NEXT MEETING

       The SW Dems will kickoff the new year with a monthly meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 21, at 7:30 p.m. in the Jackson Township Administration Building on Hoover Road between Stringtown Road and Southwest Boulevard.  

                          REFLECTIONS ON 2008

    With the president and numerous local offices at stake, 2008 was a most important year for Democrats in southwestern Franklin County. So, it wasn’t surprising that 2008 was marked by many highlights for the Southwestern Democratic Committee. Two of the most memorable were:
        * A debate during our February monthly meeting between the two candidates in the hotly contested Democratic primary for county commissioner.
        * A pancake breakfast in July at Plank’s restaurant in the middle of Grove City where ordinary citizens met Democratic candidates.
        The debate featured John O’Grady, clerk of the Common Pleas Court, and Cindy Lazarus, a former county appeals judge and ex-Columbus City Council president. The meeting marked one of the only times both primary candidates appeared before a local Democratic club. The event was covered by The Columbus Dispatch.
    O’Grady went on to win the March primary and the November general elections for county commissioner. In January, O’Grady will take the seat vacated by Commissioner Mary Jo Kilroy, a Democrat elected to the U.S. House.
        The pancake breakfast, the brainchild of SW Dems Treasurer Joe Palazzo, was a rousing success that drew 125 Democrats, including 17 candidates for local and state office. We congregated around an out-door pancake grill in Plank’s front patio along Broadway. Candidates - including State Treasurer Rich Cordray - and their supporters wore brightly colored campaign T-shirts and waved campaign signs to people attending the Grove City Farmers’ Market. It provided great exposure for our candidates.
         The O’Grady-Lazarus debate and the pancake breakfast were not the only instances where Democratic candidates and their representatives met with SW Dems.  They also attended our regular monthly meetings.
    These candidates included Common Pleas Judge Eric Brown, who was elected to the Probate Court; Brown‘s wife, County Commissioner Marilyn Brown; lawyer Richard D. Brown, a candidate for the county Appeals Court; and Pleasant Township Trustee Keith Goldhart, a candidate for the Ohio House.
    Also, representatives of Kilroy and Danielle Blue, a candidate for the Ohio Senate, also spoke at monthly meetings, In addition, Bill Wise, superintendent of South-Western City Schools, urged SW Dems to vote in favor of the school operating and bond tax levies and Jennifer Dillard, Franklin County field director for the Ohio Democratic Party, spoke of the importance of  grass-roots activism in electing Democrats to public office.
    The SW Dems also sponsored a door-to-door canvassing effort in October in northern Grove City, and for the first time we endorsed candidates for state and local offices and ballot issues. We also met jointly with Hilliard Democrats and joined forces with longtime Democratic activist Steve Chaffin, an organizer for Working Families Win.
      And finally, we gained about a dozen new members. The SW Dems leadership also plans in the coming year to recruit local volunteers from Barak Obama’s presidential campaign. We understand that many of these volunteers are interested in continuing their involvement in politics.

        On a sad note, the SW Dems mourned the passing of Patrick Timmins, a longtime Democratic activist and leader in the effort to provide an equal education for Ohio youths. Pat died recently in his Pleasant Township home.
      

SW DEMS HAVE LIVELY DISCUSSION ON SCHOOL LEVY

        Our November meeting was spiced up with a lively discussion on the reasons for the lopsided defeat of Issue 81, the South-West City Schools tax increase levy. Cathy Johnson, a member of the school board, said such a discussion would be helpful to other board members.

       Brian Furniss characterized the capital construction portion of Issue 81 as an attempt by the state “to blackmail” voters into approving tax increases to build schools and other facilities. More than $200 million in state aid would be given the district only if voters approved tax increases, he noted. Voters got the impression, either rightly or wrongly, that the South-West district has too many administrators, he added.
    Julia O’Brien said many voters believed there would be no cutbacks in services if the levy was defeated. “They think there will be no consequences,“ she said. Megan Daniels said most of the district has a “splintered identity.” Only parents and students at Grove City High School seem to identify with their community, she added.
    Sharon Ball said she opposes imposing extra fees on students who participate in sports and other extra-curricular activities. Many low-income families cannot afford such fees, she said. Joe Palazzo said voters are frustrated by taxes in general, not just school property taxes. However, most levies - such as sales, income and Social Security taxes - are imposed by elected officials without a vote of  people. School real estate taxes are the only opportunity voters have to express their dislike for taxes, he noted. This is the reason so many school levies are defeated, he said.
    Daniels said voters want the school district to impose more cutbacks. “They want to see the school system making the same sorts of sacrifices they make in their everyday lives,” she said. Palazzo said the Hilliard school district where he works emphasized during its successful levy campaign that the system has the lowest administrator-per student ratio in Franklin County.
    Randy Reisling,  another member of the SW school board, said levy advocates continually had to fight against false rumors. One of the recurring untrue rumors was that the district was about to change school boundaries, he added. Reisling said the next levy campaign will be a grass-roots, door-to-door effort. Daniels agreed that a grass-roots effort is needed.

