Akron Votes Overwhelmingly to Keep Plusquellic

On June 23rd, Akron voters gave a clear expression of support for Mayor Don Plusquellic. They resoundingly (by a 3 to 1 margin) rejected a ballot issue to recall the Mayor. In fact, 9,100 additional voters came out for this Special Election than in the 2007 Primary. This is in large part because Akron believes in their Mayor. Tuesday's victory ensures that Akron will retain the strong leadership in City Hall it has enjoyed since Mayor Plusquellic was first elected in 1987. Akron citizens were clearly united behind the Mayor, as the measure was rejected in every one of the city's 153 precincts. This is because together, the citizens of Akron talked to their neighbors by knocking on thousands of doors and making tens of thousands of phone calls. Thank you to each who made the grassroots efforts a great success! As we move forward together we are proudly united!

Thank You for Supporting the 10th Annual FDR Dinner!

Thank you for making the Summit County Democratic Party’s Tenth Annual Franklin D. Roosevelt Dinner a great success! This year we had a record attendance of approximately 500 people. The strength of our numbers demonstrates the strength of the Summit County Democratic Party and ensures that we continue to elect hardworking Democrats like this year’s honored guest, Ohio’s U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown.

We were delighted to present this year’s awards to those who work tirelessly for the Party: Democrat of the Year, Vernon Sykes; Jane Quine Democrat of the Year, Ingrid Kunstel; Young Democrat of the Year, Mary Spaugy; and our Chair’s Distinguished Service Awards to Tara Samples and Rick Krochka. We take great pleasure in honoring these dedicated activists, yet we know that each of you contributes an abundance of energy to keep The Summit County Democratic Party moving forward and for this, we are grateful.

The Summit County Democratic Party could not do what it does without your generous support. Thank you again and we look forward to seeing you at next year’s Franklin D. Roosevelt Dinner.

Sincerely,

Wayne M. Jones
Chair, The Summit County Democratic Party

P.S. I would like to also thank Craig Megyes, Councilmember of Barberton and of Craig Studio, who generously photographed our FDR Dinner. Please click here to see the fantastic images from the event.

Employee Free Choice Act

The Employee Free Choice Act, supported by a bipartisan coalition in Congress, would enable working people to bargain for better benefits, wages and working conditions by restoring workers’ freedom to choose for themselves whether to join a union. It would:

Remove current obstacles to employees who want collective bargaining.
Guarantee that workers who can choose collective bargaining are able to achieve a contract.
Allow employees to form unions by signing cards authorizing union representation.

Find out more on how middle class workers are fighting for their rights through the Employee Free Choice Act at these informative sites:

Learn More About the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act

We are pleased to see President Obama and Congress working hard to be sure that our communities move forward in these difficult times. Fortunately, we have strong leaders at the local level working in conjunction with the Obama Administration including U.S. Representatives Tim Ryan and Betty Sutton. Akron's own Mayor, Don Plusquellic, has played an integral part in the conversations in Washington D.C. to ensure that Akron receives $40 million of the economic stimulus package. We know that they will continue their efforts. For more information on how the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will effect our community please look to www.recovery.gov.

THANK YOU!

Hello Summit County,

I would like to offer each of you many thanks on behalf of The Summit County Democratic Party for all of your outstanding efforts in our 2008 election cycle. I am thrilled as each of you worked tirelessly for and cast their vote in support of our Democratic Candidates. We all can take pride in our many accomplishments. We elected Barack Obama as the 44 th President of the United States. Democrats took the majority in the Ohio State House and we now hold all five House Seats in Summit County. We had the honor to elect Russ Pry as our County Executive. Pry is a strong leader who will continue to collaborate with County Council so our local needs continue to be met. We successfully took the County Engineer’s office and know that Alan Brubaker will take care of our county infrastructure. We are grateful to have John Donofrio returning as Fiscal Officer and Daniel Horrigan to the Clerk of Courts office. We cannot forget all of the great Judges who will be sure to watch over our judicial system in a clear and impartial way. So, to all of you who knocked on doors, made phone calls and contributed funds to ensure victory, I thank you. I encourage you to further be involved in the local Democratic Party as together we will continue to strengthen our Party and our community.

Sincerely,