Wed 6/15 @ 8PM
With the departure of U.S. Rep. Shontel Brown as chair of the Cuyahoga County Democrat Party, precinct committee persons will have an important decision when selecting her successor on June 18. And this decision is bound to determine the course of the local Democratic party for some time to come. In the recent primary election, approximately 700 members were elected to the Cuyahoga Democratic Party Central Committee.
And quite a bit of work it will be. For decades, Ohio has been considered a solid swing state; but that has changed. In the past, heavy Democratic turnout in Ohio’s big counties of Cuyahoga, Franklin (Columbus), and and Hamilton (Cincinnati), along with Lucas (Toledo), Summit (Akron) and Montgomery (Dayton), counterbalanced the Republican leaning rural areas of Ohio, with the suburbs becoming the battlegrounds. But times have changed.
In the most recent primary election, only 58% of Cuyahoga voters chose Democratic ballots, possibly because there was more action on the Republican side with a bumper crop of wannabes running for Senate. But the numbers speak: only 18% of voters even voted in the primary; 11% turnout in the City of Cleveland. If Democrats hope to push back, they need to run out the vote in Cuyahoga. And these are the marching orders for the local Chair of the party.
With the looming off-year election that includes all statewide offices and most importantly a seat in the United States Senate, Democrats cannot rest on their laurels. We had a lackluster get out the vote plan for the last election. This November Democrats must fight tooth and nail to get everything single voter in the county to the polls. The abysmal turnout that we have had in the last elections cannot be repeated. We must strategize; raise money and work like we have never worked before. Cuyahoga County can be the deciding factor in any state election and national if we get out our voters.
The candidates for Chair are:
- State Rep. Juanita Brent representing Ohio House District 12, which runs from Mayfield Heights to Bedford;
- Democratic organizer David Brock, president of the Cleveland Ward 16 Democratic Club in West Park;
- Teacher and activist Earnest Harris;
- State Senator Kent Smith of Ohio District 8, which stretches from Euclid to Cleveland;
- Former Shaker Heights City Council member Rob Zimmerman (Bedford Democratic Ward Club President Andy Miszak was a candidate but dropped out and has endorsed Zimmerman)
Your chance to hear from each of these candidates comes on Wed 6/15 @ 8PM on Zoom, where each of the five candidates for Chair of the Cuyahoga Democratic Party will share their vision and answer questions submitted by participants.
Register here and you’ll receive a link to the Zoom and a form to submit your questions. Here’s your chance to see and hear the candidates and ask whatever’s on your mind. We recommend you take the opportunity.
CoolCleveland suggests our readers watch the Zoom, and contact their precinct committee persons to discuss the candidates for Cuyahoga County Party Chair.
One Response to “Our Local Democratic Party Is At A Crossroads”
Pat Ballasch
All politicians could assess and prioritize things that need to be done. They should get input from their constituants to make sure they’re on track. Then take care of things in a cost effective way. Nothing magic about being effective. Make sure you don’t use you job as a cash cow for friends and relatives. Honest & transparent. No need to re-invent the wheel. Wait, doing that would be a new paradime for politicians. That’s why we distrust them.