ELECTION DAY BUSY FOR SW DEMS

      At the November meeting, SW Dems recounted their experiences on Election Day. Bob Ruth told of Republican activists numerous times trying to discourage him from passing out Democratic sample ballots to voters as they walked into a polling spot in Dublin. The intimidation didn’t work, he said.
    Julia O’Brien said her son, a senior at Grove City High School, prompted her and her husband to become involved in Barack Obama’s presidential campaign. The son withstood negative comments from classmates and some teachers when he wore Obama buttons to school, O‘Brien said. “He was so excited, his example got me and my husband to get involved,’’ O’Brien said. After working all Election Day for Obama, local partisans for the presidential candidate met in a volunteer’s home at night to watch the returns. “We all cried,“ she said of Obama’s victory.
    Megan Daniels said she was raised in Hamilton (Cincinnati) County, so she was used to being a lone Democrat among a horde of Republicans. She put up an Obama sign in her front yard and expected to see many opposing signs for John McCain in the yards of neighbors. But no McCain signs showed up, she said. “I think there were secretly a lot of Obama supporters on our street,“ she said.

       ELECTION DAY GOOD FOR LOCAL DEMS:

       Franklin County Democratic Chairman William Anthony and other Democratic activists are to be congratulated on the many victories on Election Day. Franklin County is fast becoming a stronghold for Democrats.

        Upsets Wins:
     Marian Harris, a Democrat, holds a 216-vote lead out of a 65,739 total votes cast over County Coroner Brad Lewis, a Republican, in the 19th Ohio House District Ohio. Uncounted provisional ballots will decide winner. ( Update: Harris declared winner on Dec. 8 after all provisional ballots counted.) Common Pleas Judge Eric Brown, a Democrat and husband of County Commissioner Marilyn Brown, defeated incumbent Republican Larry Belskis for County Probate judge by a healthy 56.4 percent to 43.6 percent margin. Jan Gorniak, a Democrat, beat Elaine Lewis, wife of the incumbent Brad Lewis, for Coroner by an impressive 59.6 percent to 40.6 percent margin. Democrat Nancy Garland beat  Republican Jim McGregor by 783 votes out of 58,645 total cast for the 20th Ohio House District.

Other Wins:
President-elect Barack Obama swept Franklin County by a landslide, beating Sen. John McCain 58.9 percent to 39.6 percent. Obama had more than a 100,000 plurality in Franklin County. State Treasurer Rich Cordray, a Democrat running for attorney general, crushed lawyer Michael Crites in Franklin County by 67.6 percent to 29.1 percent. Statewide, Cordray beat Crites by 17 percent. State Rep. Ted Celeste, a Democrat facing a smear campaign, beat Republican opponent, Tim Rankin, by 57.5 percent to 42.5 percent. Common Pleas Judge John O’Connor, a Democrat facing another smear campaign, beat Republican opponent, state Sen. David Goodman, by 58.5 percent to 41.5 percent for County Appeals Court.
      Commissioner Paula Brooks, a Democrat, won re-election against Republican Angel Rhodes by 62.9 percent to 37.1 percent. Common Pleas Clerk John O’Grady, a Democrat, beat Jeff Miller, a Republican, by 64 percent to 36 percent for county commissioner. Columbus Council member Maryellen O’Shaughnessy, a Democrat, beat Clarence Mingo, a Republican, for Common Pleas Court clerk by 66.9 percent to 33.1 percent. Ed Leonard, the Democratic incumbent, beat Republican Stephanie McCloud by 58.5 percent to 41.5 percent for county treasurer.

Too close to call:
       Out of a total of 284,930 votes cast, state Sen. Stivers, a Republican, holds a slim lead over County Commissioner Mary Jo Kilroy, a Democrat, for the 15th Congressional District. However, more than 27,000 provisional votes from Franklin County alone remain to be counted. (Update: Kilroy declared winner on Dec. 8 after all provisional ballots counted.)

Losses:
     Pleasant Township Trustee Keith Goldhardt, a Democrat, lost to former Grove City Mayor Cheryl Grossman for 23th Ohio House District by 40.8 percent to 59.2 percent. Danielle Blue, a Democrat, lost to state Rep. Jim Hughes, a Republican, by 41.6 percent to 58.4 percent for the 16th Ohio Senate District. Richard Brown, a Democrat, lost to incumbent Lisa Sadler, a Republican, for County Appeals Court by 44 percent to 56 percent. Issue 81, the South-West Schools operating and construction levy, lost by 41.9 percent to 58.1 percent.
 

SW DEMS OFFICERS RE-ELECTED

       The following SW Dems officers were unanimously re-elected for one-year terms - Kelly Dillon as president; Randy Reisling as vice president; Joe Palazzo as treasurer and Bob Ruth as recording secretary.