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Kucinich statement

Anastasia Pantsios — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 09:51:16 -0600

Here's Dennis Kucinich's statement about why he voted against the health-care reform bill in the House last night. It will be interesting to see if the corporate community — long gunning for him and feeling its oats after its thorough duping of the public on Issue 6 last Tuesday — will back another primary challenge to him. (It's possible he will back the final bill. It's often hard to figure out what he will do.)

http://kucinich.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=153995

Washington, Nov 7 -
After voting against H.R. 3962 - Affordable Health Care for America Act, Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) today made the following statement:

“We have been led to believe that we must make our health care choices only within the current structure of a predatory, for-profit insurance system which makes money not providing health care. We cannot fault the insurance companies for being what they are. But we can fault legislation in which the government incentivizes the perpetuation, indeed the strengthening, of the for-profit health insurance industry, the very source of the problem. When health insurance companies deny care or raise premiums, co-pays and deductibles they are simply trying to make a profit. That is our system.

Health-care reform bill passes House — just barely

Anastasia Pantsios — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 00:03:58 -0600

The vote was 220-215.

Both our Blue Dogs, Charlie Wilson (Oh-06) and Zack Space (Oh-18), voted for it. If you are in their districts, call and thank them. Wilson: 202-225-5705. Space: 202-225-6265.

Unfortunately, we had two less predictable "no" votes in our Ohio delegation: John Boccieri (Oh-16) and Dennis Kucinich (Oh-10). Kucinich was probably making a stand for a more perfect bill but the vote was a little too close to fool around with that.

Personally, I'm a bit angry at the games played today with treating women's reproductive freedom as a political football. The odious restriction on abortions for any woman who can't afford to pay the full freight for private insurance (that is, opts for the public option or receives any subsidy at all) passed and it's a disgrace — especially with some 60 Democrats voting for it — and a wakeup call to women that we need to make more noise about those who threaten our rights.

There's still plenty more process to go — the vote in the Senate and if it passes there, the reconciling of the House and Senate bills.

And there are still a lot of teabaggers screaming that improving access to health care is evil.

It Really IS That Important

Anastasia Pantsios — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 13:18:59 -0600

It’s hard to believe we’re sitting here on a Saturday — with an enormous Democratic majority in congress — facing the possibility that an entire group of the women most in need of legal abortions won’t be able to get them with insurance they have paid for, because they are part of a public option or because they get subsidies in order to make health insurance affordable at all.

We’ve just seen a couple of progressive amendments to the health-care bill sidelined for different reasons, but now a ban on most abortions in the public option or plans paid for in any part with subsidies IS allowed to come to a vote.

It’s really just one more thing on top of a pile of things that make women feel like the final straw is close. Come on, we’re being told — don’t bring down health-care reform because of one little bitty thing. OK, I would sort of get that — if women’s rights weren’t always getting the short end of the stick, if we weren’t always being told to just be nice girls and go along, and everything will be OK. It won’t be OK for those women already so financially stressed that they can’t afford expensive private insurance and must rely on a more economical private plan. Those are the women least likely to be able to throw together the money for an abortion in a timely manner.

The rage I’m seeing expressed by Democratic women should be a wakeup call for the Ohio Democratic Party, which seems to be twiddling its thumbs while an anti-choice extremist is lining up to be our candidate for secretary of state. There seems to be an attitude of, oh, it doesn’t really matter. After all, the secretary of state doesn’t deal with those issues. And anyway, aren’t we a big tent? No, not when it comes to basic civil rights we aren’t. And not when it comes to an office that is ALWAYS a springboard for higher office.

Meeting David Pepper

Anastasia Pantsios — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 12:37:34 -0600

Last night, I attended a house party to meet our state auditor candidate David Pepper, who is from Cincinnati and not known up here in Northeast Ohio. A local Democratic activist/ fundraiser invited people to meet him and get to know a little more about him. (This was not a fundraiser, although little envelopes were helpfully provided for those who liked what they heard.)

I was especially interested to meet and hear from Pepper because we’re virtually certain to lose the secretary of state office if we don’t find a candidate more acceptable to the core Democratic voters most likely to turn out in an off-year election. And the three key offices to control of the apportionment board are governor (I think Strickland will be re-elected), secretary of state and auditor. We have to hold two of those.

