Politics
Last year with your help, Columbus passed Issue 1, setting up the largest 100% renewable energy aggregation program in the Midwest. Clean Energy Columbus is now a reality.
Not only does the power for your phone, computer, and lights now come from 100% renewable energy, it is also creating jobs, cleaning the air, and improving public health through construction of local projects such as the Columbus Solar Park, which will provide 50 MW of energy from a solar farm on the old Franklin County landfill.
On top of that, renewable energy aggregation in Columbus is generating $1.7 million each year in community grants to help pay for energy efficiency upgrades and workforce development in low income neighborhoods and communities of color.
Clean Energy Columbus is a model for the nation, now in place because you supported Issue 1 on the ballot last year.
There’s unexpected Democratic opposition to entrenched incumbent Congresswoman Joyce Beatty this year for Ohio’s 3rd district House seat. The Sunrise Movement’s local hub announced Friday that they’re endorsing lesser-known progressive Matthew Meade as the candidate who has better positions on climate issues and working class values.
Sunrise Movement is a U.S. based youth movement to “stop climate change and create millions of good jobs in the process.” Launched officially in 2017, Sunrise was started by climate activists and members of other climate organizations like the Sierra Club. They have local chapters called “hubs” in all 50 states, including 9 in Ohio.
Ohio’s elected Republicans at all levels of government fail the public. It worsens rather than improves. They act against public health and safety; imitate reactionary policies in other states, often unrelated to Ohio; act unconstitutionally; misrepresent basic facts; and contradict the needs and wishes of their constituents. From free speech to voting rights and basic Covid protocols, they violate the law and common sense. While they consider themselves conservatives, they are actually right-wing radicals who violate the traditional respect for others and support for limited government (not wildly “banning” all they oppose).
First, Republican state legislators create a public health crisis. They refuse to obey the state’s mask mandate or practice social distancing. They vote to override the governor’s and public health officials’ orders despite lacking expertise or any commitment to the public interest or general welfare. They expand gun “rights” while restricting abortion rights, ignoring experts’ testimony, federal and state laws, and the U.S. Constitution.
On September 17, three Ohio civic organizations and six individual Ohioans filed suit in the Supreme Court of Ohio, seeking to block the state general assembly plan adopted by the Ohio Redistricting Commission on September 16 and require the commission to draw new districts. The plaintiffs argue that the new plan’s maps violate the prohibition against partisan gerrymandering and voters’ equal protection and associational rights under the Ohio constitution.
September 15 was a signal day in Ohio politics and journalism.
First, the Republican Rigging Ring proved true all the aspersions I cast about them in my September column ColumbusMediaInsider: The Republican Rigging Ring | ColumbusFreePress.com. The five old white guys rammed through new state legislative districts for 2022 and 2024 that were just as one-sided and just as gerrymandered as the old ones. They did not listen to the hundreds of citizens who testified for fairness and balance. They did listen to their financial backers, crony legislators, and GOP hacks.
As the 20th anniversary of 9/11 comes and goes this month, hopefully Americans start to recognize one thing that still persists past the ceremonial pageantry and patriotism we typically see on this day every year –– the continuation of invasive post-9/11 policies, both at home and abroad. Make no mistake, there should always be a time to reflect upon the tragic events of that fateful day and remember all the innocent lives that were lost, but we also must never forget that the domestic and foreign policies enacted after 9/11 ended up costing thousands of more innocent lives, both in our own country and others around the world. Frankly, with the consistent expansion of government surveillance and overreach that has persisted in the U.S. since 9/11, one would assume it must be hard to forget.
Morgan Harper is not like the others and the Free Press can count the ways. She goes door-to-door for her own campaigns. She’s handing out free food at a Parson’s Avenue pantry, which she did at the onset of the pandemic. She’s standing with urban neighborhoods during anti-violence rallies, which she did late last summer soon after she initiated Columbus Stand Up!
And just look at those dope-tastic sneakers she’s wearing.
This past Saturday on the steps of a sun-drenched Ohio Statehouse Morgan Harper officially announced her campaign to become the first African-American and woman US Senator from Ohio. The passion in her voice is undeniable, her heart is in the right place.
“Central Ohio stepped up for me and gave me a chance at life,” said Harper recalling how the local foster care system and her adoptive mother propelled her to Princeton, to Stanford, to her working for the Obama administration, and beyond.
Morgan Harper is not like the others and the Free Press can count the ways. She goes door-to-door for her own campaigns. She’s handing out free food at a Parson’s Avenue pantry, which she did at the onset of the pandemic. She’s standing with urban neighborhoods during anti-violence rallies, which she did late last summer soon after she initiated Columbus Stand Up!
And just look at those dope-tastic sneakers she’s wearing.
This past Saturday on the steps of a sun-drenched Ohio Statehouse Morgan Harper officially announced her campaign to become the first African-American and woman US Senator from Ohio. The passion in her voice is undeniable, her heart is in the right place.
“Central Ohio stepped up for me and gave me a chance at life,” said Harper recalling how the local foster care system and her adoptive mother propelled her to Princeton, to Stanford, to her working for the Obama administration, and beyond.
Morgan Harper, a consumer protection attorney and community organizer, is a 2022 Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate for Ohio.
Born to a teenager, Morgan lived in a foster home for nine months before being adopted and raised in Columbus by a public school teacher. She received scholarships to attend Tufts (BA), Princeton (MA) and Stanford (JD). During the Obama administration, she served as a Senior Advisor at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) responsible for protecting consumers against predatory lenders.
