Lobbying Rep. Joyce Beatty to Co-sponsor the We the People Amendment
Sandy Bolzenius, Coordinator of the Central Ohio MTA affiliate, developed a creative, personal and powerful approach to request Rep. Joyce Beatty co-sponsor HJR 48, the We the People Amendment. In addition to working with others to set up a virtual meeting with Rep. Beatty or an aide, she produced and sent a packet to the Congresswoman. The packet contained a personal letter and booklet appealing to her interest in Frederick Douglass and in making the connections between the efforts of Douglass, Ida B. Wells and Rosa Parks to assert the morality and constitutionality of slaves being human persons, not property, with Move to Amend's efforts that corporations are property, not human beings, and can be defined by We the People.
Below is Sandy's letter to Rep. Beatty. Click on the image to download the booklet
Read moreCLEV EAST, OH: CH's Democracy Day presented powerful testimony
Cleveland Heights' Democracy Day presented powerful testimony
http://www.heightsobserver.org/read/2021/03/31/chs-democracy-day-presented-powerful-testimony
Cleveland Heights City Council members, speakers and virtual viewers called January’s 8th annual Democracy Day public hearing “inspiring,” “informative,” and “enlightening”—hardly the “waste of time” claimed by Robert Shwab in a letter published in the March issue of the Heights Observer.
CHAGRIN FALLS, OH: Democracy Day Public Hearing Testimony
VILLAGE OF CHAGRIN FALLS
MOVE TO AMEND
March 4, 2021
Present: Grube, Rogoff, DeBernardo
The virtual meeting was called to order at 9:00 a.m. by Council President Erinn Grube.
Written statements were read from the following and are attached:
Diana Nazelli, 35 High Court, Chagrin Falls
Greg Coleridge, Cleveland Heights Resident
Anthony Fossaceca, 61 Olive Street, Chagrin Falls
Kathryn Garvey, 70 East Washington Street, Chagrin Falls
Sharon Broz, 410 Bell Street, Chagrin Falls
Judy Kramer, 165 Pheasant Run Drive, Chagrin Falls
Judy Majcen, 7180 Harris Farm Drive, Bainbridge Township
Lynne Rustad, 442 Solon Road, Chagrin Falls
Becky Thomas, 124 Ridgewood Road, Chagrin Falls
Audio comments from:
David Lima, 7774 Litchfield Drive in Mentor, said he coordinates the Mentor Move to Amend. He spoke about the ongoing tension in the history of the United States between legislative efforts to limit the influence of money and political power and judicial rulings curving congress=s power to do so.
Russ, 10259 Regatta Trail, Reminderville, spoke about the influence of corporations, problems with the environment, and global warming.
Mrs. Grube announced that the next Move to Amend meeting will take place in March of 2023.
Mrs. DeBernardo said we do face a lot of problems and we have been discussing them for decades. We do need to start working on solutions.
The meeting adjourned at 10:11 a.m.
MOVE TO AMEND DAY
March 4, 2021 - Public Comments Submitted
TABLE OF CONENTS
ZOOM CHAT ROOM MEETING COMMENTS ... 1
Greg Coleridge ... 1
Anthony Fossaceca ... 2
Kathryn Garvey/Sharon Broz ... 4
Judy Kramer ... 5
Judy Majcen ... 6
Diana Nazelli ... 7
Lynne Rustad ... 7
Becky Thomas ... 10
Read moreTestimony at Mentor Democracy Day Public Hearing
MENTOR, OHIO | February 23, 2021
The biennial city-sponsored virtual public hearing for Mentor residents to speak on the impact of money in politics and its influence on our democracy and the role of corporations and other moneyed interests that play a part in the political process.
The hearing was mandated as part of a Mentor Move to Amend-led effort to pass a ballot initiative calling on the City to communicate to federal and state representatives that Mentor citizens want a Constitutional Amendment to end corporate personhood and money as free speech. The citizen-driven ballot initiative passed in 2014 by 70%.
[]-[]-[]
Dave Lima
There has been an ongoing tension in the history of the United States between legislative efforts to limit the influence of money and political power, and judicial rulings curbing Congress' power to do so. Particularly in the past 50 years, legislative efforts and Supreme Court rulings have made pivotal changes to the role that money plays in our democracy. Efforts to restrict the influence of money have been rolled back largely based on the misguided narrative that artificial entities are people and money is equivalent to speech protected by the First Amendment.
Read moreOHIO: Painesville Issue 1: Grassroots group pushing to send message against corporate campaign contributions
By: Jordan Vandenberge
https://www.news5cleveland.com/news/local-news/in-depth/painesville-issue-1-grassroots-group-pushing-to-send-message-against-corporate-campaign-contributions
PAINESVILLE, Ohio — The Center for Responsive Politics preliminarily projects the total cost of the 2020 election cycle to be $10.8 billion, roughly a 50% increase in spending compared to the 2016 election when adjusted for inflation. If the projections hold true, political spending this election cycle would equal about a third of Ohio's annual budget ($32.4 billion). As large sums of money and political influence have largely become synonymous with one another, a small but passionate group in Painesville is trying to put a stop to it.
On their ballots this November, Painesville voters will decide Issue 1, a proposed ordinance by petition that would declare the need for a constitutional amendment that would clamp down on political contributions by corporations, unions and Super PACs. The ordinance would also declare that money is not the equivalent of speech.
Read moreOHIO: Kent Democracy Day forum is Wednesday

Kent City Council will hold a virtual online version of its Democracy Day forum this year at 6 p.m. Wednesday.
It will be broadcast live on the City of Kent’s YouTube Channel. A link to view this meeting can be found on the City of Kent’s calendar located at www.kentohio.org.
OHIO: Letter to the Editor: Urges participation in Democracy Day
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 moreResisting the Corporatization of Education & Food
Move to Amend Ohio Network Quarterly Education Program
September 26, 2020
Presenters:
William Phillis - Executive Director - Ohio Coalition for Equity & Adequacy of School Funding
Joe Logan, President, Ohio Farmers Union
Video of program at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9NC14n5nLY
Corporate Exploitation of the Pandemic Video Presentation
The current health and economic crises are exposing our nation's underlying and long-standing democracy crisis. While public attention focuses on meeting people's basic survival needs, big corporations and the rich are using the pandemic as cover to increase in multiple ways their profits and power.
Read more