2010 Election Update

You know my love of Jennifer Brunner, but, after my experience at the Ohio Democratic Party Family Dinner about a week ago, I started to wonder, due to the overabundance of Lee Fisher stickers and absolutely no Brunner stickers, about her candidacy (especially with GOP Senate candidate Rob Portman posting $1.5million in fundraising, Fisher at $900,000, and Brunner's numbers undisclosed). When I inquired, a Fisher worker informed me, with an ironic tone, that she had said it was inappropriate to campaign at the dinner. I wonder which was right, but there are still some rumblings, and she responded sharply on her website:

Ever since I decided to give up the security of what is widely regarded as a "safe" re-election for Secretary of State and instead run for the U.S. Senate, the political insiders in Columbus and Washington began actively discouraging my candidacy. "She can’t raise the money," said many. "You shouldn’t run for the Senate if the Governor supports Lieutenant Governor Fisher," warned some Washington insiders in January. "You need to take one for the team, even though I don’t think the Lt. Gov. can win in the general election," one Congressman cautioned. "I think you have the political skills to win this election, but you need the money,” said a political mentor...

I am in this race to stay.

For the second time today, I'll say it: Snap when you say that girl. Despite expected disparities in fundraising (word of mouth, no actual source, but I think I read it somewhere) in the previous quarter of FEC reports, polls are showing a dead heat in a Fisher-Brunner matchup -- 24-21 (Quinnipiac, 7/7/09) or 22-17 (Daily KOS/Research 2000, 7/9/09). Meanwhile, KOS/Research 2000 (same article) show Fisher and Brunner polling ahead their all-but-nominated Republican counterpart, former Bush OMB director Rob Portman, by 7 and 4, respectively, or by 4 and 1, depending on whom you listen to. Portman is actually closing the gap; Republicans are finding new candidates right and left in the flagging economy, as Obama's polls numbers continue to drop. In Ohio, it's under 50% for the first time since he was elected.

Meanwhile, Democrats still look solidly ahead (second source which also shows Gov. Strickland ahead of potential GOP candidate Rep. Kasich by 5%) for 2010, though it appears Steve Chabot will be challenging Rep. Driehaus for his OH-01 (that's, uh, Cincinnati, folks) seat back in the coming election.

And that's your long-delayed 2010 election update, thought I have something bigger coming likely in the morning.

Contact Your Representative about the Matthew Shepard Act!

If that doesn't work for whatever reason, click here to view the PSA by Judy Shepard entitled "Ten Years"

The HRC is urging you to contact your US Senators and Representatives to support HR 1913 -- the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act (the "Matthew Shepard Act"). Our local guy, Steve Driehaus, is one of the original 42 co-sponsors in the house and he is being hounded by the right telling him not to vote. It's important you call or email him today!

To contact Steve Driehaus specifically, his phone is (202) 225-2216 and you can send him an email here.

Matthew Shepard Act

Missed this coming across the wire -- EEP! Of all the important things to post, you'd think this was number one. 

From the HRC: 

The Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act (LLEHCPA)/Matthew Shepard Act gives the Department of Justice (DOJ) the power to investigate and prosecute bias-motivated violence by providing the DOJ with jurisdiction over crimes of violence where the perpetrator has selected the victim because of the person's actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability.

The Act provides the DOJ with the ability to aid state and local jurisdictions either by lending assistance or, where local authorities are unwilling or unable to act, by taking the lead in investigations and prosecutions of bias-motivated, violent crimes resulting in death or serious bodily injury. The LLEHCPA also makes grants available to state and local communities to combat violent crimes committed by juveniles, train law enforcement officers or assist in state and local investigations and prosecutions of bias-motivated crimes.

It doesn't seem to be getting a lot of press around, so let me see if I can stir up some trouble, yea? Rep. Conyers (D-MI) also introduced this bill in 2005 (it seems, I could be wrong... it's really hard to find good info on that particular proposal), and it was intro'd in both 1999 and 2007.

It currently has 42 co-sponsors, including three from Ohio! Rep. Driehaus (Cincinnati), Rep. Kilroy (Columbus), and Kucinich (Cleveland) are all on board for it! Yea!

Make sure you email your Representative and Senator to push this through and protect LGBT people against hate!

Oh, and make sure you check out the HRC site -- FightHateNow.org -- dedicated to passing this very very important law.

ELECTION 2008: ENDORSEMENT: From Equality Cincinnati

Equality Cincinnati has released its endorsements a few days ago (thanks to Rainbow Cincinnati).

President/Vice President - Barack Obama/Joe Biden
U.S. Representative, 3rd District of Ohio - Jane Mitakides
U.S. Representative, 2nd District of Ohio - Victoria Wulsin
Ohio State Representative, 28th District - Connie Pillich
Ohio State Representative, 31st District - Denise Driehaus
Ohio State Representative, 33rd District - Tyrone Yates
Hamilton County Commissioner - Todd Portune & Chris Dole
Ohio Supreme Court - Peter Sikora
Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas - Jody Luebbers & Norma J.H. Davis

Interesting, neither the Bill Seitz/Dan McCarthy nor the Chabot Driehaus race is on there. Strange. 

I wish I could, you know, confirm the information with their website... but it hasn't been updated since 2007.

Such is the state of GLBT Politics in Cincinnati..

PS And despite the woman empowing article Campbell Brown wrote on CNN.com about embracing your inner diva to Sarah Palin, don't let her recent desire to be a diva -- which I fully support -- distract you from the fact that she's still a rancid bitch.

PPS Make sure you follow the latest early voting statistics. My interest and curiosity, of course, will be the 33% of votes already cast in places like Georgia and Florida...

ELECTION 2008: Driehaus Event

I was twittering the event last night. Driehaus's gang had a debate watch party at Sully's last night with a meet-up with the man afterwards.

Some pictures (I really suck at resizing...)...


Sully's is actually a nice bar, if woefully understaffed.


The crowd watching the debate -- all in all, there were probably 40 or 50 people there at the height, though only 20-25 watching the debate. It got crowded around 820 when Driehaus showed up, and me and Jackie headed onto the porch to drink beer and smoke until almost midnight. So, yea...


This is the only picture of the shirt you see at the bottom right that came out. That's right, the HRC is working for Driehaus. How does that make you feel, Jere?


The rush to see Driehaus once he came in.


Driehaus handing out some door prizes after he arrived.


This man is wearing (and selling) flashing Obama T-shirts.


On the walk home... and look, it's a real website.

Let's talk real quick about Mr. Driehaus, especially after Mr. JereKeys raised some concerns over on his blog. You're right, JereKeys, the more I learn about Mr. Driehaus, the more I realize he is not in it all for us. In fact, another reader points out that not only did he vote for Ohio's DOMA, he is not co-sponsoring the Equal Housing and Employment Act in the statehouse. However, he did, in fact, co-sign a strongly worded letter to a colleague about inappropriate anti-gay language. And he has been in gay pride events.

Small concessions.

You're right, though. He is pro-life, which is a stance that is abhorrent to me. He is against the amnesty of immigrants, which is an issue that just doesn't move me. He supports an official language an the US, which is absurd in and of itself. And he is fiscally conservative, which I really like (believe it or not). However, the other option is Chabot, whom, I believe, is certifiable. I also have a small personal experience with the man which left me wanting for... well, more and something better.

Is Driehaus the best option for gay people or for liberals? No. However, Ohio is a moderate state, and Cincinnati tends to be more conservative. In the end, it is most important that an elected person do two things: 1) represent the beliefs and values of those they represent, and 2) act in accordance with what would be good for everyone they represent.

As much as I'd like to believe otherwise, I am way to the left of the average person Driehaus will be representing. Is he the ideal candidate? No, but I would be shocked if we ever ran a Cincinnati candidate that came within the penumbra of "ideal" for me. He is an excellent compromise between what I think is standard in the city of Cincinnati and the first district and what I believe is right.

I always have to hold my nose when I vote. But I'm also from South Carolina, and the first gubernatorial election I voted in I got to choose between a state senator who was against gays, pro-life, and evangelical, and the incumbent governor who was against gays, pro-life, and not quite as evangelical. Oh, decisions, decisions.

The blue-dogs worry me. Very much. But, I think we're on the right side and our vote won't be completely wasted.

After all, George W. Bush led the biggest right-wing revolution in the nation and now people are tired of it. The pendulum is swinging back. And I think the blue dogs will "loosen up" the longer they are in office, in accordance with the general population's feelings that "all the politics of person aren't our business, anyways."

OHIO/CINNKY: Equal Housing and Employment Act -- Part 2

I just began a Facebook group (here) for those who are interested in a little "ground swell activism" (I hate the term grass roots... I ain't no root, and if it's activism, then I think "swell" is a great word).

And for those who are interested, I continue to suggest a couple of things you can do:

1) Email your state representatives and senators. For those who don't know how to contact them off the top of their head, the information can easily be accessed here: http://www.legislature.state.oh.us/

2) Email the current sponsors and thank them. You can just as easily go to the above website and search for them. Here are their names:

House: D. Stewart (introducer)**, Peterson (introducer), Skindell**, Beatty, Redfern, Foley, Celeste, Koziura, Brady, Budish, Ujvagi, Yates, Chandler, R. Hagan, Brown**, Szollosi, Yuko

Senate: D. Miller (introducer and author), Smith, Cafaro, Morano, R. Miller, Roberts, Kearney**, Sawyer, Fedor**, Goodman**, Boccieri

3) Email the members of the two Committees -- State Government and Elections (House) and Judiciary -- Civil Justice (Senate) -- to push it through and have it pass in the General Assembly! The starred members above sit on those committees. But for the rest of them:

Senate, Judiciary -- Civil Justice Committee: Goodman (R, Chair, sponsor), Schuring (R, Vice Chair), Buehrer (R), Faber (R), Seitz (R -- see below), Stivers (R), Kearney (D, Ranking Minority Member, sponsor), Fedor (D, sponsor), Mason (D)
A note on Seitz -- he is rabidly anti-gay and a proponent of the Defense of Marriage Act in Ohio, was actually one of the original
sponsors (perhaps the author?). I actually arranged a protest outside of his law offices in Cincinnati.

House, State Government and Elections: Daniels (R, Chair), Hite (R, Vice Chair), Carmichael (R), Collier (R), DeWine (R), Flowers (R), Reinhard (R), Schneider (R), D. Stewart (D, Ranking Minority Member, sponsor and introducer), Book (D), Brown (D), Domenick (D), Lundy (D), Skindell (D, sponsor), Sykes (D)

4) Email Ted Strickland -- http://governor.ohio.gov/Default.aspx?tabid=448 --and tell him to publically support it.

5) Lobby them in person or in a real live letter.

It's easy to do all of this. I recommend you try a little armchair acitivism today. And, if nothing else, contact Equality Ohio or Do What's Right, Ohio! for more information!

----

Update:

Got a response back from Gov. Strickland.

Thank you for writing with regard to enhancing equality at the workplace and in housing. I appreciate you taking the time to share your concerns and opinions with me.

At this time, there is legislation pending before Ohio’s 127^th General Assembly having to do with this issue, namely House Bill 502 and Senate Bill 305. Please be assured I will be mindful of the views you expressed. I also encourage you to communicate your views with your legislators as bills before the General Assembly are reviewed by your State Senator and Representative.

If you would like to contact your State Senator and Representative, you may call the Ohio Senate Clerk at (614) 466-4900 and the Ohio House of Representatives Clerk at (614) 466-3357.

Once again, I appreciate your writing to me. Please do not hesitate to contact my office if we can assist you in the future.

Sincerely,

Ted Strickland

Governor

It's kinda blah, but who knows. It doesn't give a position either way, though it uses "politically positive" language -- "enhancing equality". But, it's important. Still have not heard back from either my state Rep. Driehaus (but he's kinda in the middle of a scandal that's just plain silly) and state Sen. Kearney.

OHIO/CINNKY: Equal Housing and Employment Act

STUPID!!! I can't believe I missed this.

From Equality Ohio:

Insisting that Ohio's laws must be updated to reflect Ohioans' values, a trio of state legislators introduced bills to make it illegal to discriminate against a person in employment, housing or public accommodations because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

"Ohio is among the most unwelcoming states in the nation for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people," said Lynne Bowman, executive director of Equality Ohio. "Today, Ohio took a major step toward fairness and equality."

Bowman cited a recent survey showing that two-thirds of Ohioans favor passage of the legislation.

Twenty-one states, 11 of Ohio's 13, four-year public colleges and 16 Ohio cities and villages have ordinances that protect their gay and lesbian residents. Rather than continue to allow a patchwork of protections – or none at all -- the legislators called for passage of statewide standards that would uniformly help all Ohio residents.

