RSVP for our next meeting! Sept 26.
Kellie Copeland, Exec Director of Pro-Choice Ohio to speak on Issue 1 and messaging and we are stoked to welcome her back! The general election will be uber important and we all need great and diverse ways to parle our message for freedom and the greater good!
Important Dates!
November 7, 2023 General Election
October 10: Voter Registration Closes
October 11: Opening of In-Person and Vote-by-Mail (Absentee voting)
October 31, 8:30 pm: Deadline for applications by mail for an Vote-by-Mail/Absentee ballot to be mailed
November 5: Voting in-person at the Board of Elections ends at 5:00 pm
November 6: All Vote-by-Mail/Absentee ballots mailed anywhere in the U.S. must be postmarked on or before this date and received at the Board of Elections on or before Nov 11 in order to be counted
November 7, 6:30 am – 7:30 pm : Election Day – Provisional voting at the Board of Elections. All Vote-by-Mail / Absentee ballots returned in person must be received the Board of Elections by 7:30 to be counted.
Events
Learn More about HB 197: The Ohio Community Solar Pilot Program
Join Solar United Neighbors, the Coalition for Community Solar Access and Green Energy Ohio for a webinar on House Bill 197.
Tuesday, September 12 at 5:30-6:30 pm
Fair Districts All Volunteer Huddle: September 13
On August 14, Citizens Not Politicians launched a citizen initiative to thwart gerrymandering by putting voters in charge. This past Wednesday, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost identified nine issues in the petition summary that his office believes are confusing and vague, misleading, or inaccurate—and so he declined to certify the summary and sent the campaign back to the drawing board. It is common for initial petition language to be rejected at least once.
Read the Statement from the Citizens Not Politicians Website
We will discuss the Citizens Not Politicians Amendment and ways to get involved in the effort to take mapmaking out of the hands of elected officials and place it in the hands of an independent citizens redistricting commission.
The next Fair Districts All Volunteer Huddle is on September 13 at 6:00 pm
This will be a great time to learn more about the policy and process, and the different ways you will be able to help with this important effort.
Register for the September Huddle Here and feel free to invite others to participate.
Letters:
September 2, 2023
What would it be like if you had to be uprooted from your community?
Euclid Beach Mobile Park Community Musings
by Patrick J. O’Connor
poc44121@yahoo.com
What would it be like if you had to say good bye to your neighbors because your neighborhood is going to be torn down?
What would it be like if you had to leave your friends behind? Friends you’ve known and loved for years, for decades.
This is exactly what our neighbors are facing who call Euclid Beach Mobile Park Community their home.
They do not own the land where their homes are located. But does that disqualify their voices from the conversation?
Presently, the deed is held by the Western Reserve Land Conservancy (WRLC). As reported by Plain Dealer and cleveland.com writer Stephen Litt, “The conservancy bought the property for $5.8 million in 2021 from a subsidiary of Dallas-based Moore Enterprises, which previously announced it would sell to the highest bidder. The triangle-shaped property, located north of Lakeshore Boulevard, was once part of the popular Euclid Beach Amusement Park, which operated on the site and on adjacent parcels, from 1895 to 1969. (Plain Dealer July 11, 2023)
It’s an open secret that the Western Reserve Land Conservancy bought the property with the intention of turning it over to the Metroparks, like they did several years ago with Acacia Country Club in Lyndhurst.
This ‘straw’ purchase of Euclid Beach Mobile Park Community by WRLC is intended to save the Metroparks from doing the dirty work of evicting the residents. More to the point, it avoids accountability under the Uniform Relocation Act (URA) that requires adherence to standards to resettle people by entities that have received federal funding, like the Metroparks.
With these considerations in mind, it’s worth noting that an important develop has taken place.
The Mandel Foundation has awarded the Western Reserve Land Conservancy a $10M grant, $6.2 million is earmarked to assist residents living in the 124 occupied mobile homes that remain in the community. The money will not be evenly divided, but will be distributed on a case-by-case basis.
That’s the crux of the matter. Why? Instead of working with the Euclid Beach Mobile Park Community, the Mandel Foundation is telling the Western Reserve Land Conservancy to deploy a divide and conquer strategy. This is not a path to a fair and equitable resolution, especially if the Western Reserve Land Conservancy wants to abide by the Unified Relocation Act (URA).
The Euclid Beach Mobile Park Community is united. They are organized and their voices are united. With the help of the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless (NEOCH), they have formed the United Residents of Euclid Beach (UREB).
The Euclid Beach Mobile Park Community wants to preserve their neighborhood, their friendships, their community. For this reason they deserve an opportunity to present themselves as a community who wants to remain together.
Christopher Knestrick, executive director of the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless (NEOCH), said “the Mandel grants show that there’s enough money in Cleveland to make it possible for the residents to remain in the mobile homes, to rebuild the failing utilities in the community, and to pay off the land conservancy for its investment. The community has been clear that they don’t want to leave and they’ve come up with options [to stay] that haven’t been heard adequately,’’ Knestrick said. While he said the Mandel grant could provide tens of thousands of dollars to mobile home residents for relocation expenses, displacement is “a question of justice, not of payment.”
“What is the value of our homes, our livelihoods, the trauma, the pain of being torn from your home? What value does the community put on that?” Knestrick said. “There is no monetary value that can replace what a home means to a person. Or, I might offer, a community.” (Plain Dealer July 11, 2023)
The Metroparks Board of Commissioners and Administration have been exemplary stewards of our parks. It would be a shame if this history of noble and civic leadership should be sullied if the Metroparks did not exert their influence with the Western Reserve Land Conservancy in facilitating a just and equitable solution with our neighbors who call Euclid Beach Mobile Park Community their home.
The Commissioners are amenable to hearing from the community. Please share your concerns with them, either in writing or by phone or in person at the next Commissioners’ meeting on Thursday, September 21st at 8:00am.
Mr. Bruce G. Rinker
President, Cleveland Metroparks Board of Commissioners
Mr. Dan T. Moore
Vice President, Cleveland Metroparks Board of Commissioners
4101 Fulton Parkway
Cleveland, OH 44144
216-635-3200