Today, my campaign for Secretary of State launched a new website, www.MaryellenforOhio.com. We listened to supporters, bloggers and reporters from around the state to create this new online resource that we hope will be useful to voters throughout the campaign.

Some of the new features include links to Maryellen for Ohio Twitter and Facebook pages as well as an interactive map where supporters can follow my travels around the state. Additionally, supporters can find out how to become more involved with the campaign as well as sign up receive periodic updates from my staff and me. As we move closer to November, I will be adding more information about my positions on issues important to Ohio voters.

Please visit the new site, and while you’re there, make sure to download a voter registration form if you aren’t already registered. We hope you like what you see. Always feel free to contact my campaign at contact@maryellenforohio.com.

“Are they organized? Do they care? Will they vote?”

Each cycle, political commentators ask these same old questions about us young people. Candidates spend entire campaigns trying to connect with us in new, creative ways. Campaigns spend major dollars on consultants in hopes of finding the magical way to catch our attention. While some have trouble understanding us and connecting with us, the key to success relies on the ability of our Party to embrace the ideas and ideals of young people.

That’s why I was recently hired by the Ohio Democratic Party as the Director of Next Generation Democrats. At the party, we're building a statewide, grassroots network of 18- to 35-year-olds to turn our generation's ideals into action. The creation of this position is an extraordinary opportunity for the Party to engage young people from across the state. As their director, and someone who sees the issues through the lens of a young person, I can now speak for a demographic whose voice is often unheard. All of this is possible thanks to the vision of Chairman Chris Redfern, who worked hard to make the Ohio Democratic Party a national leader in year-round outreach to key Democratic constituencies.

The Ohio Democratic Party’s investment in building future leaders goes beyond Next Generation Democrats. Over 75% of ODP’s 100+ staff members are under the age of 35 and are a diverse group in all respects. Both College Democrats and Young Democrats have representation on our State Executive Committee.

This young staff, coupled with genuine inclusiveness, has moved youth engagement to a new level in Ohio. We have connected over 30 College Democrats chapters and 10 Young Democrats chapters to the state Party and to our statewide ticket. In March, over 200 young people joined us in Columbus, Ohio for the Next Generation Democrats Inaugural Statewide Summit. We are also actively recruiting thousands of young people across the state to work with our Coordinated Campaign and elect Democrats this November.

With the early involvement of young activists like you, we have accomplished a great deal in Ohio in just a few months, and we have big plans for the rest of the year. But the success of youth outreach is not specific to Ohio. What we are doing here can easily be implemented across the country.

Remember: We as young people join the Party when people reach out us. We volunteer when candidates speak to us. We vote when issues matter to us. The key is inclusion.

Scott T. Surovjak
Next Generation Democrats
Ohio Democratic Party

Learn more about Next Gen Dems by clicking OhioDems.org/NextGen.

After the May 4 primary, Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner wrote a letter to Democratic supporters, expressing the importance of party unity. That letter follows.

No one likes losing an election, and that includes me. Tuesday's May 4th election was my first political loss of four campaigns run in the past ten years. I look forward to continuing to serve you as your Secretary of State for the remainder of my term and to overseeing a fair and well-run election in November.

As we ready ourselves for the fall campaigns, I encourage all of you stay involved in Democratic Party activities, locally and statewide. We have important races ahead–from U.S. Senator, Governor and Supreme Court Justices to seats for a new county commission in Cuyahoga County and county commissioners and common pleas court judges throughout the state. Each of us as Ohio Democrats is called to do our part.

I will continue to stand firm for fairness, equality and respect in how we elect our leaders and in how we govern. Whatever your views in the primary, I urge everyone to come together as one Democratic family. We must move swiftly to achieve our shared values for a better quality of life for the people of Ohio.

Thank you to all of you who voted on Tuesday. Let's keep up the hard work to help our Party with its plans for the fall. We're all in this together, and I remain committed to standing with you in fighting for progress for Ohio.

Sincerely,

Jennifer Brunner
Ohio Secretary of State

Today, I wrote a letter to President Obama encouraging him to speak at the commencement ceremony of Cincinnati’s Clark Montessori Junior and Senior High School. Clark Montessori is one of three finalists in the country in the White House’s Race to the Top Commencement Challenge, and President Obama will pick the winner.

Please join me by writing to President Obama at www.whitehouse.gov/contact. Ask him to choose Clark Montessori Junior and Senior High School.

For more information about the Race to the Top Commencement Challenge, visit: www.whitehouse.gov/commencement.

President Barack Obama1600 Pennsylvania AvenueWashington, DC 20500

Dear President Obama:

This week, I wrote an email to our statewide list of Ohio Democratic Party supporters asking them to vote for Clark Montessori Junior and Senior High School in Cincinnati for the White House's Race to the Top High School Commencement Challenge. The response was amazing. Our supporters – the same supporters who worked tirelessly to turn Ohio blue in 2008 – responded with enthusiasm for this Ohio school.

Clark is the first public Montessori high school in the country, and in the last ten years, 99.5 percent of seniors have graduated and 96 percent of graduates have attended a post-secondary educational institution. While at Clark, students learn that education is not just classroom work, but a lifelong commitment to learning. Every student completes more than 200 hours of community service and participates in rigorous field studies to prepare them for life after graduation. Having President Obama speak at the school's commencement would be the experience of a lifetime for these Ohio students. Moreover, as a former community organizer from Cincinnati, I know how much your visit would mean to the entire region.

Even during these difficult times, Ohio has become a national leader in education. While other states have cut funding for primary and secondary education, our Democratic leaders have increased Ohio's investment in education by more than five percent over the next two years. This increased investment was possible thanks to the partnership of the White House and funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. After nearly two decades of Republicans kicking the can down the road, Democrats in Ohio have passed vital reforms to our education system that make it possible for each child in Ohio to live up to his or her potential. Governor Ted Strickland and our Democratic leaders know that in order to pull Ohio out of this global recession, we must prepare our students for the 21st century economy by making our schools the best in the nation.

In addition, while other states have raised college tuition by as much as 30 percent, Ohio has done what no other state has done – we froze college tuition for the first two years of Governor Strickland's administration and then capped tuition increases at 3.5 percent over each of the following two years to make it easier for our young people to attend college. We are proud of our more than 600,000 students enrolled at more than 200 institutions of higher learning in our state.

Thank you for your consideration of speaking at the commencement ceremony of Clark Montessori Junior and Senior High School. And thank you for all of the work you do every day on behalf of our young people.

Sincerely,

Lauren Groh-Wargo
Deputy Director, Ohio Democratic Party

On April 9, I had the opportunity to introduce the top leadership of the Strickland for Governor campaign to a excited group of African American activists in Toledo. As African American Caucus Director for the Ohio Democratic Party, I’m looking forward to working them and other African American activists across the state to elect Democrats up and down the ticket in 2010.

Sojourner’s Truth said this about the event:

Signaling that the statewide election campaign has begun in earnest, several members of the Ohio Democratic Party spoke to an audience of grassroots volunteers last week…

Nathaniel Angel, director of the Party’s African-American Caucus… [said] “it’s important for the State of Ohio that we get [Gov.] Ted Strickland and the Democratic ticket re-elected.”

Also on hand for the Q and A session were John Stephan, the Strickland deputy campaign manager, and Karundi Williams, political director.

Williams emphasized how important it was to the Democratic Party to win in 2010 – important particularly for the presidential race of 2012 and for the re-districting tasks that will follow this year’s election.

…

Read the full article here.

“On today's 40th Anniversary of Earth Day, we take time to recognize the challenges facing our planet and the importance of finding sustainable solutions. These efforts to protect our environment, which have been a passion of my life, are inseparable from our efforts to create jobs. As Ohioans face this global recession, our Democratic leaders have positioned our state at the forefront of creating new green jobs and investing in emerging industries that put Ohioans back to work. As Secretary of State, I will manage the Business Services Division in a way that makes state government a partner with new businesses so they can immediately start creating jobs for Ohioans.”

