People
In Ohio, the 2018 election held consequences for the third party candidates for governor – both myself (the Libertarian Party candidate) and Constance Gadell-Newton (the Green Party candidate) had to earn at least 3 percent of the vote to secure ballot access for our political parties over the next four years, due to the latest restrictive ballot access laws made by Republicans in the statehouse.
Unfortunately, we both failed to meet those margins, even with our vote totals combined. While there is a legal precedent for the Libertarian Party of Ohio to challenge any ruling from the Secretary of State that we are no longer a recognized political party (both the language of the law and a previous court case in the Sixth Circuit proves that minor parties get two statewide elections to meet any ballot access requirements) it’s hard to say if our Republican overlords who now firmly run this state will allow that to happen. Secretary of State-elect Frank LaRose, while hailed in several newspaper endorsements as someone who has worked “across the aisle,” is probably just another Ohio GOP shill ready to do their bidding.
“Nine hours into canvassing, a man thanked me and another volunteer for being the foot soldiers of democracy. Braving rain, wind, cold air, and irritated voters, we paved the way for Senator Brown and other champions of reproductive rights to represent us in DC,” said Sarah Szilagy, a #Fight4HER volunteer and freshman OSU student who campaigned for Sherrod Brown.
WE made the difference.
CPD Chief Kim Jacobs: "We do not tolerate bad cops here," Jacobs stated when her Vice Unit decided to investigate itself for their dubious arrest of Stormy Daniels and two other women, and the unconscionable eight bullets shot by CPD vice squad officer Andrew Mitchell that killed Donna Dalton. The Free Press is curious as to Jacobs’ definition of “bad.” Cases in point: Columbus Police Sergeant Dean Worthington indicted on child pornography charges; CPD Officer Randall Mayhew fired for buying sex on the job; Officer Joseph Bogard temporarily suspended for his racial slurs caught on his bodycam; excessive use of force on a man for having an open can of beer. The list goes on and on. Now the FBI has taken over the Vice Unit investigation. We hope they can determine not just why undercover vice cops are arresting and/or killing people – but why some corrupt cops are disciplined, while those who kill people are cleared of all charges.
I am Constance Gadell-Newton and I am running for Governor as the Green party candidate. I am running on a platform of clean water, with an immediate moratorium on fracking and injection wells in Ohio, a living wage, and single payer, universal healthcare, or Medicare for all. Although we are known for our environmental stance, we are not a one-issue party. We stand for social justice, the peace movement, legalized and decriminalized marijuana, and grassroots democracy. We are a people-powered party and do not take corporate donations. I want to represent the people, and to give the voters of Ohio a choice and a voice in our democracy.
Recently, the Ohio Debate Commission announced a debate schedule for the two major parties, which did not include me as the Green party candidate or Travis Irvine, the Libertarian. Although my name will appear on the ballot this fall, voters may have a hard time getting information about me because of unequal treatment in the media and debates.
As we barrel towards Election Day, it’s become clear the Ohio Debate Commission wasn’t actually created to ensure robust debate for Ohio’s voters. On the contrary, it was meant to stifle any real discussion about the issues and keep Ohioans from knowing about all their options on the ballot in the gubernatorial race this year. Case in point – the recent debates held between the two major party candidates for governor, Republican Mike DeWine and Democrat Rich Cordray, that excluded half of the candidates on the ballot, including myself, the Libertarian Party candidate, and Constance Gadell-Newton with the Green Party.
As was to be expected, all this exclusion did was allow for the “debates” to descend into the typical arguing and mudslinging Americans have become accustomed to in our duopoly-dominated discourse, as opposed to actual conversation about policies and the problems facing our state. DeWine and Cordray predictably attacked each other on their equally dismal records as attorney general, directly quoted their negative ads and blamed each other for Ohio’s opioid crisis, all while only offering big government solutions that waste more taxpayer dollars.
The Free Press is happy to announce that the family of Bill Moss is awarding the Bill Moss Award for an Outstanding African American activist posthumously to Columbus photographer Kojo Kamau. His work is on permanent display at the Columbus Museum of Art and exhibited across the U.S. and internationally. He traveled extensively and documented the varieties of cultures in North and South America, Europe, the Caribbean and Africa. He is also known for photos of celebrities. He created an organization to promote and encourage blacka artists in 1979 called Art for Community Expression (ACE). Kojo passed away in December 2016 but his legacy lives on in Columbus.
The Free Press Awards ceremony is Monday, October 8. 6-10pm at Woodlands Tavern, 1200 West Third Avenue in Grandview. There will be food, drink, an awards ceremony and live music by Willie Phoenis, Coffee House Rebels, Something Else and Gilded Sun. All are welcome, $10 at the door or sliding scale.
Steve Caruso was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, raised by nuns. He volunteered for The Philadelphia Folk Fest for 5 years, survived one immediate semester of college after high school, figured it was too then much went to Haight Ashbury after the height of hippiedom (’75), saw the debut of the Jeffrson Starship with the Grateful Dead in Golden Gate Park, “rollin’ the rug around.”
He saw the attempt on Gerald Ford’s life in San Francisco, a revenge attack by Sarah Jane Moore (now free) for pardoning Nixon.
After traveling the country from one corner to the other in a spirit quest, Steve settled in Columbus late 1977. Being a campus street “urchin”/musician on free time between and after jobs for years and hanging with local progressives he started a coffee house at German Village, Golden Eagle Ice Cream, hosting the Columbus Poetry Group, Fred Anderle, Bill Cohen, Donna Mogavera and others, then ended up at the King Avenue Coffee house.
The Free Press Salutes Jeffrey Wadsworth
The Free Press salutes former Ohio State University trustee Jeffrey Wadsworth who resigned from the University’s board after disagreeing with Urban Meyer’s three-game suspension. The New York Times reported that Wadsworth felt the punishment should be stronger. He appears to be the one lone trustee on the OSU board voicing concern about the message the University was sending to the community regarding domestic violence, dishonesty and the destruction of public records.
Enemies of the People – Attorney Don McTigue and the Franklin County Board of Elections
The members of the Franklin County Board of Elections (BOE) are the Free Press enemies of the people, after effectively stripping 560,000 Columbus citizens of their right to vote on a ballot measure entitled Community Bill of Rights for Water, Soil, and Air Protection and to Prohibit Gas and Oil Extraction and Related Activities and Projects Ordinance.