Thank you!!
Thank you to all who donated to our efforts for the Greater Cleveland Food Bank this holiday season–your generosity and support are greatly appreciated!!
Westshore “Holiday” Party!!
Please RSVP at the link HERE for our Westshore Holiday Party to be held at Westlake Porter Library on Monday, January 19th at 7pm! This will serve as our January meeting. Please attend to hear Ohio Secretary of State candidate Allison Russo! This should be a great event!!
Ed Fitzgerald Event!!
Ed Fitzgerald is running for Congress to unseat Max Miller and is one of the Democratic candidates currently in the running for the race. He will be holding a Town Hall at the Rocky River Library this Sunday, January 11th at 2pm. Please attend to meet Ed and hear more about his campaign!! Learn more about Ed HERE!!
Jennifer McTernan Fundraiser
Tell DeWine NO!!
Three property tax bills are with Governor DeWine: HB 129, HB 186, and HB 335. All three of these bills will heavily impact public schools, libraries, and first responders across the state by hindering critical funding sources our communities rely on. Learn more about their impacts here. Please join us in urging DeWine to VETO these misguided relief bills that will only exacerbate current funding crises.
Or make a call: 614-466-3555 or 614-644-4357. Call Script: bit.ly/VetoScript
Meanwhile, several concerning bills targeting K-12 curriculum have advancedthrough the legislature.
SB 34, passed out of the Senate and will now move to the House. This bill enacts the “Display of Founding Documents of Historic Significance Act,” which would require Ohio public schools to display certain historical documents—at least four from a list of nine. This list includes the Ten Commandments. Organizations backed by Christian Nationalist are already vowing to provide donations and funding to ensure that the Ten Commandments are displayed in school buildings if the bill becomes law.
HB 485, “The Baby Olivia Act,” and HB 486 “The Charlie Kirk American Heritage Act” both passed out of the House and will move to the Senate. HB 485 requires schools to show misleading, anti-abortion “fetal development” video every year beginning in 5th grade. HB 486 would allow educators in public schools and public colleges/universities to provide instruction on the positive impacts of Judeo-Christian values on American history and culture—another attempt by the state to push Christianity into our public schools.
In Addition, Please Take Action on These Priority Education Bills:
- Help stop SB 113—K-12 DEI Program Bans
- Advocate for HB 415—The CROWN Act
- Help stop HB 42—Mandatory Immigration Status Reporting for Schools
- Advocate for SB 13—the Foster-to-College Scholarship Program
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| Republican state lawmakers approved SB 293, which wipes out extra time for mail-in ballots to arrive after Election Day, except for military and overseas voters. It now goes to Gov. DeWine, who has said that he doesn’t see the need to sign any more voting restrictions. Call Governor DeWine now at 614-644-4357 to urge him to veto SB 293! Tell him no one should lose their vote because of a mail delay. It’s okay to leave a voicemail, and if the inbox is full, make sure you call his staff! This link: bit.ly/MikeDeWine has not just the governor’s contact info, but also phone numbers and emails for his leadership team—don’t be shy in telling them the governor should veto SB 293! Protect Ohio voters! |
Redistricting in Ohio!!
This past week the five Republicans and two Democrats on the Ohio Redistricting Commission voted unanimously to adopt new Congressional maps for Ohio that increase Republican advantage in 12 of the state’s 15 districts. The new gerrymandered maps will be in effect through 2031.
This outcome, the result of a broken process, is beyond alarming to those who desire fair and representative maps — but this fight is not over. Many of us will continue working to take the power to draw legislative maps out of the hands of politicians and ensure an independent process that empowers voters to determine their representatives, no matter which party is in power.
- Please encourage every Democrat you know to register to vote. Many of the Congressional districts in the new maps are competitive and will be on the ballot in 2026, as will key statewide offices and Ohio Supreme Court seats. Every vote makes a difference!
- Help keep up the pressure. In 2024, Governor DeWine promised that if Issue 1 failed, he would work to pass a Constitutional Amendment to reform the redistricting system to require true bipartisanship and representational fairness. Contact Governor DeWine’s office today and remind him of that promise.
Protect America’s Workforce Act!!
Editorial Articles!!
Please take a moment to read this insightful article HERE from Robert Reich that was shared by one of our members–it’s important to make sure that we continue to demand more from our leaders…beyond just NOT being Trump!!
A very insightful article HERE and this podcast HERE about the meaning and value of protests!
Bride Rose shared some really concerning updates on the new legislation regarding property taxes currently in the Statehouse at our July meeting–the Plain Dealer published some good information about how we got to this terrible point where we are underfunding schools in favor of supporting billionaires. Please read them HERE and HERE.
An article HERE about how hard Bernie Moreno is working to help sell out rural Ohio.
A great piece in the Plain Dealer from The Washington Post HERE about the vast billion-dollar network working behind Trump and JD Vance.
A great video about what Trump’s ballroom really means HERE.
Membership Drive!
We are still in our membership drive for 2025! If you have not renewed your membership, see one of us at the next meeting, or you can renew online HERE
Due to the rising costs of postage, scheduling of events, and other club duties, we unfortunately have had to raise our membership rates only slightly–individual memberships have increased to $30 (from $20), and family memberships have increased to $40 (from $30)–senior and student memberships will remain the same, at $10 and $5, respectively. While we hate to have to raise rates, it will go a long way to help us stage events, including postcard parties and community gatherings, maintaining the website, room rentals, printing, and sponsoring get-out-the-vote events and yard sign drives!
As always, if you can add more, it will cover someone who can afford less. Everyone is welcome at the amount you are comfortable contributing.