(A former Columbus City Councilwoman, Maryellen O’Shaughnessy served as chair of the Public Service and Transportation Committee, working to restore "Complete Streets" to the city's transportation grid, advocating comprehensive sidewalk policies, safe bikeways and better public transit options. As former chair of the Utilities Committee and chair of the Development Committee, she championed the redevelopment of Downtown Columbus, helping attract businesses and create jobs, while working toward better, more sustainable growth policies like the city's "21st Century Growth Strategy." Maryellen has ridden her bike to work throughout her career in public service.)

Once again, the Republican Party and their cohorts on the far right have shown their true colors when it comes to equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans and a lack of principal when it comes to standing up to divisive, bigoted comments made by their supporters. This past weekend, as Congressman Barney Frank of Massachusetts walked past an angry mob raging against health care reform, he faced a barrage of homophobic slurs. This same group aimed racist comments at a hero of the civil rights movement, Congressman John Lewis of Georgia. Republican leadership has failed to outright condemn such despicable comments and instead given the American people a flurry of excuses. Their silence makes it clearer than ever that they are not a party that is willing to stand up for the civil rights of LGBT Americans.

In stark contrast to the Republican Party’s timid response to homophobia and racism among its supporters, the Ohio Democratic Party has stood with LGBT Ohioans. The Ohio Democratic Party has an active LGBT Caucus that works to support local LGBT Democratic groups like Cleveland Stonewall Democrats and assist our efforts to elect pro-equality Democrats at the local level as well as statewide. In Chairman Chris Redfern, we have a pro-equality leader that has stood with our community as a former legislator. For Election 2010, the Ohio Democratic Party has amassed a slate of pro-equality Democrats that will stand up for LGBT civil rights and build upon the Party's solid record of standing up for LGBT rights. Governor Strickland stood with the LGBT community from the start when he signed the executive order protecting LGBT state employees from discrimination. Democratic statewide officeholders have all enacted LGBT-inclusive internal nondiscrimination policies and the slate of candidates running this year will all do the same.

Under the Democratic leadership of Speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives Armond Budish last year, the Equal Housing and Employment Act (H.B. 176) became the first piece of pro-LGBT legislation to ever make it through either house of the General Assembly. The Equal Housing and Employment Act would do what a majority of Ohioans support: protecting LGBT Ohioans from discrimination in employment, housing and places of public accommodation. Where are the Republicans on this matter of civil rights? Under Senate President Bill Harris, the EHEA sits in the Senate and has gone nowhere so far.

The LGBT community and its allies in Ohio have a chance to work to elect candidates that stand with our community. Every one of us can make a real difference in the fight for equality in Ohio by talking with our friends and co-workers, making phone calls, walking door-to-door, and contributing financially. There has never been a more important time for LGBT Ohioans to work to elect Democrats in Ohio.

Robert Rivera is the President of Cleveland Stonewall Democrats. Learn more at http://www.clevelandstonewalldemocrats.org/.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Reconciliation Act of 2010, which are expected to be signed into law by President Obama within days, will offer immediate benefits to millions of Americans through key provisions including:

1. SMALL BUSINESS TAX CREDITS—Offers tax credits to small businesses to make employee coverage more affordable. Tax credits of up to 35 percent of premiums will be immediately available to firms that choose to offer coverage. Effective beginning for calendar year 2010. (Beginning in 2014, the small business tax credits will cover 50 percent of premiums.)

2. BEGINS TO CLOSE THE MEDICARE PART D DONUT HOLE—Provides a $250 rebate to Medicare beneficiaries who hit the donut hole in 2010. Effective for calendar year 2010. (Beginning in 2011, institutes a 50% discount on brand‐name drugs in the donut hole; also completely closes the donut hole by 2020.)

