{"id":1371,"date":"2021-05-13T17:43:48","date_gmt":"2021-05-13T17:43:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/?p=1371"},"modified":"2021-05-13T17:44:38","modified_gmt":"2021-05-13T17:44:38","slug":"caution-bumpy-road-ahead","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/2021\/05\/13\/caution-bumpy-road-ahead\/","title":{"rendered":"Caution: Bumpy Road Ahead"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Rev. Donald L. Perryman, D.Min.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By Rev. Donald L. Perryman, Ph.D.
\nThe Truth Contributor<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0Lots of people want to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/em>– \u00a0Oprah Winfrey<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Fasten your seatbelts! It appears that the 2021 local election year will be a bumpy ride that could ultimately leave northwestern Ohio voters queasy as we prepare for the statewide races of 2022.<\/p>\n

Republicans in the Ohio Legislature are throwing down to make sure that they tighten their grip on power through gerrymandered redistricting, expanded police rights, and toughened voter suppression laws.<\/p>\n

The response? Lucas County Democrats are at war with themselves over endorsements.<\/p>\n

So far, three candidates have expressed an interest in screening for the Democratic Party (Party) endorsement for the Toledo Public School Board \u2013 Bob Vasquez, Chris Varwig and Polly Taylor-Gerken.<\/p>\n

Although each has served on the School Board for multiple terms, the Party \u2013 under the new leadership of Michael Ashford, party chairman \u2013 has re-designed the screening application process to require that candidates provide their own criminal background check and a credit report or proof of credit score.<\/p>\n

Taylor-Gerken is protesting the \u201chigher standards,\u201d calling the process \u201cunnecessarily intrusive.\u201d\u00a0 As of this writing, the Party is not allowing Taylor-Gerken to screen. Thus, she is ineligible to receive an endorsement at this time.<\/p>\n

Seven Endorsements for Six Seats:<\/p>\n

In another unusual move, the Party has endorsed seven individuals for only six at-large Toledo City Council seats: Mac Driscoll, Michele Grim, LP.D.; Sam Harden; Nick Komives; Cerssandra McPherson; Katie Moline and Tiffany Preston-Whitman, Ed.D.<\/p>\n

African-American candidates Keith Jordan and Charlie Mack screened but, surprisingly, were told that they \u201cdidn\u2019t qualify for the endorsement,\u201d according to sources.<\/p>\n

What is the Problem?<\/p>\n

Some in the Party are not happy with Ashford\u2019s \u201cautocratic style and unilateral decision-making,\u201d especially with his re-design of the screening application process.<\/p>\n

Others accuse Ashford of supporting the endorsement of those he likes and excluding those individuals he doesn\u2019t like.<\/p>\n

Additional Party members complain that the Party is afraid to make any \u201cnoise\u201d and hasn\u2019t taken any real stance on important issues \u201cother than putting up a lame-ass statement after George Floyd.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, many see no fault whatsoever in Ashford\u2019s strengthening the Party\u2019s endorsement and background check requirements.<\/p>\n

Ashford \u201cgot burned\u201d in 2018 when the Party denied him the endorsement for Lucas County Treasurer in favor of an opponent who had a poor personal credit score. The Party\u2019s decision negatively impacted Lucas County\u2019s ability to provide necessary bonding for the endorsed candidate.<\/p>\n

Ashford is also expected to tighten the requirements for a criminal background check given last year\u2019s ethics probe that led to the indictment of four sitting city councilpersons.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Ohio Republicans are currently pushing bills through the legislature aimed at \u201ccriminalizing protests and interactions with police.\u201d This action could have a tremendous impact on voting rights, free speech and rights of assembly. For instance, if you are videotaping police in their \u201cofficial business,\u201d you can be arrested if they subjectively deem that you are interfering with their work.<\/p>\n

Redistricting is another process that requires the Party\u2019s vigilance. The Ohio Legislature will likely attempt to re-draw northwest Ohio\u2019s districts. Instead of having three Democratic and one Republican districts, Ohio will probably try to re-configure existing maps into two Democratic and two Republican districts. Republicans may try to eliminate Lisa Sobecki (D., Ohio District 45) from the Ohio House of Representatives or another vulnerable Democrat from northwestern Ohio.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, local Democrats and other activists all over the nation celebrated the legacy of John Lewis with an organized \u201cvotercade\u201d this past weekend. Councilwomen Tiffany Preston-Whitman and Cerssandra McPherson \u2013 both \u201ctemporary,\u201d but ever-present-in-the-community councilpersons \u2013 are gearing up to experience running their first political campaigns.<\/p>\n

In addition, the Party is financially stronger than it has been in the past 15 years. There is also a diverse mix of new candidates and young people actively participating at the committee level.<\/p>\n

At the same time, Democrats are coming together outside the Party to form the Lucas County Progressive Caucus. The new platform will allow a wing of the Party to discuss issues such as housing, police reform, homicides and violence in the city, and other issues that they have \u201cnot had the opportunity to discuss within<\/em> the Party.\u201d<\/p>\n

So, hold on to your hat. The ride is expected to be both exhilarating and terrifying.<\/p>\n

However, if nothing else, maybe the ride will help the Party relieve some of its internal stress so it can fight oppression and suppression more effectively.<\/p>\n

Contact Rev. Donald Perryman, PhD, at <\/em>drdlperryman@centerofhopebaptist.org<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Rev. Donald L. Perryman, Ph.D. The Truth Contributor \u00a0\u00a0Lots of people want to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 – \u00a0Oprah Winfrey Fasten your seatbelts! It appears that the 2021 local election year will be […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[55],"tags":[],"wf_post_folders":[54],"class_list":["post-1371","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-editorial-opinion"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1371","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1371"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1371\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1372,"href":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1371\/revisions\/1372"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1371"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1371"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1371"},{"taxonomy":"wf_post_folders","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wf_post_folders?post=1371"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}