WHAT’S INSIDE

• Today’s Bright Light
• Word From The Chair – Raymond Lembke
• What’s New From Clermont to Columbus and Beyond
• Election 2024 – Reasons To Run
• Women Ready to Run Campaign Training
• Join The Donkey Club Today
• Clermont County Democratic Party Committee Meetings
• Next Issue Publication Dates
• Happy Thanksgiving

Today’s Bright Light

Issue 1, the Reproductive Freedom Amendment to the Ohio Constitution, passed unofficially by 56.62% to 43.38% statewide. Clermont had a 48% yes vote. That is significant movement in a GOP firewall county. Issue 2, Marijuana Legalization Initiative, passed unofficially by 57% to 43% statewide.

Congratulations and thank you to our candidates who bravely ran for office in this red, red county. We had some wins and some almosts. See below.

Most importantly we had choices. We need to keep the momentum going in 2024. You can find the offices up for election in Clermont County along with the job description and qualification requirements at our website at County Offices 101. We have a lot of smart people in the Democratic Party. Let’s give our voters a smart choice next year.

Thank you to all who ran for election this year. You are truly our heroes!

• Emily Chesnut and Myra Powers won positions on the Milford School Board
• Lynn Mangan and Christina Jeranek won positions on the Loveland School Board
• Julie Schmidt won a position on the CNE School Board
• Democrats Kris Parish and Brad Price won seats on Milford City Council
• Alice Rofles made a fine showing in Monroe Township and has much to be proud of. She came up short but she laid the groundwork for a future run
• Diedre Hazelbaker needed only 106 more votes to win in Loveland. We are excited to see what she is going to do next!

WORD FROM THE CHAIR- Raymond Lembke

The headline good news from last week’s election is that Ohio voters passed State Issue 1, the Reproductive Freedom Amendment to the Ohio Constitution. Unofficial statewide results show that just under 57% of Ohio voters voted yes on Issue 1. Unofficially, Issue 1 lost in Clermont County by 2,654 votes out of 74,216 votes cast. Sadly, it appears that many in our county fell for the lies being told by the dark forces opposed to the individual rights guaranteed by Issue 1. However, the fact that the vote was close contributed to the statewide win. The dark forces knew they could not win in Ohio’s urban counties, and they did not. To defeat individual rights, those opposing Issue 1 needed to win big in places like Clermont County. They did not. CONTINUE READING

What’s New From Clermont To Columbus And Beyond

Click on the headline to access the full article

Abortion-rights victories cement 2024 playbook while opponents scramble for new strategy

Anti-abortion leaders woke up Wednesday to the sobering reality that abortion rights remain the nation’s predominant political issue. Decisive wins in swing and red states in two national election cycles since Roe v. Wade was overturned last year have given momentum to reproductive rights groups, who aggressively campaigned and fundraised in key states across the country, and intend to triple down for 2024. CONTINUE READING

Gerrymandered Ohio Republican lawmakers are already scheming to attack voters over election results

Ohio voters just took firm positions on abortion and reproductive rights and adult-use recreational marijuana Tuesday, but gerrymandered Ohio lawmakers are already planning to flout, ignore, challenge, and abuse the voters’ wishes. This is what gerrymandering brings. This is why it’s a fundamental poison in the lifeblood of our republic. CONTINUE READING

Editors Note: Sign up to help ban politicians from Ohio’s redistricting process in 2024: http://CitizensNotPoliticians.org

Supreme Court justice sues over Ohio law requiring certain judicial candidates to use party labels

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A top jurist and former elections chief in Ohio has sued two state officials over a recently passed law that requires certain judicial candidates to declare their party affiliation on ballots. CONTINUE READING

Rep. Brad Wenstrup to retire

Rep. Brad Wenstrup, an Ohio podiatric surgeon representing what is considered a safe Republican Cincinnati-area seat in Congress, announced late Thursday that he will retire at the end of this term. CONTINUE READING

Election 2024

Democrats on the ballot November 5, 2024 – This is the big one!

Joseph Robinette Biden is running for a second term as POTUS in 2024. You know him. Vote for him! To support his campaign go to Joe Biden for President

Sherrod Brown is running for reelection for Ohio senator in 2024. You know him. Vote for him! To support his campaign go to Sherrod Brown for Senate.

