OHDems

COLUMBUS, OH – Maple Heights Mayor Annette Blackwell is running for Auditor with experience pulling a city out of a fiscal emergency, uncovering waste, fraud, and abuse and addressing those issues to get Maple Heights back on track to grow communities. Blackwell also touts her commitment to working across the aisle, as the Akron Beacon Journal notes she has “done numerous times as mayor.”

In case you missed it, read more on Annette Blackwell’s message to Ohioans about how she “would focus on problem-solving, advising and relationship building,” including to catch corruption, mismanagement, and fraud early if elected Auditor:

Akron Beacon Journal: Maple Heights mayor seeks Ohio seat, focuses on helping cities in crisis

• When Blackwell became mayor of Maple Heights 10 years ago, the city was struggling with finances.
• The city entered fiscal emergency in 2015, before she became mayor, when it failed to make payments on three loans for sewer projects, Ideastream reported. Four years later, the city was released from the emergency.
• Blackwell said this was one year early. It took a lot of effort to turn things around, but that effort came with little help from the auditor’s office.
• Blackwell recalled having a “war room” in her home full of papers and documents. There, she found many problems. The city was paying for health care for retired or dead employees and overpaying for a reduced law department, for example.
• If elected as the auditor, Blackwell said she would focus on problem-solving, advising and relationship building. The latter, she said, could help prevent corruption and mismanagement before it spirals. It also means catching fraud.
• She said her time working with the auditor’s office as mayor and her time as a consultant separate her from LaRose. She’s also willing to work across the aisle with Republicans, which she has done numerous times as mayor.
• “I don’t mind being the first person to cross the aisle, because we do our best work together,” she said.

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COLUMBUS, OH – Following the Ohio Democratic Party State Central Committee meeting in Columbus today, Chair Kathleen Clyde issued the following statement:

“Ahead of this critical midterm election, Ohio Democrats are united behind a strong Democratic ticket and a clear mission: lowering costs and ensuring every Ohio family can thrive. While Republican corruption in Columbus and Washington has driven up costs and left Ohioans falling behind, Democrats are focused on delivering the relief and opportunity families deserve. 

“I look forward to continuing to Chair the Ohio Democratic Party and serve alongside incredible leaders throughout our state as we work together to elect Democrats up and down the ballot who will lower costs, protect our freedoms, and get our state back on track.”

Official business at the State Central Committee Meeting included: swearing in members to the Central Committee and voting on Ohio Democratic Party Chair.

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COLUMBUS, OH – Newly unearthed video is shining a light on what Republican candidate for Congress Eric Conroy actually thinks of Ohio voters who don’t share his political beliefs – with Conroy comparing them to terrorists. Conroy’s comments saying, “sometimes, terrorists are easier to talk to than Democrats,” come at a time when division, dangerous rhetoric, and political violence have become all too common in American politics.

“Eric Conroy should apologize to the Ohioans he’s comparing to terrorists,” said Ohio Democratic Party Communications Director Marisa Nahem. “Conroy is proving every day that he only cares about Ohioans if they support him. Ohioans want leaders who will put the people they serve above partisan politics, not extremist politicians who would just be a rubber stamp for the policies that are devastating Ohio families of all political backgrounds, like Washington Republicans’ dangerous healthcare cuts that are ripping care away from Ohio families, their devastating tariffs that are hurting Ohio small businesses, and their reckless war with Iran that is sky-rocketing Ohioans’ gas prices.”

In case you missed it, watch Eric Conroy’s message to Ohioans: 

Heartland Signal: Eric Conroy said “sometimes, terrorists are easier to talk to than Democrats”

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“I don’t think we can emphasize enough what the impact of changes coming to SNAP could mean for hunger and economic stability in Ohio”

COLUMBUS, OH – Leaders at Ohio food banks are sounding the alarm on what Washington Republicans’ budget bill could mean for Ohio families as costs continue to rise across the board and there’s an increased demand for food assistance. While Washington Republicans gutted SNAP in order to pay for more tax breaks for corporations and special interests, Ohio food banks are making clear that families could suffer because of it – and the state will be left to foot the bill as the federal government leaves states out to dry to handle the costs of critical food assistance.

