Northeast Ohio voters did themselves proud in the 2015 election. Carefully sorting through some confusing issues, voters spoke in convincing ways to support their arts & culture, insist on fair redistricting, and slam the door on monopoly marijuana.
CoolCleveland commentators Mansfield Frazier, Anastasia Pantsios and Thomas Mulready contributed to this roundup.
Issue 1: Legislative Redistricting YES 77.7% NO 22.3%
In convincing fashion, Ohio voters did the right thing to sort out the anti-democratic practice of gerrymandering: where one political party is in power and gets to re-draw the districts to their favor- until the other party gains the majority and flips it back. We are still feeling the effects in Northeast Ohio where downstate Republicans re-drew Toledo Representative Marcy Kaptur’s district to include the West Side Cleveland district of Dennis Kucinich. Both would have been easily re-elected, but were forced to face off. The Republicans successfully eliminated a Democrat, but at the expense of two major cities 120 miles apart being forced to share a Representative- something no one felt was a good idea.
So the support was bi-partisan for Issue 1, which requires that districts follow the statewide preference of the voters, and limits exactly the type of unnecessary splitting of communities, towns and counties that Toledo and Cleveland experienced. For once, the politicians rallied behind a bi-partisan proposal, and the electorate recognized this measure of good government and gave it their stamp of approval. We can all be proud that we did the right thing.
Issue 2: Anti-Monopoly YES 51.4% NO 48.6%
Probably the most confusing issue on the state ballot, Issue 2 certainly yielded one of the closest results.
Placed on the ballot by Republicans in the Ohio state legislature to defeat Issue 3 if it passed, Issue 2 requires future constitutional ballot amendments that create monopolies to go through a complicated, expensive two-part process. That part sounded good to most voters who soundly defeated Issue 3’s marijuana monopoly and are feeling regret about awarding a similar monopoly to Ohio’s casino operators, who have subsequently consolidated the statewide gaming industry.
But Issue 2 also contains vague language about what initiatives it applied to that could be used to shut down a wider range of future initiatives.
It became clear in the final days of the campaign, as people began talking more about it, that Issue 2 was widely misunderstood and people turned against it as they became aware that keeping monopolies out of the state constitution wasn’t ALL it did. Alas, the discussion was too little too late and Issue 2 eked out a victory. How it will be applied in the future is hard to guess, but it’s possible that the process it creates could become a partisan football, dependent on who controls the ballot board and Ohio State Supreme Court.
Issue 3: Marijuana Monopoly NO: 60.4% YES 39.6%
The failure of Issue 3 (you know, the one where a group of oligarchs attempted to get the voters to allow them to form a legal cartel to control marijuana in the state) shows that voters in Ohio are not as dumb as they were thought to be. In a confusing election cycle, citizens were able to sort out their feelings for Issue 3’s millionaire monopoly marijuana proposal from issue 2’s anti-monopoly sentiments. Issue 3’s elite 1% of the 1% who paid for this campaign made a strategic miscalculation and assumed that Ohio voters would hand over the cash register in exchange for the ability to light up. A university of Akron survey just before the election showed that voters were split: they favored legalizing marijuana, but resisted the idea of a monopoly.
Now we have a chance in 2016 to enact fair and commonsense legislation regarding pot, but doing it right might prove to be challenging. The ten millionaires (and their investors) who hoped to create a monopoly by sponsoring Issue 3 have plenty more than the $12 million they spent in 2015 to make their bid to become billionaires of the bong. Some folks are going to renew their efforts to pass medical marijuana legislation (which doesn’t go far enough), while others are going to dig their heels in and try to keep the laws just as they are… which is nonsensical.
If lawmakers were truly interested in democratizing weed they would study what’s going on right — as well as what’s going on wrong — in the western states that have already taken the leap.
If Ohio wants to avoid pitfalls and prevent rip-offs by greedy pot entrepreneurs, the way to legalize pot is to allow approved community groups to grow pot under the watchful eye of the state (as is the case in Washington state), pay the taxes on it, and then sell it through licensed dispensaries located in each community.
For instance, the group growing marijuana in say, Tremont, would only be allowed to market their weed in Tremont, no selling in say Hough, where citizens would have their own growing and dispensing operations. In that way the money would stay within the local communities.
But the problem with this idea is that it makes too much sense… so therefore it will never come to pass.
Issue 8: Cuyahoga Arts & Culture YES 75.3% NO 24.7%
In an overwhelming 3 to 1 vote, Cuyahoga County residents resoundingly affirmed their support for arts & culture and the good work that Cuyahoga Arts & Culture (CAC) provides to the region. Acknowledging the fair and rigorous process used to award competitive grants, the community recognized that the $125 million in awards to artists and institutions large and small has become so impactful on culture, tourism and educational programs for residents of all backgrounds and neighborhoods.
Anticipated objection from the heavily profitable cigarette industry never materialized, probably with the realization that it would be a losing effort and a waste of lobbying dollars. A few outliers tried to make the case that a cigarette tax leans on the poor, but most agreed that a tax on cigarettes reduces smoking rates. And citizens realized that the CAC funds hundreds of educational arts programs for the underprivileged and in those areas where arts education has been severely cut by school districts.
By reauthorizing the CAC for 10 more years, Cuyahoga County has offered itself the best chance possible to keep our brilliant momentum moving forward: our world-class culture community weathered the greatest economic downturn since the Great Depression due to Cuyahoga Arts & Culture, and we have set ourselves up to continue attracting visitors and residents with great cultural offerings, while providing unmatched arts education to the next generations.
@CultureForward @8forArtsCulture @ClevePlayHouse @PlayhouseSquare @ClevelandArt @Rock_Hall @CleveInstituteArt @GoCMNH @CIM_Edu @CPTCLE @CLScienceCtr @GLTFCleveland @ideastream @MaltzMuseum @MOCACleveland @CleveOrchestra @SPACESgallery @MusicSettlement @BopStopTMS @VerbBallets @GroundWorksDanc @BaldwinWallace @BriteWinter @CWRU @BakerNord @CVSRR @DowntownCLE @JewishCleveland @NotreDameOhio @TremontWest @InTheCircle @UHhospitals #whyIvote @VoterCoalition #NoOn3 #MarijuanaMonopoly
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