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
ACTION 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 moreLetter: Public invited to speak about money in politics at Democracy Day hearing in Kent
Record Courier / Kent, Ohio / Sept 25, 2022
https://www.record-courier.com/story/opinion/letters/2022/09/25/kent-public-hearing-to-focus-on-corporate-money-in-politics/69512581007/
Democracy Day public hearing
Our election system is broken because of the destructive influences of money in politics and the misguided notion that corporations may claim constitutional rights. With these rights, they are able to spend tremendous amounts of dark money through organizations and PACs to support the candidates who will serve their needs. And their primary need is profit. While profits are essential in a capitalist system, the needs of “we the people” should be primary since we are also a democracy.
Read moreVideo: Dennis Kucinich on Pulling the Plug on FirstEnergy Corporation
FirstEnergy’s headquarters in Akron. Source: Google Maps.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nU9Gildl8mU&t=3s
August 23, 2022
Presentation by and discussion with Dennis Kucinich
Former Mayor of Cleveland, Ohio State Senator, U.S. Congressperson and Presidential Candidate
Author of The Division of Light and Power
Sponsored by Ohio Move to Amend
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Read moreOhio Democracy/Corporation History Quiz
This was part of the "testimony" presented at the Cleveland Heights Democracy Day Public Hearing on June 9, 2022
Ohio’s history is not just about “the mother of Presidents”, where and when its wartime battles took place, or which Ohioans flew into space. Its hidden part is the story of the struggles of the many people who sought to amake the basic decisions affecting their own lives free from external control. It’s also the story of the few who imposed control over Ohio’s majority of people and resources using the business corporation as their primary vehicle. These stories are enormously relevant today. The first seven questions and answers below are excerpted from Citizens over Corporations: A Brief History of Democracy in Ohio and Challenges to Freedom in the Future, available from [email protected]
Read more