Cleveland.com: Ohio’s food banks grappling with high demand that just keeps climbing with economy woes and aid cuts

• “What we have been seeing for the last several years is an increase in people coming,” Mid-Ohio Food Collective spokesman Mike Hochron said. “It’s a tough reality that a lot of our neighbors are one crisis away from not being able to put food on the table.”
• Food banks across Ohio say runaway inflation hurt household budgets, but even after it cooled, prices never came back down. Rent remains high. Utility bills and gas costs are climbing.
• Most people think of SNAP as a program that helps low-income Americans buy groceries. But when benefits get cut, the effects don’t stop at the checkout line. Food banks fill the gap. Local grocery stores lose revenue. And in rural counties like Adams, where one in five residents receives benefits, that can shake the local economy.
• “I don’t think we can emphasize enough what the impact of changes coming to SNAP could mean for hunger and economic stability in Ohio,” Hochron said.
• The cuts don’t stop with recipients. For the first time, Ohio is also on the hook for a portion of the program’s costs.
• Under the new law, the federal government cut its share of Ohio’s SNAP administrative costs in half — a gap of about $70 million the state had to fill. The federal share drops again in October, and Ohio will have to find more money to cover it.
• “Republican and Democratic Governors alike are warning they cannot pick up the new cost share coming down the pike,” U.S. Rep. Shontel Brown, a Cleveland Democrat, said in an April floor speech. “That means more cuts. More hunger. More harm.”

Read more HERE from Cleveland.com on how the impacts of Washington Republicans’ budget bill “don’t stop at the checkout line,” as “food banks fill the gap. Local grocery stores lose revenue. And in rural counties like Adams, where one in five residents receives benefits, that can shake the local economy.”
 

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COLUMBUS, OH – Another week, another problem for Republican candidate for Congress Carey Coleman. While last week Coleman was kicking off the general election by telling Ohio teachers to “go to hell,” this week Coleman was once again making news, facing calls for a Justice Department investigation after missing the deadline to file a personal financial disclosure. Filing personal financial disclosures has been a requirement for federal candidates for decades, and yet, Coleman failed to file his by the deadline after he loaned his own campaign more than $50,000.

“Carey Coleman’s campaign has had a pretty horrible start to the general election – telling tens of thousands of Ohio teachers to ‘go to hell,’ and then facing calls for an ethics investigation over allegations that he broke federal law to keep Ohio voters in the dark about his personal finances,” said Ohio Democratic Party Communications Director Marisa Nahem. “Wonder what next week will bring for Carey Coleman.”

Read more from Cleveland.com on how Coleman’s failure to file a personal financial disclosure on time led to an ethics complaint:

• The Summit County Democratic Party has asked the Justice Department to investigate Republican congressional nominee Carey Coleman for failing to file a personal financial disclosure required of federal candidates under a decades-old ethics law.

• A statement from the Summit County Democratic Party noted that Federal Election Commission records indicate Coleman loaned his own campaign more than $50,000. It accused him of breaking “federal law to hide where that money came from until after the votes were counted.”

• In the letter, Derig said the Ethics in Government Act was designed to “preserve and promote the integrity of public officials and institutions” and argued that Coleman’s apparent failure to file “undermines these important objectives and deprives voters of the opportunity to accurately assess his potential conflicts of interest and fitness for elected office.”

• Under federal law, candidates are required to file a personal financial disclosure once they raise or spend more than $5,000 for a House election. The form is due within 30 days of the candidate reaching that threshold, by May 15 of the calendar year in which they become a candidate, or no later than 30 days before the election — whichever comes last.

• Derig’s letter cites Coleman’s April 15 FEC filing, which indicates he had received contributions exceeding $5,000 as of January 26, 2026. Under that timeline, Coleman was required to file a personal financial disclosure no later than April 5, 2026 — 30 days before the May primary.

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