WHAT’S INSIDE
- Petition Drive to Protect Reproductive Rights In Ohio
- CCDP Picnic In The Park – Save the Date
- Word From The Chair – Raymond Lembke
- What’s New From Clermont to Columbus and Beyond
- Pepperspectives – Downward Spiral
- Is Your Ohio General Assembly Working For You?
- Free Online Training
- Join The Donkey Club Today
- Clermont County Democratic Club Meetings
- Clermont County Democratic Party Committee Meetings
- Next Issue Publication Dates
Protect Reproductive Rights In Ohio
The Clermont County Democratic Party has launched a petition signing initiative to amend the Ohio Constitution to codify reproductive rights in Ohio.
The Republicans have successfully framed the abortion issue as solely a birth control issue. But any woman who has suffered a miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy or a myriad of other complications associated with pregnancy would disagree with that assertion.
The Republicans have also inserted their religious beliefs into government contending life begins at conception. This does not coincide with the science. See #3 and #4 in the summary above.
Whether you believe in abortion, or not, we all have a right to bodily autonomy without politicians dictating our medical decisions or forcing government mandated pregnancies and births.
Patty Lawrence and Democracy In Action are taking the lead on the petition drive. If you have questions you may contact them at info@democracyinactionohio.com
We can never have too many volunteers. There are many ways you can help circulate petitions. House parties, canvassing, talk to your neighbors. This is a non-partisan issue. Reproductive rights affect women on both sides of the aisle. Click here to access the volunteer form for this petition drive.
If you are not comfortable circulating petitions be sure to sign one. We must be sure every signature is valid. Here is a list of some tips when signing a petition.
How to sign so that your signature does not get rejected.
- Sign the petition for the county where you are a registered voter.
- If you are not a registered voter, you may register online or fill out a form from one of the volunteers on site. Go here to register online.
- DO NOT SIGN MULTIPLE PETITIONS. You may sign only one petition only one time.
- Use blue or black ink only.
- Print legibly except for your signature.
- SIGN your name how it looks on your voter registration. Printed signatures will not be counted. Only you can sign your name.
Reproductive Rights Ballot Initiative Volunteer Leadership Training
Time
Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays
5:30pm EDT + 2 more times
Location
Virtual event
Join from anywhere
Throughout 2023, the Ohio Democratic Party is going all out on bringing an initiative to the ballot that would codify reproductive freedom in the Ohio Constitution. This is the only way to restore Ohioans ability to make reproductive decisions for themselves.
Haven’t taken the dive into political volunteering before? Don’t worry, you’re in good hands! Whether you’re a seasoned politico or dipping your toes into political action for the first time, we have robust support systems in place that will equip you with everything you need to be a key contributor. Anyone that is willing to put in the work to protect abortion rights can get involved. We truly need all hands on deck if we are to succeed. LEARN MORE
CCDP Picnic In The Park
Save the Date!
The 2023 Donkey Dinner will be a picnic this year! Join us on the afternoon of Saturday, May 20, 2023 at American Legion Victor Stier Post 450, 450 Victor Stier Drive, Milford, Ohio 45150 on the banks of the Little Miami River in Old Milford. This fundraising event is family oriented so bring the kids! We need young blood in the party!
$35 for adults
$10 for children 12 and under
You may purchase your tickets online and securely through ActBlue at this link: Purchase tickets online.
The grill will be on with hamburgers and hotdogs, whichever you choose! Sides and drinks too. There will be games, speakers (including Jill Schiller, Hamilton County Treasurer) and our infamous Cake & Pie Auction. Come enjoy the warmer weather, hear some future candidates and mingle with your fellow Clermont County Democrats.
