Political activism in gerrymandered states like Ohio is not for the faint of heart.
It’s a long battle. Often feels like an uphill battle, because it usually is. So many institutions are stacked against everyday people and their interests. Which means many bumps and setbacks along the way.
But never doubt…if we keep pushing, keep standing up, keep organizing….we can win.
Two wonderful examples in the last several days.
Win 1: Voucher Victory Last Night
First, I wrote you yesterday, appalled by the attempt by Ohio’s Lieutenant Governor to strong-arm a local school board—Upper Arlington—from joining the lawsuit taking on universal private vouchers. His letter looked and felt desperate. It was full of lies. My guess is someone outside his office drafted that garbage for him. And like he always does, he agreed to use the power of government to back private interests.
And it absolutely backfired.
Activists who’ve been pushing for this for months stood before that school board and called out the lies. And in the end, board members saw through it all, and voted to JOIN the lawsuit.
A huge win, made even more meaningful by the fact that Husted tried to meddle in the outcome.
Since the Lt. Gov. did us the favor of showing how much they don’t want school districts supporting the case, we should only respond in one way: work to convince more districts to support the case.
There’s power in numbers here, which is why they tried to keep Upper Arlington out. Let’s build those numbers.
And the truth is, once it’s clear what this reckless private voucher experiment is doing, no school district in Ohio should not be supportive of this suit. So take two steps:
take a look at the list of schools who are already supportive of this landmark litigation (it’s an impressive list);
if the school district where you live is not on that list, please advocate that they join on as well. Call, email, talk to folks you know on the school board, etc. Attend meetings. The coalition that has brought the suit has even provided a Model Resolution that can be presented at school boards and voted on to support this critical effort. You can learn more about how to advocate for your school board here.
If Upper Arlington can do it in the face of Husted’s absurd letter, your district can do it too.
We must build a movement here. More to come…
Win 2: Victory on Leaking Wells
The second win is also the result of persistent activism.
Last month, I told you about the years’ long community effort to shut down injection wells in Athens County that were leaking toxic waste.
In fact, my first podcast featured one of the heroes who leads the effort, Roxanne Groff, explaining the decade of tireless work she and others have put in—often fighting a government whose regulatory powers have been placed in the hands of the private sector.
Yet, they persisted.
And in the past week, it was confirmed that the company I highlighted that was finally ordered to shut down leaking wells—chose not to appeal. So the order became final, and Roxanne tells me the company has applied to plug the three wells at issue.
That means all six wells Roxanne, Future Action Network (ACFAN) and Buckeye Environmental Network and Torch Can Do had protested over the years have been shut down.
Six for six.
Their warnings proved right each time, and their persistence paid off. Against an array of powerful forces stacked up against them.
Thank you for your leadership.
Thank you to so many out there for your activism. It matters!
And it works.
That’s great to hear!
Thank you, professor. Have so much respect for you, and your selfless work for well-being of Ohioans.
Those are encouraging news and show the power of people of Ohio.
It's never surprising nor shocking how everything that these grotesquely greedy people want to do is always about money and power disguised as religious and "freedom". These monsters will not be satisfied until everyone is poor, uneducated, and homeless so that it'll be easier to convert them for a loaf, and shelter.
The wet dreams of rethugliCons is to take away SS, Medicare and Medicaid, public education and any program that helps poor and elevate them from poverty lest the oligarchs will have steady supply of cheap labor forever.