(Possible) Issue on the ballot November 5, 2024

Citizen-led Statewide Redistricting Commission – Groups are starting to collect signatures to get a constitutional amendment on the Nov. 2024 ballot that would scrap Ohio’s current system for drawing legislative and congressional district maps and create a new one. Learn more at Citizens Not Politicians.

Important Date

December 20, 2023 – Deadline to file declaration of candidacy for 2024 election by 4 p.m. at the Clermont County Board of Elections.

The Clermont County Democratic Party is recruiting candidates for several offices in 2024. The filing deadline is December 20 of this year. For a list of the offices that will have elections in 2024 and the requirements for each see: County Offices 101

Also listed at this link are the General Assembly positions that cover Clermont County. We have two districts for the House of Representatives, District 62 and District 63. We are District 14 for the state Senate. You will find the details of these positions at County Offices 101. If you should consider a run for one of these state legislature offices check out Blue Ohio an organization solely dedicated to supporting candidates for the Ohio Statehouse.

Reasons To Run

You probably have good reasons why you don’t want to run for office. Here are some of the possible reasons with counter arguments.

• I don’t know if I’m qualified to hold office. Are you kidding? Look at the people who are in these offices now.

• It’s not a good time. It’s never the perfect time.

• It’s just not in me to run for office. Was it in you to ride a bike, get married, sing or play in front of an audience? The first time you do anything is scary. Try and you may well discover your hidden talents. You just have to get mad about something to overcome your reluctance and there are plenty of things to get mad about in Clermont County politics!

• It’s too expensive. The good thing about running in Clermont County is it doesn’t take that much money to run a reasonable campaign. The Ohio Democratic Party has finally recognized that it’s important to support all candidates. There are organizations such as Matriots (for women only) or labor unions that will also contribute to your campaign.

• It takes too much time away from my family. One of our recent candidates had two young daughters. When I had talked to the children after the election, they were proud of their mom even though she spent less time with them during the campaign. Teach your children what true patriotism is, by trying to make this country better.

• I’m going to lose. That’s true for most of these offices, especially as a first time candidate. Each time you run you will gain name recognition and experience so that future runs will be more successful. Meanwhile you are holding the Republicans to account for their disconnect with Ohio voters and making them spend money in Clermont County that they won’t be able to use in other parts of the state.

There are a lot of reasons for you not to run. There are even more reasons for you to try. Ask any of our recent candidates what the experience was like for them. I know for me it was personally rewarding. I feel sure that it will also be rewarding for you. – Alan Darnowsky

Editors Note: Should you decide to run, there is a Secretary of State publication called the Candidate Requirement Guide that covers the formal requirements like the form of petition to use, the number of petition signatures required, and the filing fee. It is online at ohiosos.gov/globalassets/publications/election/2024_crg.pdf.

Women Ready to Run Campaign Training

We Need More Women in Government

Ready to Run is a nonpartisan campaign training program to encourage women to run for elected office, position themselves for appointed office, work on a campaign, or get involved in public life in other ways.

When
December 9, 2023
9:00 AM-4:00 PM

Location
Ohio State University
John Glenn College of Public Affairs
Page Hall
1810 College Rd
Columbus, OH 43210

Cost
$50 Registration
$0 Student

REGISTER HERE

Must register by Dec. 2

Join The Donkey Club Today

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 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.

Clermont County Democratic Party Central Committee

Please plan to attend an in-person meeting on Tuesday, November 28 at Pam Sisney’s home. Send Patty Lawrence an email for the address. The meeting will start at 7:00. Arrive around 6:30 for social time. This meeting is open so you are welcome to invite other Democrats who would like to get involved. Please contact Patty Lawrence at p.lawrence@fuse.net for more information on the next Central Committee meeting.

Clermont County Democratic Party Executive Committee

Next meeting will be held Thursday, 12/7/23 at 7 pm in-person at the Clermont County Democratic Headquarters, 174 E. Main St. We will not be offering a ZOOM option for that night.
• We will continue next door in the private room of Gramma’s Pizza
• Please join us for Holiday food and fun.

CCDP COMMITTEES

Finance Committee– Chair – Ben Brady

Events Committee – Chair – Katherine Lent

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

Patty Lawrence – Central Committee Chair
Benjamin Indino – Central Committee Vice 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
Katherine Lent – 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, November 28, 2023. Deadline for submissions for the next issue is Friday, November 24, 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

Happy Thanksgiving