Because this is on peoples’ mind given the extreme gerrymandering of the state, which has produced Republican majorities in our legislature and congressional delegation even in years when most Ohio voters voted for a Democrat, Pepper spoke at length about his thoughts on state apportionment. He feels that the idea that Democrats, if in charge, should cut up the state in equally ridiculous fashion to benefit themselves, is counterproductive — and that fair, balanced, competitive districts will benefit Democrats regardless. (We have already managed to achieve a congressional delegation that is a 10-8 Democratic majority, despite our meandering, GOP-favoring districts).

A grade-school civics test should be required to serve in Congress

Anastasia Pantsios — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:56:25 -0600

Then maybe we could be rid of John Boehnhead.

http://www.politico.com/blogs/glennthrush/1109/Boehner_mixes_up_Constitu...

It's About the Money

Anastasia Pantsios — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 10:12:48 -0600

While I'm still thinking over what happened last night, the thing that's clearest to me is that the victories of state Issues 2 and 3 and Cuyahoga County Issue 6 are all about one thing: money. I don't have exact figures in front of me right now, but the proponents so drastically out-raised the opposition that that it never had a fair hearing. (Certainly the fact that in many cases, the media amplified the lies being bought with this money didn't help).

It points up that probably the biggest reform we need in this state on every level of government is campaign finance reform — for issues and candidates. I happened to be listening yesterday to the video of Mary Jane Trapp's speech that she made back in September announcing that she would be running for the state Supreme Court next year, trying to break the all-Republican stranglehold on that body. She brought up the issue of the perception that our Supreme Court is therefore not balanced or fair. And that reminded me of the 2006 race when Bill O'Neill took on Terence O'Donnell. Bill, out of principle, refused to raise ANY money. His slogan was "No Money From No Body" (somewhat ungrammatical but catchy.) O'Donnell was the biggest fundraiser on the court. Shortly before the election, the New York Times did a front-page story in which it pegged O'Donnell as having a huge "perception of conflict" problem: He decided for his contributors more than 90% of the time. Sadly, his money overcame Bill's principles on election day.

Many have suggested campaign finance reform should begin there: with our judges. Mary Jane told me, shortly after her announcement, that there are currently time-period limitations on when a challenger could start raising money, and when I asked her why, she said it's an incumbent protection racket. This is a playing field that needs to be leveled NOW.

BREAKING : AP Calls Issue 3 for Casinos

Anthony Fossaceca — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 23:06:37 -0600

Ohio is about to experience the same triumphant economic success that made Detroit the country's safest, cleanest, most profitable city in America. (Yes, I'm joking)

Like it or not, we're getting casinos.

BREAKING : Wilkowski Concedes in Toledo

Anthony Fossaceca — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 22:50:30 -0600

Democratic candidate Keith Wilkowski conceded moments ago in Toledo where Independent candidate Mike Bell narrowly defeated the former County Commissioner in their race for Mayor.

While a recount is possible, this looks to be the second notable mayoral loss for the Dems tonight.

Bell, as he announced in a forum a few days ago, will be on vacation for the rest of the week while the city of Toledo waits for leadership. How depressing.

BREAKING : Stunner in Dayton - Rhine McLin Loses to Gary Leitzell

Anthony Fossaceca — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 22:43:11 -0600

In a shocking upset, Dayton Mayor Rhine McLin has been defeated by Independent candidate Gary Leitzell. Leitzell, the President of the Southeast Priority Board, was endorsed by the Montgomery County GOP. Final numbers had Leitzell with 14,923 votes to McLin's 14,045 votes, a difference of 878.

In the City Commission race, Nan Whaley and Joey Williams were re-elected, beating out local activist David Esrati.

ELECTION NIGHT Issue 2 : Start Growing Your Own Food.

Anthony Fossaceca — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 22:15:34 -0600

If you want organic foods grown by local farmers, you may end up with fewer options as BigAg is winning big tonight amending the Ohio Constitution to rewrite the playbook on how our fair state regulates the farming industry - especially in regards to restrictions on pollution and animal treatment.

