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On Sunday, December 18, dozens of supporters will gather at the Ohio statehouse for a candlelight vigils asking Ohio electors to vote their conscience and stop Donald Trump from becoming president. Unite for America launched the effort in response to news of Russia’s involvement in the U.S. election, concerns about foreign bribery and conflicts of interest for Trump, and news of Trump’s team felonious intimidation of Electors have left many questioning whether he is fit to be President.

A bipartisan group of Electors, in response, is demanding President Obama to instruct the CIA to brief them on Russia hacking our democracy before Monday’s vote. Several Electors, including Texas Republican Elector Christopher Suprun, have already vowed not to vote for Trump, instead opting to vote for a “responsible Republican alternative,” such as Republican Gov. John Kasich of Ohio.

Dear members of the Electoral College, 

You have a momentous decision in front of you. That your upcoming vote for the President of the United States on December 19, 2016 matters is an understatement. Your choice magnifies not only your duty to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States, but also your conviction that the next president will in good faith do the same.  

Many of you reside in states where “winner take all” prevails, but in truth, no federal law requires an elector to honor that pledge. The Electoral College provides mechanisms by which you can decide what’s best for our country based on your conscience and your duty. 

No doubt, President-elect Donald Trump is a controversial figure. By what measures might you logically decide whether or not he deserves your vote? The three-part test – Right, Moral and Good – can be applied to many difficult decisions in life. (See original essay below.)  Let’s put Mr. Trump to the test. 

The American people deserve to know that the outcome of this election is actually valid

I am tired of hearing the pundits say that the election is over and there is nothing we can do when there are significant questions raised by the recounts that have been going on in Michigan Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, as well issues raised in a recent suit seeking a recount in Florida.

Hillary Clinton has garnered almost 3 million more popular votes than Donald Trump. The polls and exit polls in Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania showed Clinton was the winner. The   recount efforts by the Stein campaign have exposed that many votes remained uncounted at the time these States were called for Trump and raised many concerns about the validity of the outcome before the CIA reported the intent of the Russians to influence the results of the election.  Under these circumstances it is absolutely imperative that before the electors are certified and the votes of the Electoral College counted there be a full recount and investigation into potential hacking in these States.

The Public Safety Committee of Columbus City Council held a public budget hearing on December 7. Community members showed up to remind Council that city budget priorities have grave consequences for the citizens they represent. 

They were joined by Nia Malika King, the mother of teenager Ty’re King who was killed by Columbus police on September 14. December 7 would have been Ty’re’s 14th birthday.

“Today Ty’re King should be planning for the holidays with his family,” People’s Justice Project organizer Tammy Alsaada told City Council members. “This holiday season the King family will have their first Christmas with a big, unfillable hole in their homes. The People’s Justice Project wants to move from prisons and policing to prevention and programs.  We want to reinvest in evidence-based practices that actually keep our communities safe. Unless we change those priorities, Ty’re will not be the last child we lose.

The Student/Farmworker Alliance held yet another protest on the Ohio State University campus on November 15. The student organization is engaged in a protracted struggle with OSU that began in April 2014, when they asked the university to terminate its contract with the Wendy’s Corporation. The fast food chain operates a restaurant in OSU’s Wexner Medical Center.

At issue is the human rights of farm workers in Wendy’s supply chain. Wendy's has refused to join the Fair Food Program developed by the Florida-based Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW). Joining the Fair Food Program would alleviate the poverty of farm workers who harvest the fresh tomatoes used in the Wendy's sandwiches and salads. The CIW's program also promotes a safer, more humane working environment, including zero tolerance for sexual harassment and slave labor — abuses still common in the agricultural industry.

The article is contained in the attached PDF document. 

Sat, December 10, 6:30-11pm, 1021 E. Broad St.

(parking on street, in driveway or parking lot in rear)

Join progressive friends for food, drink and great music. Bob Fitrakis will speak  about the recount. 

Free, no RSVP required. 

colsfreepress@gmail.com or 614-253-2571

I am an elected member of the Franklin County Democratic Party (FCDP) Central Committee. On Wednesday evening, I got an email on FCDP letterhead with an announcement from Columbus City Attorney Rick Pfeiffer. His message to the Democratic Party Executive Committee was that he will not be seeking re-election for City Attorney. He closed with an endorsement for his successor, City Council President Zach Klein.

I read this not so much as an endorsement, but as marching orders to support the candidate hand-picked by the party elite.

This morning I got confirmation. I received an email from Mayor Andrew Ginther announcing that he is also endorsing Zach Klein for City Attorney. There hasn’t been any Central Committee or Executive Committee meeting to discuss, and there certainly hasn’t been a broader conversation to get feedback from the public. This is what our democracy looks like in Columbus. I wish I could say I was surprised.