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OHIO: Democracy Day Public Testimony | Toledo
TOLEDO CITY HALL | MARCH 23, 2023
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Dennis Slotnick
Today we are gathered to proclaim that a for-profit Corporation is not the same as a person and that money is not the same as free speech.
I speak for all the members of the two cosponsoring groups: Our Revolution in Northwest Ohio and Toledo Move to Amend. Thank you City Council for the recent passage of Move to Amend resolution and Medicare for all Resolution coming partly as a result of Democracy Days 2021 and Democracy Day 2022. You now join 22 states, and 800 cities and towns, who have also passed Move To Amend resolutions.
These communities understand what President Jimmy Carter declared. Let us take a moment to honor President Carter as he has just entered hospice care in Georgia. These are some of his words about the Citizens United 2010 Supreme court decision:
- Citizens United has turned America into an “oligarchy with unlimited political bribery.”
- Citizens United “violates the essence” of our democracy and represents “the biggest change in America” since he was elected in 1976.
- Citizens United has left everyday Americans “cheated out of” the chance to make their lives better.
- Citizens United has led to “a complete subversion of our political system as a payoff to major contributors.”
Democracy Day: Activist targets climate, corporate personhood
Issues ranging from the climate and corporate malfeasance, to health care and the health of Lake Erie, were front and center at One Government Center in Toledo Thursday for the observance of Democracy Day 2023.
The day was established by voter initiative in 2016 and requires the mayor and city council hold a public hearing and let the citizenry voice its concerns on the impact of political contributions from corporations, unions, and PACs on the city and the U.S. Supreme Court landmark decision in Citizens United v. FEC. That decision held that corporations and other associations are protected by the First Amendment and election spending is the equivalent of speech.
Within two weeks after the Toledo hearing, the mayor is directed to send a letter to the Toledo members and leaders of the state legislature and Toledo’s congressional delegation, calling for a constitutional amendment to eliminate what some activists call “corporate personhood” resulting from the Citizens United decision.
OHIO: RELEASE: Citizens Testify at Local Public Hearings in Ohio to End Corrupt Elections & Corporate Rule
PRESS RELEASE
For immediate release, March 23, 2023
Contacts: Greg Coleridge, [email protected], 216-255-2184 | Dennis Slotnick, [email protected], 419-704-1863 | Brad Deane, [email protected], 440-488-1109 | Madelon Watts, [email protected], 216-291-4450 | Robert S. Belovich, [email protected], 440-503-8770
Citizens Testify at Local Public Hearings in Ohio to End Corrupt Elections and Corporate Rule
Twelve public hearings are taking place in Ohio this year on the corruption resulting from the explosion of money spent in political elections and multiple harms due to increasing corporate power to influence elections and public policies.
The hearings are a result of citizen-driven ballot initiatives organized by supporters of the national Move to Amend Coalition working to pass the We the People Amendment (HJR48), introduced again this year in the U.S. House of Representatives by Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D, WA).
Read moreEast Palestine train catastrophe shows why corporations aren't 'people'| Opinion
If ordinary people had a say on the factors, would last month's train derailment in East Palestine have happened?
Who among us would exempt companies from fully disclosing the contents of their toxic cargo?
Who would permit a train of 150 cars to operate with a crew of just two — and then deny railroad workers paid sick days? Which of us would even consider reversing a safety mandate to install new brake systems?
My guess is that nary a soul would agree to these or any conditions that put others at risk. That is not what people do.
Empowered by the U.S. Supreme Court’s stance that they are “people,” corporations push policies that reflect values very different than ours. Real people care about family, communities, the environment, and a sustainable future.
VOICES: Protecting the public from corporate harm
Protecting public welfare is a primary function of government, right?
When professionals such as doctors and lawyers break the law or violate standards of acceptable behavior, they aren’t just slapped with a fine, told to replace their office managers, and allowed to go back to business as usual. In the interest of public safety, state regulators hold these professionals accountable by suspending or revoking their license to practice.
But how do we hold a multibillion-dollar corporation accountable for misconduct or criminal activity in a way that also protects the best interests of the public?
I’m talking about FirstEnergy, the Akron-based utility company behind the largest public corruption scandal in Ohio history. The scandal involved Larry Householder, former speaker of the Ohio House, and Generation Now, a 501(c)(4) “social-welfare” nonprofit that can keep its donors hidden, or “in the dark.”
OHIO: Move to Amend "Democracy Day" Public Hearings - 2023
Mandated municipally-sponsored public hearings following the passage of ballot initiatives organized by Move to Amenders. The initiatives had two components. [1] Municipalities were required to sponsor a public hearing, dubbed "Democracy Day" hearings, inviting residents and/or anyone to testify on the impact money in politics and corporate rule on their lives, communities or world. Congress that voters in these communities, and [2] Municipalities were required to send a letter to all state and federal elected officials representing their area summarizing the hearing and informing them that the voters of that municipality voted in support of a Constitutional Amendment to abolish all corporate constitutional rights and money defined as free speech. Several communities were considered more politically "conservative" or "moderate."
Below is a schedule as of this date of hearings that have already taken place or are planned.
Read more[OHIO] Move to Amend Ohio Democracy Day Public Hearings - 2023
COMMUNITY "DEMOCRACY DAY" PUBIC HEARINGS
2023 Schedule
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Defiance
February 9, 7 pm
Defiance City Hall
Recording at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GToGp15IxC4
Contact: Dolores Whitman, Contact: [email protected], 419-633-9031
Mentor
February 15, 5:30 pm
Mentor Municipal Center, Council Chambers
Recording?
Contact: Dave Lima, [email protected], 440-220-0204
Read more
Hearing on corporate contributions set
Letters to the editor
https://www.crescent-news.com/opinion/letters_to_editor/letters-to-the-editor/article_5fe1c252-986d-11ed-b0b0-932322ea12b4.html
Jan 21,2023
Corporations have “personhood” rights and their money qualifies as “free speech.” They financially back the politicians and, once elected, lobby them to create laws on their behalf. This system has big pay-offs.
Oxfam just published “Survival of the richest,” and revealed that “95 food and energy corporations have more than doubled their profits in 2022. They made $306 billion in windfall profits and paid out $257 billion (84%) of that to rich shareholders.”
Read moreACTION ALERT: Oppose efforts to weaken direct democracy via citizen-initiatives in Ohio
Secretary of State Frank LaRose and State Rep. Brian Stewart recently announced an effort to change the Ohio Constitution in order to make it harder for Ohio citizens to successfully pass ballot initiatives. House Joint Resolution 6 (HJR6) is a power grab, plain and simple. It is unnecessary, unfair, unpopular, and undemocratic.
A broad coalition of groups is organizing to stop this attack on direct democracy in its tracks.
TAKE ACTION:
1. The proposal may be voted on next week by a committee and the entire House. Tell your Ohio House Representative you oppose this undemocratic proposal. Find your House member (and contact information) HERE
2. Attend a statewide Rally for Democracy!, Tuesday, December 13, 2022, 11:15 AM, Trinity Episcopal Church, 125 E Broad St, Columbus, OH 43215. Details HERE
Read more
