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Pro-union coalition delivers 1.3 million signatures for SB 5 referendum
Jun 29th
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
The coalition leading the effort to repeal Senate Bill 5 delivered a record of nearly 1.3 million signatures to the secretary of state today to place Ohio’s new collective bargaining law on the November ballot.
A parade of more than 6,000, led by a banner proclaiming the “million signature march,” rumbled through Downtown this morning.
We Are Ohio, the group leading the referendum effort, organized the march up Broad Street to Fourth Street, where a 48 ft. semi-truck carrying the 1,298,301 signatures in 1,502 boxes collected will be unloaded. The parade also included retired fire trucks, a drum line, bagpipes and loud motorcycles. It took about 15 minutes to pass.
Volunteers began unloading the boxes of signatures shortly after noon.
“This is the people’s parade. You are truly one in a million,” We Are Ohio spokesperson Melissa Fazekas said, addressing the crowd and the media during a post-parade press conference in front of Secretary of State Jon Husted’s office.
We Are Ohio needs about 231,000 valid signatures to have Senate Bill 5 placed before voters. Husted has a staff of 60 ready to work this weekend to sort the signatures by county, count them, then distribute them to county boards of elections for validation.
Husted’s spokesman, Matt McClellan, said the signatures will be stored in one the office’s biggest rooms on Fourth Street. He also said Husted’s staff will begin working through the signatures tomorrow and that the signatures must be validated by July 26.
Meeting the threshold also would stop the law from taking effect until the November election.
Given the number of signatures collected compared with the number of valid signatures required for a ballot issue, it’s a virtual lock that Ohio’s voting public will decide on Senate Bill 5 on Nov. 8.
We Are Ohio shattered the previous state record for the previous record for a statewide petition effort, but Fazekas said she “couldn’t guarantee” victory on the ballot.
“We can’t guarantee anything, but we’re confident with the amount of signatures we’ve collected that we have a lot of support on our side,” Fazekas said.
The previous state record was 812,978 signatures for the 2008 measure putting a proposed casino for Clinton County on the ballot. That proposed constitutional amendment was trounced by voters.
Charged with defending Senate Bill 5 this fall is Republican Gov. John Kasich, who signed the law and considers it “a tool” for local governments to use to control costs, and Republican legislators who passed the bill through the General Assembly.
During a news conference called to discuss education funding through the federal Race to the Top program, Kasich said Senate Bill 5 opponents “need to think about what they’re doing and what’s in the bill.”
“God bless them,” Kasich said. “Many of them have been misled. Some of them are frustrated. Many of them are angry. I understand that. I know. I live out there amongst all the folks. But we’ve got to be together on this. It’ll all work out.”
Building a Better Ohio, the coalition forming to defend Senate Bill 5, is adding current Ohio Senate Republicans’ spokesman Jason Mauk as its communications director.
Mauk sent out an email this morning declaring that he is taking a leave of absence from his public job with the Senate to work on the campaign.
Of the nearly 1.3 million signatures We Are Ohio collected, Mauk said “that’s a respectable number, but if you consider that Ohio has 350,000 government employees, getting immediate family to sign petitions would get you to number they’ve reached.”
“The point is not the process, but the substance of this legislation and what it will do to lead Ohio to a more prosperous direction,” Mauk said. “We have nothing but the highest respect for our government employees, but we also want them to have jobs and perform vital services for our local communities.
“Too many of them are being laid off and their jobs eliminated under the current system, and that has to change.”
Columbus Democratic Mayor Michael Coleman, who marched at the head of the parade at the outset and later stood on Broad Street shaking hands with those marching including several who appeared to be members of Columbus safety forces, echoed many in the parade when he said the referendum effort was in response to “the state legislature and governor’s attempt to bust unions.”
“This is about more than just an overreach by our state government, this is about an attempt to bust organized labor after generations of developing rights,” Coleman said.
Dispatch reporter David Eggert contributed to this story.
President Obama Announces “How to Make Change” Series for Young Americans
Jun 19th
President Obama met with young Americans in the West Wing to de-brief on the “100 Youth Roundtables” Initiative. In that session, young folks reflected on the feedback given to the White House during the course of the initiative. They discussed issues regarding environmental regulations, community organizations, legislation that the President supports, and how to really make a difference all around. To follow up on that feedback, the President announced a new series that will take us through the summer, called, “How to Make Change.” Check out his announcement here. This series will specifically foster a conversation between young Americans, advocates, and the White House on the issues that matter to us all. What are specific deliverables you would like to see? What tools can we offer you so that you can achieve what you set out to achieve?
2012 Day of Action
Jun 16th
What: 2012 Day of Action
Where: 1817 Madison Ave
Toledo, OH 43604
When: Saturday, June 18th
1:00 pm
President Obama and Democrats are focused on the jobs we elected them to do, so it’s up to you and me and thousands of people like us to carry the message in Toledo and beyond.