Factory farmers will be celebrating tomorrow, but if you're a cow, or live down river from a cow, uh...not so much.

ELECTION NIGHT Toledo : Numbers Shifting From Democrat Wilkowski

Anthony Fossaceca — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 21:59:49 -0600

70% of the vote in - Mike Bell leading Keith Wilkowski 51% to 48% in Toledo Mayor Race.

BREAKING : Great (Luke) Scott! 18-Yr Old Wins in Wellston, Lands 60% of Vote

Anthony Fossaceca — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 21:40:23 -0600

Luke Scott, the one-man political powerhouse who dared to shake up his stagnating community and fight for the only city he's ever called home, is now a Councilman-elect in Wellston. We profiled him here last summer. He becomes the youngest elected official in the state of Ohio.

ELECTION NIGHT Fairfield County : 18 Year-Old Adam Schneider Falls Short in Lancaster

Anthony Fossaceca — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 21:30:34 -0600

Adam Schneider, the 18 year old candidate in Lancaster who we profiled this summer, has lost his race for Lancaster School Board. Despite running a very strong campaign, Schneider failed to make the final cut finishing with a respectable 16% of the vote in a four way race.

ELECTION NIGHT Franklin Co. : Half Way Home

Bradley L. Cromes — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 21:24:04 -0600

With just over half of all Franklin Co. precincts reporting, the trends remain largely as they were before, with one major exception: Issue 3.

What had been a slight margin against the casino initiative has turned into something of a route at this point, with the "nays" having it 58% -42%. This coincides with a slide in Issue 3's statewide margin, which now sits at a much tighter 54% -46%.

Still, if this trend line holds, it's tough to see Issue 3 losing in the final tally. Simply too much Dan Gilbert, and too many votes to overcome from Cuyahoga and Hamilton counties.

ELECTION NIGHT Toledo : Mayor's Race Almost Dead Even

Anthony Fossaceca — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 21:20:12 -0600

From 13abc : Toledo Mayor - 41% of Precincts Reporting Keith Wilkowski 15,155 50%, Mike Bell 15,084 50%

BREAKING : The End of the World Has Arrived. Blogger Jill Miller Zimon Wins.

Anthony Fossaceca — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 21:08:31 -0600

Call her Councilwoman-elect, but Jill Miller Zimon of Pepper Pike and of the blog "Writes Like She Talks" has won her race according to a campaign source. More to come...

ELECTION NIGHT Toledo : Wilkowski Slightly Ahead of Bell

Anthony Fossaceca — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 20:51:23 -0600

With 29% in, Keith Wilkowski is leading Mike Bell in the race for Toledo Mayor - 51% to 49%

ELECTION NIGHT Franklin Co. : Quarter Pole

Bradley L. Cromes — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 20:32:38 -0600

With around 25% in in Franklin Co., we're starting to see results solidifying.

Results locally on Issues 1 and 2 mirror those statewide: Issue 1 enjoys a 75% -25% edge, while Issue 2 sits at a comfortable 60% - 40% margin.

We've seen a great deal of movement on Issue 3, however: it now trails in Franklin Co. 52% -48%, with a margin of around 3,000 votes. Franklin Co. is now the only major urban county (and only county where a casino would appear under the amendment) where the measure trails.

Even should that trend continue, however, the prospects for Issue 3 statewide remain strong. It leads, 57% - 43%.

In local races, the three Dems up for City Council (Troy Miller, Priscilla Tyson, and Eileen Pailey) all look to win comfortably (with Pailey in the greatest danger, ahead of her nearest challenger by 2%).

Local Issue 4 (tax revenues for children's services) is also faring well, with a 62% - 38% advantage.

ELECTION NIGHT Cuyahoga : Miller Zimon Hanging On, Issue 5 Well Behind

Anthony Fossaceca — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 20:30:08 -0600

Quick glance at the early voting in Cuyahoga...

Issue 5 going down in flames (or at least it appears so, but hard to tell where the votes are coming from). Issue 6 is now well ahead (a complete opposite of Issue 5.