WORD FROM THE CHAIR– Raymond Lembke
Over the weekend, I read the Report of the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol (“The January 6th Report”) (Cleadon Books 2022). While the 724 pages of the commercially published version might seem daunting, each chapter is followed by several pages of end notes citing the evidence which supports the statements in the text. These end notes are important to show that the Report’s statements are not made up, and material in many of the notes is interesting in itself, the actual text of the Report is much shorter. CONTINUE READING
What’s New From Clermont To Columbus And Beyond
Click on the headline to access the full article
Analysis: Ohio’s 2024 Senate primary is shaping up to be a repeat of 2022
The 2024 Republican primary for the U.S. Senate nomination, in which the winner will face the difficult task of knocking off Democratic incumbent Sherrod Brown, is beginning to remind some of us of the 2022 Senate primary, one of the nastiest, ugliest on record. It ended up producing J.D. Vance as the GOP nominee and eventual winner of now-retired Sen. Rob Portman’s seat. CONTINUE READING
Ohio SOS gives yet another reason to make it a lot harder for voters to amend Constitution
Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose on Wednesday offered another rationale for making it much more difficult for voters to amend the Ohio Constitution. Now he’s saying it’s needed to fight a possible power grab like one that grew out of a massive bribery and money-laundering scandal. But LaRose didn’t mention in his op-ed that his name came up repeatedly in a criminal trial related to the scandal and that he appeared to be in close communication with some of its central figures. Nor did his office respond when asked whether LaRose ever spoke out against the corrupt utility bailout before the FBI started arresting people in July 2020. CONTINUE READING
Ohio AG Yost signs on to try to stop billions in student loan debt from being forgiven
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost is trying to prevent billions of dollars of student loan debt from being forgiven. CONTINUE READING
Pepperspectives
DOWNWARD SPIRAL
The Warped Incentives of No Competition
In my previous newsletter, I explained that millions of Tennesseeans face no choice when it comes to who represents them in the state legislature, because so many of these elections are uncontested, year after year.
That lack of competition, accountability and transparency drives so much of the (bad) behavior of the GOP Tennessee legislators we witnessed last week. But as I explain above, the Tennessee situation is not unique. In state after state, we see dozens of districts and millions of Americans left out of elections due to uncontested races. CONTINUE READING
Is Your Ohio General Assembly Working For You?
Unfortunately right now the Ohio General Assembly, also known as the state legislature, has been gerrymandered into a Republican Super Majority. But that does not render Ohio Democrats helpless. We are hearing from the Democrats serving in the Ohio House that Republicans in the Ohio House are not hearing from opponents to their policies. So the Republicans tell their colleagues no one is against them.
So here’s the deal, all reps are required to log every phone call and email from constituents. We need ALL good Democrats to call or email their state reps and senators every day or every week. Whether your issue is gun safety, reproductive rights, corruption in our government, voter suppression or public education, CALL YOUR REPS! Below is the contact information for Clermont County reps and senator.
Adam Bird State Rep Ohio District 63 (southern Clermont County)
Email: https://ohiohouse.gov/members/adam-c-bird/contact
(614) 644-6034
Twitter @AdamCBird
Jeanne Schmidt State Rep Ohio District 62 (northern Clermont County)
Email: https://www.ohiohouse.gov/members/jean-schmidt/contact
(614) 466-8134
Terry Johnson State Senator Ohio District 14 (all of Clermont County)
Email: https://ohiosenate.gov/members/terry-johnson/contact
(614) 466-8082
Looking for an issue to call about? Here’s one to start with. Ohio has passed a permitless carry law following in lockstep with 25 other Red states who have passed similar laws. This law appears to go in the opposite direction of gun safety advocates. Tell your legislators how you feel about gun safety.
Free Online Training
Say This, Not That- Control your Democratic narrative
Time
Thursday, May 25
Multiple dates available
8 – 9pm EDT
Location
Virtual event
Join from anywhere
To win elections and support progressive issues Democrats need to communicate with the most effective messaging. Join us as we discuss how we can frame our issues and promote progressive values in a way voters will embrace. Each workshop will provide background information, provide examples of good and bad messaging and time to discuss messaging on current topic. Learn more here.