3. FREE PREVENTIVE CARE UNDER MEDICARE—Eliminates co‐payments for preventive services and exempts preventive services from deductibles under the Medicare program.

4. HELP FOR EARLY RETIREES—Creates a temporary re‐insurance program (until the Exchanges are available) to help offset the costs of expensive premiums for employers and retirees for health benefits for retirees age 55‐64. Effective 90 days after enactment.

5. ENDS RESCISSIONS—Bans insurance companies from dropping people from coverage when they get sick. Effective 6 months after enactment.

6. NO DISCRIMINATION AGAINST CHILDREN WITH PRE‐EXISTING CONDITIONS—Prohibits new health plans in all markets plus grandfathered group health plans from denying coverage to children with pre‐existing conditions. Effective 6 months after enactment. (Beginning in 2014, this prohibition would apply to all persons.)

7. BANS LIFETIME LIMITS ON COVERAGE—Prohibits health insurance companies from placing lifetime caps on coverage.

8. BANS RESTRICTIVE ANNUAL LIMITS ON COVERAGE—Tightly restricts the use of annual limits to ensure access to needed care in all new plans and grandfathered group health plans. These tight restrictions will be defined by HHS.

9. FREE PREVENTIVE CARE UNDER NEW PRIVATE PLANS—Requires new private plans to cover preventive services with no co‐payments and with preventive services being exempt from deductibles.

10. NEW, INDEPENDENT APPEALS PROCESS—Ensures consumers in new plans have access to an effective internal and external appeals process to appeal decisions by their health insurance plan.

11. ENSURING VALUE FOR PREMIUM PAYMENTS—Requires plans in the individual and small group market to spend 80 percent of premium dollars on medical services, and plans in the large group market to spend 85 percent. Insurers that do not meet these thresholds must provide rebates to policyholders.

12. IMMEDIATE HELP FOR THE UNINSURED UNTIL EXCHANGE IS AVAILABLE (INTERIM HIGH‐RISK POOL)—Provides immediate access to affordable insurance for Americans who are uninsured because of a pre‐existing condition ‐ through a temporary subsidized high‐risk pool. Effective 90 days after enactment.

13. EXTENDS COVERAGE FOR YOUNG PEOPLE UP TO 26TH BIRTHDAY THROUGH PARENTS’ INSURANCE – Requires new health plans and certain grandfathered plans to allow young people up to their 26th birthday to remain on their parents’ insurance policy, at the parents’ choice.

14. COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTERS—Increases funding for Community Health Centers to allow for nearly a doubling of the number of patients seen by the centers over the next 5 years.

15. INCREASING NUMBER OF PRIMARY CARE DOCTORS—Provides new investment in training programs to increase the number of primary care doctors, nurses, and public health professionals.

16. PROHIBITING DISCRIMINATION BASED ON SALARY—Prohibits group health plans from establishing any eligibility rules for health care coverage that have the effect of discriminating in favor of higher wage employees.

17. HEALTH INSURANCE CONSUMER INFORMATION—Provides aid to states in establishing offices of health insurance consumer assistance in order to help individuals with the filing of complaints and appeals.

18. CREATES NEW, VOLUNTARY, PUBLIC LONG‐TERM CARE INSURANCE PROGRAM—Creates a long‐term care insurance program to be financed by voluntary payroll deductions to provide home and community-based services to adults who become functionally disabled.

After decades of attempts, President Obama and Congress have passed historic health insurance reform. The passage of this legislation will lower costs, help small businesses, and expand coverage to more than 32 million Americans. This is not a Democratic victory; it is an American victory for the millions of middle class families who have struggled to afford health care.

In an interview yesterday on CNBC's Closing Bell, Ohio Treasurer Kevin L. Boyce talked about managing Ohio's economy through the global recession while maintaining services, growing infrastructure, and creating and retaining jobs.

The full video is viewable below: