Uncategorized

Columbus, OH — Today, Ohio Democratic Party Chair Liz Walters released the following statement marking the one-year anniversary of the murder of George Floyd and underscoring the Party’s steadfast commitment to the ongoing fight for racial justice. 

“One year after George Floyd’s death, our state and our country are still grappling with the fact that Mr. Floyd and so many other men and women should be alive today. No verdict or speech or piece of legislation can right the wrong that was done to Mr. Floyd and his family. Yet, we also know that we have a responsibility to do everything we can to help prevent similar tragedies from happening in the future. Ohio Democrats are committed to fighting for racial justice, holding our institutions accountable and creating a safer, fairer and more just Ohio for all who call our state home,” said Chair Walters.

###

Columbus, OH — Amid comparisons to the Coingate scandal and millions in fraudulent payments, Mike DeWine is increasingly under pressure to answer questions about his administration’s mishandling of unemployment fraud.

Earlier this month, the Ohio Auditor revealed that the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services withheld the extent of unemployment fraud that was happening from other state officials and delayed action on implementing anti-fraud measures. His deputy auditor made comparisons to the Coingate scandal when testifying about the unemployment cover up. And then it was revealed that the state paid out more than $2 billion in fraudulent unemployment claims and overpayments.

This weekend, both Cleveland.com and the Toledo Blade published editorials raising questions about the ongoing scandal. It’s important that DeWine continue to be held accountable for his administration’s mishandling of unemployment benefits and address the issue publicly.

As more and more information comes out about the administration’s unemployment fraud cover up, here are six questions Mike DeWine should answer:

1. What did DeWine know and when did he know it? 
2. Why did the Ohio Auditor, not DeWine, make the withholding of these major fraud claims public?
3. Will DeWine conduct a public, transparent investigation into why these massive fraud numbers were kept secret? 

5. With the predictable rise in unemployment claims last year amid a global pandemic, why didn’t DeWine invest in more staff and better technology at ODJFS, as Ohio Democrats called on him to do?
6. Will DeWine financially punish Ohioans who received overpayments through no fault of their own, but rather because of the state’s errors? 
7. How does DeWine plan to cover the costs of the errors made by his administration? Through federal taxpayer dollars?

###

Columbus, OH — Telling you all you need to know about how far out of hand the Republican Senate primary has gotten, the latest point of contention between GOP candidates is who wants to know the least about the January 6th attack on our nation. 

As soon as the House passed legislation establishing a bipartisan committee to investigate the attack, Josh Mandel took to Twitter to publicly oppose the commission and call on fellow candidate Jane Timken to do the same. Mandel continues to go after Timken for remaining silent on the commission and tying her to fellow Republican Anthony Gonzalez, who voted to support the commission. Bernie Moreno has also publicly opposed the commission as we wait to hear from the other Republicans in the race who will likely follow suit in the coming days. 

“An attack on our country shouldn’t be political, but there’s no limit on how low Republican Senate candidates will stoop. GOP candidates are setting a standard that says if you don’t look the other way after a terrorist attack on our nation’s capital, you’re not a real Republican. It will be sad, but not surprising, when the other GOP candidates inevitably oppose the commission in order to play to Donald Trump, the only voter they seem to care about,” said Matt Keyes, spokesperson for the Ohio Democratic Party. 

Loyalty to Donald Trump, not to the voters of Ohio, continues to be the focus of Republican Senate candidates. A Politico article this morning outlines the line Jane Timken is unsuccessfully trying to walk as she faces attacks from her fellow Republicans over her flip-flop on Gonzalez’ impeachment vote and the desperate pleas other GOP candidates are making to get the support of Trump while leaving Ohio voters behind. 

###

In Case You Missed It, Cleveland.com’s Brent Larkin laid it all out there in a weekend editorial, calling out each of the candidates in the GOP Senate primary individually and previewing the dumpster fire Ohioans will have to endure for the next year. Larkin rightfully points out that the candidates are so busy attacking one another — spewing lies and accusations in the hope of winning Donald Trump’s endorsement — that they’re embarrassing the state while doing absolutely nothing to promote the interests of Ohio voters.

“Before it’s over – the date of the spring 2022 primary is not yet set – it will be a nasty affair filled with wild accusations, crazed conspiracy theories and enough nauseating and disqualifying embraces of Donald Trump’s lies to make millions of rational Ohioans reach for a barf bag,” writes Larkin.

In his editorial, Larkin doesn’t pull any punches, calling out ‘trained seal’ J.D. Vance for his total flip-flop on his criticism of Trump, labeling Jane Timken an ‘opportunist’ for reversing her stance on Anthony Gonzalez’ vote to impeach Trump and naming Mandel the ‘most repulsive of the lot,’ as he doubles down on his lies about the 2020 election.

