Today and Tonight
Today is August 8 and election day. If you haven’t already done so please don’t forget to Vote No on Issue 1! If you want to do something to help today please check out the events below.
Phone Bank to Remind People to Vote Tuesday, August 8 from 10 am to 7 pm @ Cuyahoga County Democratic Party Headquarters, 3615 Superior Ave. Cleveland 44114 ( look for the blue awning on Superior )
 
Virtual Phone Bank From Anywhere Tuesday, August 8 from 9 am to 7 pm. Please click the link for details.
 
And tonight if you’d like up to the minute updates as the votes are counted around the state.
 
August 8 Election Night Watch Tuesday, August 8 from 7:30 to 11:30 pm @  Cuyahoga County Democratic Party Headquarters, 3615 Superior Ave. Cleveland 44114 (look for the blue awning on Superior)
 
Issue 1 Election Night Virtual Watch Party Tuesday, August 8 @ 7:30 pm. Please click the link to register and receive the Zoom link
Matthew Ahn for County Prosecutor Campaign is On! Campaign Kick – Off Thursday!
 
The long rumored announcement of Matthew getting into the race has finally happened! A progressive reform-minded challenger to Mike O’Malley is something we’ve been hoping for for a very long time! 
 
Campaign Kick Off: Thursday, August 10 from 5:30 to 6:30 pm @ Rockefeller Park Pavilion, 7 Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. Cleveland 44106
CCPC Recommended
 
Local
 
North Coast Lakefront Master Plan Reveal’s Cleveland’s Big Goals And of course it all looks wonderful. A video montage of mostly Back and Hispanic Clevelanders was behind Mayor Bibb touting their wish list, And when Bibb was asked about the crucial element of funding his only response was ” diversity “
 
Cuyahoga County Council is still dubious about joining Cleveland lakefront development corporation There are two concerns for County Council. The county would have two seats on the 13 – member board while the city gets seven. And more significantly is the development corporation going to become a backdoor way to fund renovations for the Browns stadium or even to build a new one?
 
Building the new Cuyahoga County Jail in Garfield Heights could pose transportation issues for inmates, court operations The trip between the courthouse and the proposed jail site takes about 35 minutes. About 130 defendants a day are asked to be at the courthouse, Has anybody thought of the cost of daily transportation and the security cost ?
 
Parma Schools Will Allow Armed Staff This School Year Is it likely that an armed staff member would be in position and be willing and able to stop an active shooter? Or is it more likely that the staff member’s gun accidentally goes off or is taken from him and someone innocent gets shot? 
 
State 
 
Fascist Frank has been out and about campaigning for Issue 1. But the Secretary of State is supposed to impartially administer every election according to a federal statute known as the Hatch Act. The Libertarian Party has filed a complaint with the U.S. Office of Special Counsel. We wish them good luck!
 
FirstEnergy is facing an organized crime probe from AG’s office over bribes to Ohio officials In a financial report disclosed last week the company revealed that it had been subpoenaed in June by the Ohio Organized Crime Investigations Commission. This is very good news if the investigation is serious. 
 
Ohioans Skeptical More Fracking Would Bring Benefits New polling shows nearly two – thirds of Ohioans are opposed to or unsure of fracking. And these are all Ohioans, not just those of us in the progressive community. Unfortunately unpopular laws are never a problem for the Republicans who control the General Assembly. Their gerrymandered districts protect them well from popular opinion.
 
Recreational Marijuana Legalization: Campaign submits last batch of signatures to qualify for Nov. 7 Last Thursday an additional 6,545 signatures were submitted. And since only 679 were needed during the ” cure ” period, the issue is very likely to make the November ballot. A special thanks to those of you who signed or circulated petitions.
 
National
 
U.S. v Trump is the Most Important Case in Our Nation’s History This is not an understatement. The previous indictments pale in comparison to what happened last week. The 45 – page indictment documents numerous attempts to subvert the 2020 election and Trump’s role in the January 6 coup attempt. This trial needs to be televised for all Americans to see.
 
Fitch downgrades U.S. debt, citing political ” deterioration.” In Fitch’s view there has been a steady deterioration in standards of governance in the last twenty years. The repeated debt – limit political standoffs and last minute resolutions have eroded confidence in fiscal management. Also factored in is the continued political chaos that the Republicans have created
 
As World Leaders Dither, Climate Coalition Announces Global Mobilization to ‘ End Fossil Fuels.’ Worldwide protests are set to take place on September 15 and 17, days ahead of the Climate Ambition Summit set to take place September 20 in New York City. Recent United Nations climate talks once again ended with little substantive progress. We’ll let you know if an event is planned for Cleveland.
 
The 2024 Election Cycle Has Entered Its Summer of Discontent Usually at this point in the two – year – long presidential election cycle excitement is building. Usually by this time all of the candidates have announced, the debates are beginning and we’re all looking forward to the primaries. But the nominees of both parties seem to be a foregone conclusion. And the majority of the American people disapprove of both of them.
 
Black Lives Matter
 
Issue 1 0n the August 8 ballot is also about racial justice: Matthew Ahn Argues that the disenfranchisement of voters always disproportionately affects people of color. And that future constitutional amendments on fair wage policies, gun violence prevention, education funding and fair legislative maps would be almost impossible to pass..
 
Solon woman accuses Walmart of racially discriminating against her after she is accused of shoplifting The woman and her daughter were detained for two hours after being accused of failing to swipe a few items in the self  – checkout. Despite offering to pay for the items and claiming it was an honest mistake she was cited anyway. It seems that her real crime was shopping while Black.
 
The agony and hypocrisy of Black Republicans Despite Donald Trump’s years of racism and promotion of white supremacy, high – profile Black Republicans continue to support him. Uncle Tom Tim Scott even defends the former president’s most odious actions even though he is running against him for the Republican nomination.
 
The convention draws between 4,000 and 6,000 people and has an economic impact of $4.6 million. Wouldn’t it be great if massive boycott’s started to hit Florida? Imagine Black people boycotting Disneyworld or Black athletes boycotting Florida’s professional and college sports teams.
 
Immigration
 
Biden is Completely Ignoring the ‘ Root Causes ‘ of immigration Immigration and border policy has always been about white supremacy, settler colonialism and imperialism. These are historical processes that are reflected every step of the way in 250 years of immigration and border policy.
 
Democratic lawmakers slam the lack of attorney access for asylum – seekers in Border Patrol custody When the Biden administration launched its plan for speedy screenings at Border Patrol holding facilities this spring, authorities pledged access to counsel would be a key difference from the Trump – era version of the policy. So far, that promise has been unfulfilled.
 
US to accept certain non Mexican migrants in Mexico as refugees Refugees have a path to citizenship that is much easier than asylum seekers because they are approved before entering the country. This plan applies to migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela who are already in Mexico. Why not make this plan available to all migrants?
 
Are the Biden administration’s ‘ processing centers ‘ for migrants in Latin America doing any good? In April the plan was to get the processing centers up and running ‘ within weeks, ‘ but so far none have opened. And now they are moving to an online process. How many migrants do you think are carrying laptops when traveling through Mexico to cross the border?

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CCPC August Membership Meeting
 
CCPC August Membership Meeting: What’s Next? Wednesday, August 23 from 6 to 7:30 pm @ Edgewater Park Upper Level Pavilion. The pavilion has plenty of wooden picnic tables but please bring a comfortable lawn chair if you’d prefer. We’ll have speakers covering the What’s Next question with short presentation’s about 1) The November election 2) Building a new Cuyahoga County Jail 3) Public sector financing of a Browns stadium renovation 4) One Fair Wage constitutional amendment. 5) Upcoming Tri – C Levy and if still needed  And let’s hope that August 23 isn’t another Canadian Wildfire Smoke day.
 
And in case you missed it
 
Steve Holecko
CCPC Political Director
440 220 1874

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