Civics 101- The basics they no longer teach in school
Time
Tuesdays (multiple dates available)
Tue, May 30, 2023
8 – 9pm EST
Location
Virtual event
Join from anywhere
We cover topics from how a bill becomes a law to who your representatives are to when elections are held and so much more. LEARN MORE
Join The Donkey Club Today
It’s that time of year! We need your support. The Clermont County Democratic Party relies solely on donations from our friends to operate. Our Donkey Club is our major source of funding and we hope you will become a member today. Member benefits below.
- A headquarters located centrally in the county in Batavia
- A bi-monthly e-newsletter
- A robust Internet presence on our Website, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
- Support for our Democratic candidates
Click the Donate button below and make your donation securely online through ActBlue or mail a check. Make Checks payable to: Clermont County Democratic Party (CCDP), PO Box 475, Batavia, OH 45103
Thank you for your support! Raymond W. Lembke, Party Chairman Clermont County Democratic Party
Clermont County Democratic Club Meetings
Next meeting will be Thursday, June 1, 2023 at 7pm at CCDP Headquarters, 174 E. Main St., Batavia, Ohio.
West Clermont Democrats will meet Monday, May 8, 2023 at 7:00 pm at Day Heights Fireman’s Memorial Building 1313 OH-131, Day Heights, OH 45150
CLERMONT COUNTY DEMOCRATIC CLUB DIRECTORY
Below is a listing of Democratic groups in Clermont County. Click on the name of each club and it will take you to their website or Facebook page with updated information about meetings.
Quin-T Democrat Club | Democracy In Action | |
West Clermont Democrats | Clermont County Young Democrats | |
The Goshen Democratic Club | Drinking Liberally |
Clermont County Democratic Party Central Committee
Please contact Ben Indino, Central Committee Chair at: benjamin.indino@gmail.com or Amanda Fox, Central Committee Secretary at: alvfox33@gmail.com for more information.
Clermont County Democratic Party Executive Committee
Next Executive Committee meeting will be Thursday, April 27, 2023 at 7:00 pm
This will be a hybrid meeting with choice of in-person at headquarters, 174 E. Main Street, Batavia, Ohio 45103 and via Zoom. Central Committee members are encouraged to attend.
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR COMMITTEES
CCDP has four active committees. Each committee needs volunteers. Please consider getting involved. The strength of our party is our volunteers. You may contact the respective Chairs of each committee below by clicking on their name if you are interested in volunteering.
Finance Committee– Chair – Ben Brady
Events Committee – Chair – Katherine Lent
By-laws Review Committee– Chair- Gregg Conrad
Communications Committee – Chair – Michelle DeTemple
The Communications Committee meets the first Tuesday of each month at 7:00pm via Zoom.
CLERMONT COUNTY DEMOCRATIC PARTY OFFICERS
Benjamin Indino – Central Committee Chair
Tracy Jo Small – Central Committee Vice Chair
Amanda Fox – Central Committee Secretary
Raymond Lembke – Executive Committee Chair
Elaine Barnett – Executive Committee Vice Chair
Chris Barnett – Treasurer
Bonnie Carlier – Executive Committee Secretary
STAY CONNECTED
FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK, TWITTER AND INSTAGRAM – VISIT OUR WEBSITE
Like, share, comment and retweet our posts. Use the hashtags #OHDems #ClermontOHDems
This is your newsletter. We welcome you to submit news items, events, book reviews or anything else you feel is important to advance our Democratic values in Clermont County. If you have critiques about content or format please feel free to voice your opinion.
Next issue will be published Tuesday, May 2, 2023. Deadline for submissions for the next issue is Friday, April 28, 2023. Send your submission with “CCDP Newsletter” in the subject line to our newsletter editor Cheryl Richards at: cheryl1richards@gmail.com
Share the newsletter with your friends and encourage them to sign up for our bi-weekly newsletter at clermontdems.org
Clermont County Democratic Party
174 E. Main Street P.O. Box 475
Batavia, OH, 45103
513-732-2378
clermontdems@gmail.com
Paid for by the Clermont County Democratic Party, Christopher Barnett, Treasurer