ODP Weekly Update: Keeping Up the Energy, Keeping Up the Momentum
The OH-12 special election is still too close to call, and folks, that’s pretty amazing. With your help, Danny O’Connor closed a 36-point gap between 2016 and 2018 in the 12th Congressional District. That’s huge. That’s what we can accomplish working together and motivated to make a difference, and we can build on that to win all across Ohio this November.
I know a lot of folks still have questions — so check out this Tweetstorm we put out on Wednesday:
Look — if we all take away one thing from the OH-12 special election, it’s that every vote matters. Seriously. A single day on the doors can literally swing an election. That’s how close this is. That’s how much your activism matters.
Let’s keep this momentum going. Let’s keep up this fantastic energy from now to Nov. 6!
OHIO SUPREME COURT REJECTS ECOT CLAIM; WHITE HAT SLINKS OUT OF OHIO
In a critical victory for Ohio students and taxpayers, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that the Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow (ECOT) and e-charters must actively teach students in order to receive state education funding.
“It’s a good day to see ECOT’s outrageous argument rejected by the Court, but the even better day will be when we end the culture of corruption that allowed this to become the largest scam in the history of Ohio,” said Ohio Democratic Party Chairman David Pepper. “It’s time to put politician-protected scams like this out of business, and get back to the core mission of giving every Ohio student the quality education they deserve, and that taxpayers are paying for.”
Ohio Democrats have fought for years to hold ECOT and e-charters accountable to taxpayers and students. Ohio’s elected Republicans, however, have repeatedly blocked attempted reforms and accepted millions of dollars in campaign donations from ECOT-related donors.
Auditor Dave Yost bestowed multiple awards on ECOT even as it was bilking taxpayers out of nearly $200 million.
In light of the court decision, the Ohio Democratic Party is featuring a pop-up video of Yost’s 2013 ECOT graduation.
In other news related to the charter school corruption that was allowed to flourish under the watch of Mike DeWine, Dave Yost, Keith Faber and Statehouse Republicans, White Hat Management has now closed up shop and is gone from Ohio, the Akron Beacon Journal reported Tuesday.
“The for-profit operator founded in 2000 by Akron industrialist David Brennan has quietly sold off the last of its contracts to run charter schools. Brennan and his company formed a primordial force that ushered these publicly funded but privately run schools to Ohio some 21 years ago.
Once synonymous with political power and influence, White Hat’s reputation has fallen into disrepute after years of low test scores and soaring high school dropout rates.
Brennan made millions buying and selling manufacturing companies in Akron. In the 1990s, he promised to unleash the private market on what he demonized as failing government schools.
His tactics included $1 million in political contributions to elected GOP officials. Those gifts paved the way for Brennan, known for wearing a white cowboy hat. “Some of those officials [receiving contributions] bent rules — or rewrote the rules — to his benefit. In at least one case, their actions violated the Ohio Constitution,” the Akron Beacon Journal reported in a 1999 investigative series that called the “politically influential and opinionated” Brennan the “author of Ohio’s school choice movement.”
Brennan’s charter schools, ranking among the lowest performers in the state, were plagued from the start with allegations of padded enrollment and skirting accountability. Amid the bad publicity, White Hat lobbyists pushed for exemptions that gave his dropout recovery programs the ability to stay open with single-digit graduation rates.
Reps. Clyde and Cera Introduce Whistleblower Protection Bill
State Rep. Kathleen Clyde, the Democratic nominee for Ohio Secretary of State, and Rep. Jack Cera introduced a new whistleblower protection bill this week. One of the reasons the charter school scandals were allowed to go on so long was a lack of adequate protections for those who witnessed wrongdoing.
From WKBN:
According to State Representatives Jack Cera and Kathleen Clyde, Ohio has some of the weakest whistleblower laws in the nation.
“We shouldn’t be the 47th state in the country in what we offer to protect people who are trying to stand up for what is right,” Clyde said.