The local counts on the Issues 1, 2, and 3 show county voters supporting all three.

In Pepper Pike, Jill Zimon has a razor thin hold on a council seat with only early votes having been counted. Top four are elected, Zimon is 4th of 6 and leads fifth place by 2 votes 592 to 590.

Issue 4 - Tri C Tax Levy is ahead comfortably with about 10% of the vote in.

In Bay Village, GOP Mayor Debbie Sutherland who ran against Peter Lawson Jones for County Commissioner in 2008, is behind to Jim Scott by a handful. This one should be down to the wire.

Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson is blowing out former Councilman Bill Patmon.

Cleveland City Council races of note, Zack Reed looks to be holding on to his seat (or the new seat in a different ward) as he's ahead almost 2-1 on Charlene Laster with 2 of 19 precincts in along with early voting.

Councilwoman Phyllis Cleveland leads Pernel Jones by a single vote - 663-662 with 4 of 21 precincts in.

The political comeback of convicted felon Jeffrey Johnson is looking very possible as he leads Councilwoman Shari Cloud with 3 of 20 precincts.

Councilman Brian Cummins out to an early lead in Ward 14 on Rick Nagin, but it's reasonable close with only early voters in.

William O'Neill is a very votes behind in Hunting Valley Village Council where he's now 4th of 5, with the top 3 elected.

Nickie Antonio, Brian Powers and Monique Smith are early leaders in the Lakewood Council At Large race with top three of 6 elected to Council.

In North Olmsted, Kevin Kennedy looks to be on his way to locking down Mayor. He's ahead of Republican John Lasko 3575 to 2751 with 4 of 25 pcts in.

Mike Byrne is well ahead of Tom Minchak in Parma Hts. Mayor's race.

ELECTION NIGHT State Issues : Franklin Co. Absentee Results

Bradley L. Cromes — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 19:33:08 -0600

In the first installment of a two part release of absentee ballots tonight, the Franklin County Board of Elections shed some light on how the issue campaigns fared in early voting in Ohio's fastest growing urban area.

The power of "the troops" as a political panacea appears to continue holding incredible power, as early voting in showed Issue 1 with a 78% - 22% edge (and nearly 20,000 vote buffer) despite concerns about adding an additional $200M to our state's already massive debt.

Despite vocal opposition to Issue 2 in and around Columbus and on the blogosphere, that issue too sat comfortably ahead in early voting, with an 11,569 vote margin (good for a 67% - 33% lead).

And, for those who wondered how the late opposition to Issue 3 by powerful Mayor Michael Coleman and others in the Franklin county Democratic establishment might impact the issues chances statewide, these numbers might prove encouraging. The early voting (much of which took place before the Mayor's 11th hour opposition) showed Issue 3 leading by only 5,497 votes (a 58% - 42% advantage). While that tally isn't abysmal, it certainly isn't a large enough lead for Issue 3 backers to feel comfortable ahead of the reporting of election day numbers here.

ELECTION NIGHT State Issues : With 1% In...

Bradley L. Cromes — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 19:05:15 -0600

I know. It's very, very early (only 1% of the vote in so far), but given where those votes are coming from I think we can make a few quick observations about the fate of the state ballot issues.

So far, we've gotten precincts in Lake, Allen, and Geauga counties. That's a pretty fair mix of suburban and rural counties, so we have our first look at how non-urban voters are approaching these issues to this point.

Not surprisingly, all three issues are doing fairly well, leading with:

Issue 1: 76%
Issue 2: 69%
Issue 3: 64%

To my mind, showings above 60% in the rural and peripheral (counties encircling urban counties) will presage passage for all three of these issues. There's simply no way even a motivated crop of urban voters can overcome that kind of margin.

What we know:

Issue 1 will win in a walk.

Issue 2 looks like it has a very healthy chance of passage.

Issue 3, despite pre-election polling leads of 15-18%, may face an uphill battle, as the unholy alliance of rural religious voters and urban NIMBY groups do battle against well-funded out of state gambling interests.

We'll obviously have more on this as the votes continue to trickle in, but in the early going it appears that Issue 3 will be the night's true battle ground.