Read the editorial from Cleveland.com HERE and more below:

• In the months ahead, Ohio will be home to what might be a reputation-ruining event for the ages, otherwise known as the Republican Party primary for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Rob Portman.
• Before it’s over – the date of the spring 2022 primary is not yet set – it will be a nasty affair filled with wild accusations, crazed conspiracy theories and enough nauseating and disqualifying embraces of Donald Trump’s lies to make millions of rational Ohioans reach for a barf bag.
• Now comes a Senate primary where the candidates will spend the next year repeatedly proving that they think the views of a 74-year-old Florida resident matter infinitely more than what might be best for the 11.8 million Ohioans they want to “represent.”
• Nevertheless, on March 24, four of the five likely leading contenders for the GOP Senate nomination put to rest any doubts about their willingness to shed every ounce of shame in pursuit of Trump’s support.
• In his meeting with Trump, it’s unlikely Vance reminded the former president that, in August 2016, Vance had told NPR’s Terry Gross that, if he thought Trump might win the presidency, “I might have to hold my nose and vote for Hillary Clinton …. I can’t stomach Trump. I think that he’s noxious and is leading the white working class to a very dark place.”
• As for Moreno, NBC News obtained emails with an abundance of 2016 truth-telling by Moreno about Trump. Moreno referred to Trump as a “maniac” and “lunatic,” writing to someone in 2016 that, “If Donald Trump is nominated, I will consider that a hostile take over and no longer associate with THAT, new GOP.”

• After U.S. Rep. Anthony Gonzalez, a Rocky River Republican, voted in favor of Trump’s second impeachment, Timken had said she thought he had “a rational reason” for his vote and called Gonzalez (her congressman) “a very effective legislator.” Trump didn’t like that, so a few weeks later, Timken said Gonzalez should resign. It was the act of a principle-free opportunist.
• Mandel is easily the most repulsive of the lot. Only Mandel enthusiastically embraces the Big Lie, willing to blabber on without evidence that the 2020 election was stolen.

###

In Case You Missed It, Cleveland Browns Offensive Tackle Chris Hubbard wrote an op-ed for Cleveland.com today to blast anti-voter legislation recently introduced by statehouse Republicans. In his op-ed, Hubbard points out that the current anti-voter is just the latest effort by Republicans to chip away at Ohioans’ right to vote and includes provisions that are especially harmful to voters of color. Hubbard also points out that the legislation is a solution in search of a problem as even Republicans have admitted that there is no extensive evidence of widespread voter fraud in Ohio.   

“Ohio lawmakers who are promoting HB 294 are not trying to change the state’s elections system because it is broken. They are trying to rig it so that they can win future elections and hold onto power. We need to take a stand and protect what we have fought so hard to achieve — our right to be heard; our right to be counted; our right to the full privileges of citizenship in our democracy,” writes Hubbard. 

The GOP anti-voter bill includes a number of provisions that take Ohio backward in the fight for voting rights, including the elimination of a day of early voting, severe restrictions on dropboxes and a requirement for two forms of ID to request an absentee ballot. Read more HERE. 

Read Chris Hubbard’s op-ed in Cleveland.com HERE and more below: 

• For some people, the only way to win is to change the rules of the game.
• This tactic is not new in the world of politics, either, when it comes to the right to vote. Ohio lawmakers are considering a bill to roll back the tide of 2020′s high voter turnout: House Bill 294. The bill targets early voting and voting by mail.
• HB 294 would dramatically shrink the number of early and vote-by-mail voters by shortening the window for requesting absentee ballots; limiting the number of drop boxes for these ballots to just one location per county; reducing the amount of time to access drop boxes from 30 to 10 days; and eliminating in-person voting on the day before the election.
•  Of course, a disproportionate number of people who experience these multiple and intersecting barriers are people of color.
• Ohio lawmakers seeking to restrict early and absentee voting will not admit that they are trying to disenfranchise Black and brown voters. Just like lawmakers in some states in 1896, 1940 and 1965 would not say that the grandfather clauses, literacy tests, poll taxes, armed patrols, and snarling dogs were intended to disenfranchise Black voters. They will say that these rule changes are meant to protect the integrity of the elections process. The rationale would be more convincing if there were actually a problem with the security of elections that needed solving.
• We know today that this justification is just a thinly veiled guise to keep Black people away from the ballot box. Absentee voting poses no credible threat to the integrity of Ohio’s elections. In fact, according to the state’s elections chief, Ohio’s mail-voting system operated successfully in 2020, with no evidence of widespread election fraud.
• Ohio lawmakers who are promoting HB 294 are not trying to change the state’s elections system because it is broken. They are trying to rig it so that they can win future elections and hold onto power. We need to take a stand and protect what we have fought so hard to achieve — our right to be heard; our right to be counted; our right to the full privileges of citizenship in our democracy.

###