The pair was provided the information by the Legislative Services Commission, the organization that works on behalf of lawmakers to research and draft legislation. It indicated Ohio last updated its whistleblower laws a couple of decades ago.
Cera, who has been a longtime lawmaker, has seen the good and bad of state government.
“I’ve been around here when there’s been bipartisan corruption in the ’80s and ’90s that has been called out and I’ve spoken up against that when it was my own party,” he said.
Now Cera is concerned about things like the scandal surrounding the now defunct Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow (ECOT) online charter school and the Department of Administrative Services giving no-bid contracts with what he described as little to no oversight, costing the state tens of millions of dollars.
“I’m about one thing and I don’t care what party you’re in. When you’re ripping off the taxpayers, you need to be called out for it,” Cera said.
The problem is, calling them out can be a scary process for employees just trying to keep a job.
Ohio’s whistleblower laws are not as strong as most other states’. Cera and Clyde want to bolster them so more employees feel safe bringing to light wrongdoing without having to fear retaliation that could cost them and their family dearly.
The bill they announced Thursday addresses five areas — simplifying the process of reporting, broadening the coverage of protections for reporting, providing for greater protection against retaliation, establishing a reasonable time period to address retaliation claims and coming up with better remedies for retaliation against the whistleblower and the costs associated with coming forward.
Internship Opportunity
Aftab Pureval for Congress in Ohio’s 1st Congressional District is looking for fall interns! Find more details here.
Upcoming Events
- Monday, Aug. 13 — Cuyahoga County Democratic Women’s Caucus Meet and Greet with Susan Moran Palmer
- Tuesday, Aug. 14 — Butler County Democratic Party Right To Work Is Wrong Forum
- Tuesday, Aug. 14 — Rally Against Pence and the GOP Tax Scam
- Tuesday, Aug. 14 — Equality Ohio Volunteer Night
- Tuesday, Aug: 14 — Mom’s Demand Action Cleveland Area Membership Meeting
- Wednesday, Aug. 15 — Logan County Democratic Party Annual Picnic
- Wednesday, Aug. 15 — Cuyahoga County Young Dems Meeting
- Wednesday, Aug. 15 — Warren County Democratic Party Hosts Zack Space
- Wednesday, Aug. 15 — Cuyahoga County Young Dems Meeting
- Thursday, Aug. 16 — Elyria Democratic Party Hilltop Park Cookout
- Thursday, Aug. 16 — Akron Rally Against ECOT Scam
- Thursday, Aug. 16 — Social Mixer with the Northeast Ohio Young Black Democrats
- Friday, Aug. 17 — August Luncheon: Meet the Supreme Court Candidates
- Friday, Aug. 17 — Meet the Candidates Night with Chairman David Pepper
- Saturday, Aug. 18 — Ohio Legislative Black Caucus Convention
- Tuesday, Aug. 21 — Warren County Democratic Party Hosts Kathleen Clyde
- Wednesday, Aug. 22 — Kathleen Clyde and Frank LaRose League of Women Voters Voting Issues Forum
- Saturday, Aug. 25 — Licking County Democratic Party Golf Outing
- Saturday, Aug. 25 — CAIR-Columbus Meet the Candidates Town Hall at the Ohio Union
- Wednesday, Aug. 29 — Lucas County Democratic Party Blue Cocktail Hour
- Thursday, Aug. 30 — Clermont County Young Dems “Skate Jill to the Hill” Event
- Thursday, Aug. 30 — OSU College Dems Fundraiser in Columbus
- Thursday, Aug. 30 — Health Care Town Hall with Vanessa Enoch
Podcast: Chairman Pepper Talks OH-12
This week’s Ohio Democratic Podcast features Ohio Democratic Party Chairman David Pepper talking about the OH-12 special election and urging Ohio Democrats and grassroots activists to keep up the energy and keep up the momentum from now to November as we work together to win elections across Ohio.
