Happy Valentine's Day!

Thank You for Celebrating Valentine's Day with The Summit County Democratic Party! The 34th annual event was a huge success as over 200 Democrats joined together with Akron's own local musical guest, Zach! We were honored to have candidate for the Ohio Supreme Court, Judge Mary Jane Trapp, candidates for U.S. Senate, Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner and Lieutenant Governor Lee Fisher with his wife Peggy Zone Fisher as well as U.S. Representatives Betty Sutton and Tim Ryan energetically bring us into the 2010 season! Lastly, a special thanks to our Event Chair, Madeline Bozzelli, for all she does for SCDP!

Ohio's Standing Improves Under Strickland Leadership!

The Small Business & Entrepreneurship (SBE) Council announced that Ohio is ranked 11th in the nation in 2009 in its "Small Business Survival Index 2009" rankings (up from 38th in 2006). The SBE describes its index as the "most comprehensive measure of which states are truly friendly to businesses and entrepreneurs, and which are not in terms of public policy decisions." Rankings are based on taxation, energy and regulatory costs, government spending, health care and property rights. The 2009 rankings also place Ohio as the 10th best business tax system in the country.

Education Week announced that Ohio's public school system is the 5th best in the nation, up from 7th two years ago. According to The Columbus Dispatch, "The analysis is conducted by the nonprofit Editorial Projects in Education Research Center of Bethesda, Md., which publishes Education Week. The 2010 rankings are based on six broad categories - including student achievement, school funding and curriculum standards - and more than 150 indicators such as graduation rates, teacher licensure requirements and family income."

As you know, Governor Strickland believes education is the key to Ohio's economic revival - that a modernized system of education will drive Ohio's economic recovery by better preparing our students for jobs of the future. This news is the result of focusing our priorities and public policy decisions and investing our financial resources in way that will grow our businesses and prepare our citizens for good jobs.

Support our President on Healthcare Today!

I committed to help President Barack Obama ensure our health care system works for our community. There's a lot of misinformation out there and we must be sure the naysayers do not prevail. I've been asked to recruit one friend, but luckily, I have many, in you. I urge you to join me in this fight. We must be sure that the hard work we put forth in electing our President, for our values to be represented at the national level, is not lost. Please sign up today!

Sincerely,

Wayne M. Jones
Chair, Summit County Democratic Party

P.S. Would you like more information on the health care plan? Click here for details.

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: