Randy’s Rants
Randy’s Rants is a series of essays by legendary Cleveland author, activist and CCPC Member Randy Cunningham. We’ll be featuring a different one each week for as long as Randy is willing to write them.
CCPC Recommended
Local
Mayor Justin Bibb shakes up flagging efforts to stop children from being lead poisoned Considering the very negative publicity that the lead poisoning rate has been rising since the lead safe ordinance was passed five years ago, Bibb had to do something. In an executive order he issued last week, Bibb said the ordinance has been ineffective. So now he is reaching for a more lofty and expensive goal: lead abatement. Which is great news if he is serious.
Brook Park Browns? 5 hurdles that stand between Cleveland’s home team and an exit to the suburbs. An analysis. Number one of course is the financing. Obviously Cleveland isn’t putting money into the project. But will the county ( more on that below ) and state put money into it and, if so, how much? The infrastructure around the site is also a hurdle. Including an expanded off ramp at the Snow Rd. I – 71 exit. Also Haslam has yet to purchase the land and what will that sale agreement look like?
Cleveland Browns’ plan for a publicly – funded home in Brook Park is a ‘ fantasy,’ Cuyahoga County executive says The ‘ fantasy ‘ Chris Ronayne is referring to is the County putting any money into the project. Interestingly he also said that typically the County does put in money for projects like a lakefront renovation would be. Considering the article above and this one, one has to wonder if Brook Park Browns is really a done deal. But if not, why did Bibb indicate it was?
Feds awarded Cleveland $60 million to turn Shoreway into Boulevard The U.S. Department of Transportation has awarded Cleveland nearly $59.7 million to help turn the Ohio 2 shoreway around Cleveland Browns stadium into a ” pedestrian friendly boulevard.” Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb said last week that the federal mony would ” reimagine our waterfront access, transform outdated infrastructure, and build a safer, more vibrant connection between our residents, the lakefront, and the Port of Cleveland.”
State
How would Issue 1 work to reform redistricting The selection of the 15 member redistricting commission is the key. The amendment lays out how this commission is established. Five members from each political party and five independents are selected. But it is the four appointed members of the Ohio Ballot Board, two Democrats and two Republicans who will settle on the four retired judges, two Democrats and two Republicans who will select the commission. So what happens if the Democrats and Republicans can’t agree on the judges?
Rural Democrats reach out in reliably red counties In the 2020 Presidential race, 81 of Ohio’s 88 counties went red, supporting Donald Trump for president. The six urban counties, Cuyahoga, Franklin, Hamilton, Montgomery, Summit and Lucas, and Athens county supported Joe Biden. This article argues that in order to turn Ohio blue the margin of victory the Republicans have in the rural counties needs to be reduced. And in order for that to happen, the Ohio Democratic Party needs to put resources into those counties which they don’t do now.
Poverty rate in Ohio stays steady, but agencies are concerned about kids in low – income families The 2024 State of Poverty report shows that 13.4% of Ohioans live in poverty, which is the same number cited in the previous year’s report. That includes nearly 18% of kids, nearly a third more of the overall rate. The food insecurity rate for children in Ohio is more than 22% higher than the overall rate. There are of course ways to deal with this problem but the Republicans who control the General Assembly refuse to do anything
Ohio opens state wildlife area for fracking; defers ruling on drilling expansion in state parks A state panel last week approved an industry application to open about 62 acres of a preserved wildlife area in Carroll County for oil and gas drilling. The decision from the Oil and Gas Land Management Commission triggers a competitive bidding process through which the state will select the ” highest and best ‘ bid for mineral rights. And it will also trigger devastation to the now unpreserved wildlife areas.
National
GOP leaning polls trigger questions about accuracy The prevalence of numerous new Republican leaning polls is raising questions about their effect on the overall polling average as the presidential race between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump tightens even further. In recent weeks these GOP controlled polls have been flooding the zone. And of course this is exactly the kind of thing Republicans do. Let’s hope these inaccurate polls are the real reason the polls have suddenly gotten closer.
The electorate is changing. Here’s what that means for Trump and Harris This is actually good news for Kamala Harris. The number of white voters without a college degree, the cornerstone of the MAGA coalition, has declined by two percentage points of eligible voters since the 2020 election. The number of white people with at least a four – year college degree and voters of color, who generally vote Democratic, has increased by a percentage point since the election of 2020. And remember this election is going to be extremely close.
Trump has made more than 100 threats to prosecute or punish perceived enemies Since 2022, when Trump began preparing for his presidential campaign he has issued more than 100 threats to investigate, prosecute, imprison or otherwise punish his perceived opponents. So this is not some stupid thing he frequently says once when he starts to mumble aimlessly. It is clearly part of his platform. It is hard to say what is more scary, the fact that he might win or that nearly half the country would vote for facism.
Biden has approved $175 billion in student loan forgiveness for nearly 5 million people Another round of loan forgiveness was announced last week bringing the total to $175 billion for nearly 5 million people since President Joe Biden took office, With less than three weeks before the election, the Biden – Harris administration is reminding voters how it has delivered a historic amount of student debt relief even as the Republicans have been challenging it in the courts.
Black Lives Matter
City of Akron pays $4.85 million to the family of Jayland Walker It is great news that Jayland’s family will be getting this money. It is not great news that his family will not be getting him back. You may recall that Jayland was initially stopped because he had a broken taillight and then a police chase ensued ending with Jayland being shot 94 times. You may also recall that the officers involved were initially placed on administrative leave. But they were all reinstated and are now patrolling the streets of Akron.
Central Park Five defamation suit against Trump resurrects his history of ‘ perpetuating lies. The five men now known as ” Exonerated Five ” filed the suit last week accusing Donald Trump of making ” false and defamatory statements ” during his debate with Vice President Kamala Harris. Which of course he did, claiming that the five Black men pleaded guilty at their initial trial. They actually plead not guilty and maintained their innocence until they were actually exonerated.
Trump threatens to defund schools that teach about slavery In an appearance on FOX news, former President Donald Trump said he would shut down the Department of Education and withhold any federal funding to schools that teach that the United States was built off of the backs of slaves. He also has said that there is a definite anti – white feeling in this country and has said in the past that he was the best president for Black people since Abraham Lincoln.
Democratic Black Lawmakers Say Ohio Issue 1 Redistricting Reform Would Help Black Voters In a press conference last week, members of the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus and the Ohio Organizing Collaborative spoke of the Issue 1 redistricting reform as a way forward for communities of color. Their reasoning is that Black voters would be able to elect more General Assembly members who would fight for them. The Republicans of course have been lying by saying that Issue 1 would disenfranchise Black voters.
Immigration
Fact check: Debunking Trump’s October lying spree on immigration Reveals 28 distinct false claims Trump has made about immigration in the last two weeks alone. The most prominent ones include lies about Immigrants and crime, about Vice President Kamala Harris’ record on immigration policy, about how foreign countries are supposedly ” dumping ” their most unwanted citizens into the United States and of course the Haitian Refugees in Springfield.
The Current State of the Border: Crossings Remain Low While Pressure Builds in Southern Mexico Deals with facts provided by our friends at Immigration Impact. Today border apprehensions are at their lowest level in four years which, as you may recall, was when Trump was still president. Migrant crossings have actually been declining since December. However, as the months are getting cooler in Mexico many migrants are amassing to make the trek north. More on this below.
September Border Patrol encounters lowest since the pandemic Overall encounters with migrants at official ports of entry remained flat at 101,790 in September, the lowest number posted since February of 2021, President Biden’s first full month in office. Unlawful border crossings have dropped by more than 55% to the lowest levels since Trump was president. Border patrol encounters include asylum seekers and parolees who chose to cross the border illegally before turning themselves in.
Immigrant voters: ‘ The money in US politics absolutely scares me’ Millions of people migrate to the United States every year, and the number who become US citizens, and therefore earning the right to vote, is growing. 1 in 10 eligible voters are naturalized citizens representing a record share according to a Pew Research study. This article chronicles the voting experience of a few of them with an emphasis on what they think about campaign rhetoric and fundraising
CCPC November Meeting: Election Recap and More!
CCPC November Meeting: Election Recap and More! Wednesday, November 13 from 6:30 to 8 pm. And let’s hope and pray that we’re celebrating good news. Our particular focus will be on the impact of the local, state and national election results as they relate to the progressive movement. And we’ll try to anticipate where the progressive movement is going in 2025. Also we’ll have an update on the Crisis Pregnancy Centers which seem to have emerged in our area. Please click here to register for the event. After registering you’ll receive an email with the Zoom link.
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Steve Holecko
CCPC Political Director
440 220 1874
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