosity to eight local families, with a holiday to remember for the rest of their lives.

Care packages were distributed to eight families with children on December 18th. Each family received food (fresh, frozen, and canned), toiletries, personal and cleaning supplies, gifts for the children, and gift cards.  This event always generates a tremendous response from the GCDP membership

Each family was told to bring an empty van or truck to accommodate the number of packages the GCDP members had for each family.  Vans were literally filled front to back and floor to ceiling, including the rear and often front seats, with packages.  Each family member who arrived to receive the packages was overwhelmed with what they received.  The comment most often heard was “I never expected so much – thank you!” 

GCDP’s office manager and chief organizer for the program, Eileen Martin, said, “The members’ response to this year’s request for donations was magnificent!  It was a touching experience to see that the families’ needs were so well filled.”  Members shopped, wrapped, donated, packed, and helped put packages into the vans of the folks when they arrived to pick up the packages.  Eileen added a special “thank you” to Cindy Curtis and Bev Hogue.  “They helped to make this program a success at every step of the process.” 

We, the membership of the GDCP wish to thank the families that we adopted for giving us the privilege of helping them to have a more joyful holiday season. 

Click here to see it.

Many thanks to those who helped pass out slates for this Non-Partisan election – those who volunteered as Poll Workers, Rovers, logistics and accuracy testing, and those who provided added muscle at the Board of Elections.

     Most people don’t realize that the amount of attention to detail and effort that goes into a Local Non-Partisan election is the same as a Presidential election.  As soon as this election is finished and certified, we start preparing for the next election. (May 03, 2022 – Primary, then Nov. 08, 2022, Gubernatorial.)

     Our party and our Democracy need you – when we participate by volunteering, getting informed, voting, and donating, we can make a difference. Democracy is messy but I wouldn’t trade it for anything. The United States may be a young nation but we are the longest continuous democracy. Don’t let it fail because we get tired or depressed due to the conspiracy theories that so many believe in or due to the ignorance of folks in how elections take place. Keep talking to your neighbors, family, friends, and co-workers.  “Truth matters here.” – Lt. Col. Vindman.

   Our Democratic Party principles are people-oriented and worth struggling to put into place as well as talking to others about them.  Patriotic Democrats are working to get to bottom of the January 6 Capitol attack while Republicans and others are busy trying to ignore what happened and put it behind them.  

    Unfortunately, Trump and his followers, with the complicit approval of many in the Republican party, have emboldened bullying behavior and the pushing of false narratives to create chaos, mutilate the truth, and divide society.  Don’t let lies and bullying dissuade you from standing firm for our ideals and for sympathizing with those less fortunate.  We have many battles to fight, keep up your courage, fight the good fight, and don’t ever give up.

Doris Adams, GCDP Chairman

Participation is the key to a strong party. Democrats are trusting individuals who care about less fortunate folks and try to help them. Becoming a Precinct Captain. or Candidate, volunteering at HQ, making phone calls, passing out slates, doing literature drops, Voter Registration drives, and donations early on to candidates is critical. As your Greene County Democratic Party we’re happy for donations anytime but those that are “Supporting Members” (Those who consistently donate yearly to maintain our HQ and the expenses involved, are Solid Gold Democrats.) We need volunteers at the Board of Elections as poll workers, rovers, logic & accuracy testing, and the list goes on.  This is another way to support not only our Party but our Democracy. The ultra-conservatives use lies, fear-mongering, and division to lather up their crazy extremists.  To gain and maintain their extreme views these ultra-conservatives use voter suppression tactics to keep legitimate voters from voting and use intimidation and bullying against those who disagree with them. Get out of your comfort zone. Get informed on the events worldwide as well as local. The Nazis took over Germany using the same tactics the conservatives are using. Turning Americans against each other so they can divide and conquer.  Be loud and proud of being liberal open-minded people. Encourage other liberal-minded individuals to sign up for our newsletter and participate. Each election is a dress rehearsal for the next, to do things better. The upcoming election is “Non-Partisan” and Republicans would have you believe party doesn’t matter but it does!  Here in Greene County, there are 107 republicans running against 29 Democrats.  This overpowering number is designed to keep their death grip on policy and government at the grassroots level. If you don’t like the ultra-conservative and Republican agenda, you need to run for office yourself or at least donate and campaign for a candidate. Fair Districts and Bipartisanship only work for Republicans if they are getting “everything” and giving Democrats “nothing.” Remember this will never end and we can never give up. Stay Safe, stay healthy. Yours in solidarity, Doris Adams, Chair Greene County Democratic Party