UPDATE ELECTION NIGHT Virginia : Long Night Ahead for Deeds, Dems

Bradley L. Cromes — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 18:54:38 -0600

My, that was quick. MSNBC just called this for McDonnell...a mere 15 minutes or so after my post. Now, the only question is how bad.

With 25% of precincts reporting, MSNBC is showing a long night ahead for Democratic Gubernatorial candidate Creigh Deeds of Virginia. He currently trails Republican Bob McDonnell 65%-35%.

While the parallels are of course imperfect, many see the Virginia race as a possible preview of the 2010 Ohio governor's race: an "aw, shucks" conservative Democrat facing off against a very Conservative Republican running on a pro-jobs platform.

The incumbency advantage for Strickland is quite obviously a factor not at play in the Deeds-McDonnell tilt, so as Bill Murray's Caddyshack persona would say, "I've ogt that going for me." Also, the White House (and DNC Chair and current VA Gov. Tim Kaine) didn't get behind Deeds too quickly or too forcefully, and Deeds hung himself by forgetting that "It's the economy, stupid." I don't see either of those things happening to Strickland.

That said, before it's all over tonight could give him a number of lessons in "what not to do" come November of next year.

ELECTION NIGHT Summit : Ballot Shortage Issue Will Be Addressed

Bradley L. Cromes — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 18:44:16 -0600

Per the Secretary of State's recent email, the Summit County Board of Elections requested permission to photocopy paper ballots to compensate for a ballot shortage. Permission was granted, and voting ended at 7:30pm.

This is the only major issue we've heard of today with respect to voting difficulties, a good sign and in keeping with what you'd expect in an off-off-year election. Still, this news could mean high turnout for Summit county, which impacts county issues on the ballot as well as state Issue 2 (urban areas trend away from approval).

It really does matter

Anastasia Pantsios — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:24:09 -0600

Nothing irritates me more than apathetic cynics who whine about how all politicians are the same and that nothing ever changes and nothing you do can influence your government. To me, it's a rationalization for laziness. Back in 2004, I was accosted down at the Rock Hall by a man who commented on my Kerry button and asked why I was supporting HIM. It was still primary season so I said, "Who are you supporting?" He responded, "Oh, I don't vote. There's no point." I said, "This discussion is over then."

One place you can see your vote and your work make a difference — if you bother to get informed and get involved — is on a very local level. I passed out literature at a polling place this morning for a city council candidate. My friends Jill and Sandy are running for city councils in their respective cities of Pepper Pike and Wickliffe. And if you get involved and go to events, you'll get to meet candidates, and you will be able to see for yourself who is sincerely concerned with regular peoples' lives and who is always looking around the room for someone who can give them a bigger donation.

One of my favorite candidates, Jennifer Brunner, put up some thoughts about the importance of voting:

http://jenniferbrunner.com/index.php/blog/post/the_franchise/

She says,
"The state and local leaders we elect today may someday be members of Congress or Senators or even the leader of the free world. They may be the people we entrust to decide whether to go to war, change the tax structure, or determine rights to privacy or to bear arms. They may appoint or confirm Supreme Court justices who determine the fair treatment of the accused or decide matters of personal choice like a woman's right to choose, or equal civil rights for people who have been denied rights like the right to freely marry."

Election Night Coverage - Live, Local, Late, Late, Late Breaking!

Anthony Fossaceca — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 10:44:42 -0600

Join us tonight as we try to call your attention to everything we can find noteworthy across the state as results start coming in. Live coverage begins at 8PM.

Will Issue 3 pass? Will Wilkowski become Mayor of Toledo? Will Jason Haas be re-elected to the Akron School Board? Will Jill Miller Zimon be "Councilwoman-elect Miller Zimon?" Will Laure Quinlivan and Bernadette Watson make the Cincinnati cut? Will Rick Nagin sneak past Brian Cummins in Cleveland's Ward 14?

What about Luke Scott and Adam Schneider? Will these promising 18 year olds become the youngest elected Dems in the state?

All the answers to your questions right here on OhioDaily!

MEMO TO CAMPAIGNS : Email us updates as you have them - anthony@ohiodailyblog.com