That work starts with a strong turnout on Saturday. The more people we can get involved now, the more extensive the network of volunteers will be — which means we can reach more voters with the facts about what President Obama and his allies have accomplished, and what they plan to accomplish in the future.
Items to Watch
May 11th
Great midweek updates for you on jobs, education, clean energy, the DREAM Act, and more.
We’re just about 3 weeks away from the conclusion of the President’s “100 Youth Roundtables” Initiative. Since our last newsletter, we have participated in youth roundtables in California, Alaska, Utah, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, New Mexico, and right here in DC. Additional roundtables were held by fraternities & sororities, workforce development organizations, unaffiliated stakeholders, and community development leaders from Wisconsin to Texas and North Carolina to Kentucky.
To participate, go to www.whitehouse.gov/YoungAmericans and sign up for your own!
DREAM Act and Immigration Reform
The President delivered a speech in El Paso, Texas on the importance of fixing the broken immigration system for our nation’s 21st century economic and security needs so that America can win the future.
Visit www.whitehouse.gov/immigrationaction and www.whitehouse.gov/immigration for additional resources and details. And participate in an Advise the Advisor series on immigration with Cecilia Munoz, Director of Intergovernmental Affairs at the White House.
Jobs
Looking for a job? Fellowship? Internship? We just made this simple. Check out the Jobs database here. The YouthGO Web Portal provides a one-stop shop for young people seeking employment opportunities, volunteer and recreation opportunities, and educational resources in America’s Great Outdoors.
Ending Subsidies for Oil Companies
President Obama has called on Congress to eliminate subsidies for the oil and gas industry. In a letter to House and Senate leadership, the President urged Congress to turn that investment instead towards clean and secure energy. This action would relieve America from dependence on foreign and unstable oil supplies, and from the skyrocketing gas prices that burden America’s families. We simply can’t afford to give the oil and gas industry over $4 billion each year in subsidies. Instead of deepening our reliance on today’s energy sources, we must invest in tomorrow’s clean energy to spur the economy and win the future. Please check out the video above and feel free to circulate to others who may be interested.
2011 U.S. Presidential Scholars Announced
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan today announced the selection of 141 outstanding high school seniors as the 2011 U.S. Presidential Scholars. The students have demonstrated outstanding academic achievement, artistic excellence, leadership, citizenship, service, and contribution to school and community. U.S. Presidential Scholars will be honored for their accomplishments in Washington D.C., from June 18-21.
A complete list of 2011 Presidential Scholars follows and is available here.
Reinvesting in Arts Education – Winning America’s Future Through Creative Schools
The President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities (PCAH) announces the release of its landmark report Reinvesting in Arts Education: Winning America’s Future Through Creative Schools. The culmination of 18 months of research, meetings with stakeholders, and site visits all over the country, this report represents an in-depth review of the current condition of arts education, including an update of the current research base about arts education outcomes, and an analysis of the challenges and opportunities in the field that have emerged over the past decade. It also includes a set of recommendations to federal, state and local policymakers. A summary of the report is here.
White House Council for Community Solutions and Office of Public Engagement Partner on Youth Listening Tour
The White House Council for Community Solutions (WHCCS) announced that Councilmember Jon Bon Jovi will be joined by other members of the White House Council, will engage young Americans and community leaders in candid conversations to determine where efforts are most needed. Findings will be compiled in a final report to the Council in June in an effort to highlight solutions. The WHCCS listening tour adds to the White House’s broader effort to engage young people nationwide through youth roundtables. After the roundtables, the youth participants can submit their most pressing issues and most inspiring solutions to the White House’s Your Future, Your Solutions: 100 Youth Strategies to Win the Future website at www.whitehouse.gov/youngamericans. This effort enables the administration to hear directly from young people about the challenges they face and connect participants with Obama Administration officials through conference calls, web chats, and other opportunities. More information about the WHCCS can be found at www.serve.gov/council.
Today, millions of Americans suffer from conditions like Alzheimer’s Parkinson’s and heart disease. And while we don’t know exactly what stem cell research will yield, scientists tell us that this research has the potential to help treat or cure these and many other diseases and conditions.
That’s why President Obama supports responsible stem cell research and it’s why we’re pleased with a court decision that paves the way for stem cell research to continue. Earlier today, a court ruled that a lawsuit challenging the federal government’s ability to support stem cell research was unlikely to succeed and allowed federally supported stem cell research to continue.
In Case You Missed It: Facebook Town Hall with President Obama
Click above to watch the full video, including a question on the DREAM Act from young organizers who participated in a youth roundtable.
West Wing Week: “A Good Day For America”
This week, the President announced the death of Osama bin Laden, visited New York City to honor the victims of 9/11 and their families, and made sure the federal government was doing its part in the states devastated by storms and much more.