"Where you live should not determine the extent of your rights," Sen. Dale Miller, a Cleveland Democrat, told a Statehouse news conference Tuesday.

Miller, the main sponsor of the Senate bill, had introduced similar legislation in the past but noted that today's measures have a record number of co-sponsors, the endorsement of Gov. Ted Strickland and the promise of committee hearings.

In the House, sponsor Rep. Jon Peterson, a Delaware Republican, called the legislation "a matter of human dignity," and said, "America was founded on the principle of equality for all, but Ohio’s laws only demand equality for some."

Peterson and Democratic Rep. Dan Stewart of Columbus served as primary sponsors of the House bill.

Stewart pointed out that more than 90 percent of Fortune 500 companies have implemented similar policies and major Ohio employers, such as Nationwide Insurance, view tolerance as a means of attracting and retaining top-tier employees.

"Ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to serve their community is an important part of moving Ohio forward," Stewart said.

Joining the legislators was central Ohio school teacher Jimmie Beall, who told how she lost her job with the London City Schools after the district learned that she is a lesbian.

"I was devastated," Beall said. "When I consulted with legal experts, they all gave the same answer: My family did not have the legal protections afforded to most other families. We were left with no health insurance, no benefits and no sense of security."

Beall said she decided to tell her story, hoping it would convince legislators of the need to update Ohio’s law.

"It’s time to do what’s right," Beall said. (Link to this article here -- also adding the Equality Ohio Blog to the Blogroll, even though they rarely post)

HELL YEA!!!! To clarify for people: The Equal Housing and Employment Act has been re-introduced in both the Ohio House and Senate. For those who follow, this is the bill that was supposed to be introduced on September 11, 2008 but was delayed due to lack of bi-partisan support.

There is a great tracking site that's a joint work between Progress Ohio and Equality Ohio called Do What's Right Ohio. However, they do not list any way for us to help. Back to the basics kids: contact your local representative. You can find who they are and their contact information here. This is kind of a pain in the ass, I know. It's an old problem I've had with the LGBT activist organizations -- they are now so focused on lobbying, which is wonderful, that not a lot of people are acting out (although, is it possible this came about because less people were acitve??? or, do we simply fail to inspire anymore???).

For the original information about the two bills, go here for House Bill 502 and here for Senate Bill 305. And, per the bill analysis, the Ohio Revised Code describes "sexual orientation" as including "heterosexuality, homosexuality, bisexuality, asexuality, or transgenderism, whether actual or perceived." I love love the term "transgenderism." IE -- it's inclusive of the LGBTQ spectrum.

Will it pass? Je ne sais pas. It's failed twice, but let's see this time around, shall we?

---

For those who want it, here's the email I am sending. Feel free to edit it:

Dear (Senator/Representative):

I am writing to encourage you to support (House Bill 502/Senate Bill 305), the Equal Housing and Employment Act. It was introduced on March 11th and currently awaits committee approval.

The rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and trans-identified (GLBT) persons in the state of Ohio is vital to our state's continued strength. GLBT people make up a great portion of our workers in this state, and their ability to work freely in Ohio without fear of being denied either housing or employment solely on the basis of their sexual orientation hinders our abilities to attract people and employers.

It is also of vital important to me. I have lived, gone to school, and worked in Ohio for eight years now, and I love it here. I also happen to be gay, and a constituent of yours. Though I have experienced no direct discrimination based on my sexual orientation, it would be a comfort to know that it would no longer be an issue here; it would be wonderful to know that my state values me enough to protect my ability to live and work.

Please support this bill and help it pass. I would love to be able to say that my representatives are sponsors on it, but your vote would be enough to tell me that you respect every person within your constituency and understand the part we play in this state's economy.

Thank you very much for your time.

I mean, whatever. It might be a little weak, but, on the bright side, my state senator, Kearney, is a sponsor the the Senate Bill!!!! I'll be writing him a thank you note, clearly. However, my representative, Driehaus, is not. I will be sending him this note, plus an addition as he is also a Price Hill resident . . . and a Democrat!!!!

Take a little time and write your own, guys (and post when you do!!!!!)

From Do What's Right Ohio (via the HRC), a map that tells us which state offer protections, though DWRO doesn't tell me what the colors mean: