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Apr
26
Last night, long-time City Councilwoman Paulette “Cookie” Morganstern submitted a letter of resignation. The Chagrin Solon Sun just published the news here.
Morganstern has served on council for more than 26 years. She cited as the reason for her resignation her intention to spend more time in Arizona, where she and her husband, Stanley, own a home. Stanley Morganstern resigned from the Orange Board of Education in January, stating his Ohio-based law practice was winding down.
I value and valued Paulette as someone with immense, invaluable institutional knowledge about Pepper Pike. Her departure will leave a vacuum of practical, direct experience from years with the city government during which no one else left on Council served (Rick Taft being the next most senior council member with about 13-14 years of experience). I wish her the absolute best of good times ahead wherever her choices take her.
For those residents who are interested, or if you would like to please pass this information along:
Paulette Morganstern’s current term expires at the end of 2013. Council is authorized by the city charter to appoint a replacement within 45 days to complete her term.
Residents who wish to be considered for the position are asked to submit a letter explaining their interest and qualifications by May 10 to Mayor Richard Bain at City Hall, 28000 Shaker Blvd., Pepper Pike, OH 44124.
Thank you again to Paulette for all these years of public service and if you have any questions, comments or concerns, as always, don’t hesitate to be in touch.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 3:39 pm April 26th, 2012 in democracy, Pepper Pike | Comments Off
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Apr
24
At my age, there just are not that many things about which I can say I’m still a virgin. And now, I’ve given it up for TED.
So I thought I’d overshare for a bit, given that the sold-out audience was limited to about 700 folks at the Cleveland Museum of Art’s Gartner Auditorium. That leaves thousands of TEDxCLE virgins remaining, all of whom deserve to hear, first-hand, if it was everything I’d hoped for.
Short version: If I hadn’t stopped smoking cigarettes nearly 22 years ago, I would have had one when the event ended.
Long version: There are so many ways to slice and dice this, and I’m an overthinker as it is, so let’s do it like this:
By Jill Miller Zimon at 8:03 am April 24th, 2012 in Cleveland+, CuyahogaCounty, Diversity, Energy, Ohio | Comments Off
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Apr
18
It was difficult for me to focus on this evening’s work session in City Council because less than an hour before the meeting began, I learned that Juvenile Court Judge Peter Sikora had died earlier in the day. You can read what has been posted so far here.
I moved to Cleveland for graduate school – that joint degree in law and social work which I thought would lead me to juvenile court, truly. That’s what I wanted to be – a juvenile court judge. And so when I landed a clerk position in juvenile court after my first year of law school but before my first year of social work school, I felt like the luckiest person. I was placed in the courtroom of a brand new judge in the late spring of 1989, the courtroom of Peter Sikora.
How many people know or recall that he was in the courtroom in Playhouse Square? Yup. That’s where I went – I took the bus. Every day. Read more
By Jill Miller Zimon at 10:41 pm April 18th, 2012 in Cleveland+, CuyahogaCounty, Law, Ohio, RIP, Youth | Comments Off
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Apr
13
Did you know that working moms who don’t watch Fox are socialists? Neither did I.
But then I asked some folks on Twitter, who were beating up on a friend of mine who is a left of center lady, not unlike myself, and was on Fox this morning (the national cable version, not the local), if they could link to the clip about which they were razzing my friend, since, being a working parent, I don’t watch the morning news shows because, well, I’m working – and parenting. (I know – many of us have the television or radio on in the background while parenting and working but that is not the norm in my home at all – way too distracting; I can parent & work at the same time, but add cable morning news shows to the task list and I’m on overload.)
And their response to my simple and, if I might say so myself, civil request (intended to allow me to make an actual judgement on the razzing they were giving my friend which included them saying that the way she said the word “privilege” regarding Ann Romney was in a perjorative way) was to tell me that, for saying I was working, parenting and not watching Fox, I spoke like a “true Socialist.” Later tweets included mentions of their belief that I envy male anatomy and some other things that have nothing to do with anything, except to demonstrate perfectly how the motherlode of all linkbait is the often-called always-maligned Mommy Wars.
If ever there was a subject in need of being limited to civil discourse-only, this has got to be it.
Read the rest at the Civic Commons (where this working mom works, from home and from wherever civic engagement takes me).
By Jill Miller Zimon at 11:44 am April 13th, 2012 in Debates, Diversity, Gender, Parenting, Politics, WH2012, White House 2012 | Comments Off
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Apr
10
I’ve got a lousy cold and a lot of work – and ideas – backed up but I cannot endure one more column headline opining on why there’s a gender gap between Mitt Romney and Barack Obama.
The gap exists because of reality: when women look around and on an every day occasion, see and experience where we aren’t included or even thought about, or, when we are included or thought about, how we’re treated – whether in real life (Ginni Rometty) or fake life (anything on Mad Men) – we don’t like it. And we see the statements and policies of conservatives as, in general (yes, there are exceptions), upholding, supporting and keeping in stasis what we don’t like, while we see the statements and policies of moderates and liberals as, in general, seeking to change, alter, take down and improve that which we don’t like (though of course there are plenty of exceptions there too – start with any sex scandal).
And, as if to underscore how clueless the men are, US Senator Mitch McConnell claimed that his female colleagues certainly would support him in calling out the “war on women” as being manufactured. Thanks, Mitch, for demonstrating how completely you haven’t heard a word your female colleagues have said and how thoroughly you expect them to follow you in lockstep, to wit, from that link:
“Talk about a manufactured issue. There is no issue,” McConnell said. “Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (from Texas) and Kelly Ayotte from New Hampshire and Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe from Maine I think would be the first to say—and Lisa Murkowski from Alaska—’we don’t see any evidence of this.’”
However, three of those female GOP lawmakers whom McConnell cited— Snowe, Hutchison and Murkowski—have specifically spoken out against Republican measures they believe are aimed at women.
Then, there’s the whole gaslighting aspect to what McConnell and others like Republican National Committee Chair, Reince Priebus, are saying – Preibus analogizing his belief that the notion of there being a war on women is as far-fetched as suggesting there’s a war on caterpillars.
We’re not being gaslighted – reality bites. And no amount of optics of Republican female spokespeople on the trail or a strong spouse, daughter-in-law or mother will begin to cut into the reality.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 8:57 am April 10th, 2012 in conservatives, Gender, Politics, Republicans, Women | Comments Off
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Apr
4
I’m out. I’m just all out. I can read more, talk more, opine more. But really — how much more is there to actually say, that hasn’t already been said, about the Republican candidates remaining in the primary battle to be the party’s nominee for the 2012 general election?
Even his three wins last night, in Wisconsin, Maryland, and the District of Columbia, have failed to seal the deal for the delegate leader, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney. For more background on last night’s elections, check out the exit polls and see how moderate the voters were in those three states, especially in comparison to several already-counted primary or caucus states; watch Romney’s victory speech given in Wisconsin, and see Santorum’s “we’re still going for it speech” from Pennsylvania.
Why is this fight not over?
Read the answer at the full post here.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 2:45 pm April 4th, 2012 in Campaigning, conservatives, Elections, Mitt Romney, Republicans, Rick Santorum, WH2012, White House 2012 | Comments Off
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Mar
22
From MSNBC this morning:
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Read more here.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 1:58 pm March 22nd, 2012 in Ethics, Gender, Government, Health Care, Politics, Republicans, Rick Perry, Transparency, Women | Comments Off
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Mar
11
The most recent avalanche of earned media for the concept of civility derives from multiple rants enunciated by Rush Limbaugh - who would have thunk, eh? This particular set of rants targeted a 30 year old female law student who wanted to testify on Capitol Hill about why contraception should be covered by health care insurance. Suffice it to say that Limbaugh’s behavior in this instance has been deemed so uncivil by so broad a swath of Americans that nearly 50 advertisers (and I’ve seen some counts as high as 80 or more) including AOL, LegalZoom, ProFlowers and Cleveland’s own Quicken Loans no longer support the show. And of course, coverage of people with the money, standing up to say that they don’t want their money supporting someone who expresses thoughts the way Limbaugh does, is another boost to the idea that we do value civility.
But wait! There’s more. Read it at my Civic Commons blog post.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 6:05 pm March 11th, 2012 in democracy, Media | Comments Off
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Mar
6
You’d think I’d love all the attention Ohio is getting this year because of its swing state and must-win status – I’m a Leo after all. But there’s really only four things you need to know about the race being voted on today. Read it here in my post at BlogHer.com.
And don’t forget locally – tons of judicial races and our County Prosecutor.
Here’s the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections website where you can see a ballot before you go so you don’t choke up.
NOW GO VOTE!
By Jill Miller Zimon at 8:36 am March 6th, 2012 in Campaigning, Elections, Ohio, Voting | Comments Off
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Mar
5
Read my thoughts on that question in my post, “Why Women Voters Will Dictate Ohio’s Super Tuesday Results,” at iVillage and let them know what you think!
By Jill Miller Zimon at 5:10 pm March 5th, 2012 in Elections, Gender, Mitt Romney, Politics, Republicans, Rick Santorum, Sexism, Social Issues, Voting, WH2012, Women | Comments Off
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Mar
2
WARNING: Expletives used.
Here in Northeast Ohio, Monday morning shattered when news of a high school junior shooting several of his schoolmates started streaming into my inbox via news alerts.
At 8:18 a.m., I read: Breaking News: Report: Geauga County Sheriff’s Department and OSHP heading to Chardon High School (the original item isn’t even there anymore, there’ve been so many updates)
I didn’t have to read another word before saying the trifecta out loud to an empty house, “G-ddamnit. Shit. Fuck.”
Even as I write this, my stomach cramps up, my lower lids fill up and I bite my lip drawing in a huge sigh.
I thought that the first thing I’d write about in this post would be about what we know. But ha. Really — just ha. Because I also think about all that we don’t know. And what of either category simply doesn’t matter?
For anyone wanting to keep up or catch up, so far, the best source for information has been the Cleveland Plain Dealer and you can find all their reports on the Chardon shooting here. I’ve heard multiple news outlets congratulate them throughout the week, and I’d say they’re deserving.
Read my full post here. Many thanks to BlogHer.com for letting me contribute there.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 5:46 pm March 2nd, 2012 in Cleveland+, Courage, Education, Illness, Law, leadership, Ohio, Parenting, Social Issues, Youth | Comments Off
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Mar
2
Well this opened my eyes! From the polling site:
The Following election poll was conducted over a seven day period from February 20 – 27, contacting 3200 likely primary voters of each major party, divided equally over the 16 congressional districts. All calls were made in person, to landline phone numbers researched on whitepages.com, from registered voter lists supplied by the Secretary of State:
Ohio U.S. Senate Republican Primary Polling
Name TOTAL Men Women Under 50 Over 50
Dodt 1% 1% 0% 0% 1%
Glisman 23% 15% 32% 17% 24%
Gregory 3% 5% 2% 5% 6%
Mandel 17% 20% 14% 22% 13%
Pryce 6% 9% 4% 4% 6%
Undecided 50% 50% 48% 52% 50%
Take a look at that undecided number!
Ohio’s open primary system means that its large portion of voters who identify as independents, and women in particular, can really affect the outcome of this race. Turnout is notoriously low for primaries – I heard yesterday on one of the cable shows that it can average just 10-20% nationwide for the presidential primary race. Ouch.
Donna Glisman – you go girl! I don’t know a thing about her, I’m not voting a Republican ballot and I do know who I’m supporting in November – but I always like seeing women run. Check out her League of Women Voters’ information here.
I won’t be voting for any of these candidates in the primary or the general, but for those of you who really want to vote for a Republican, you clearly do not need to follow the narrative that because Josh Mandel has the money, he has the win.
Go be civic and really make your vote count on March 6 – whichever way that goes for you.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 12:27 pm March 2nd, 2012 in Ohio, Politics, Republicans, senate | Comments Off
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Feb
20
Nothing like first-person accounts such as this one at Plunderbund to tell the stories Rick Santorum wants to ignore that form the basis of most people’s reality. I just watched the Santorum campaign’s newly hired national press secretary, Alice Stewart, completely dance around the questions asked by Andrea Mitchell related to this topic. If she or anyone who is directing her work thinks that her dancing will make this issue go away, when women voters outnumber men, then she and those advising her should be fired. Watch here (relevant segment starts at the 5:14 mark):
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
By Jill Miller Zimon at 2:56 pm February 20th, 2012 in conservatives, Gender, Politics, Republicans, Sexism, Social Issues | Comments Off
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Feb
17
Bernadine Healy must be spinning in her grave
(More about Bernadine Healy here – she mandated that women be included in health trials – about women’s health. Hello.)
There’s a lot of excellent commentary on that photo around the web but here’s US Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) speaking up about it – with the image full blown behind her:
And we can’t ignore that here are the menz pundits this morning on MSNBC (read more about the optic debacle here) talking about what else – women’s health and contraception. Nary a woman. Unbelievable in 2012.
Where are the women?
By Jill Miller Zimon at 7:39 pm February 17th, 2012 in Gender, Health Care, Media, Politics, Sexism, Social Issues, Women | 3 Comments
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Feb
7
Seriously – why would anyone drive six hours roundtrip from Columbus to Steubenville for a one hour speech when you can watch it on the Internet? Want efficientgov? Watch it livestreamed and tweet it for those who will have to check in later. Not sure what the hashtag is for it yet but I suspect it won’t be hard to figure out once it starts.
Here’s the link. Read more about what might be said here.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 9:08 am February 7th, 2012 in John Kasich, Ohio | Comments Off
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Feb
2
I think, and I’ve heard from multiple others who also think that Rachel Dissell’s front page article today in the Plain Dealer, “Jimmy Dimora trial reveals former Cuyahoga County commissioner’s coarse talk about women,” does a very good job of putting the information revealed through Jimmy Dimora’s trials about how he and those around him treated women in both a local and a broader context.
Definitely check out the cleveland.com comment thread – be sure you’re sitting down, even if you’re used to the tone they sometimes take on. And also browse this comment thread on Connie Schultz’s Facebook page.
Folks, we have a long, long way to go. If this cause inspires you, please check out Name It Change It, an effort to catalogue and call out, on a non-partisan basis as you will see from the examples, just how rampant the sexism is, especially when politics is involved.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 2:10 pm February 2nd, 2012 in Cleveland+, CuyahogaCounty, Ethics, Gender, Government, intolerance, leadership, Ohio, Politics, Scandal, Sexism, Social Issues, Women | Comments Off
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Jan
31
The last several months have been extraordinarily busy ones for me as I find and hit a groove with my work at The Civic Commons on behalf of the EfficientGovNetwork. You can check out what Jill built, with some very excellent assistance from the Civic Commons team, here and can join us in person to see what we’re working toward this Thursday at an afternoon hour-long City Club Forum:
Local Government 2.0
Ohio’s State Budget and What it MeansFebruary 2 @4:30pm
The $112 billion state budget Governor Kasich signed in July 2011 is in full effect. The budget cut $2 billion to local governments and schools; repealed the estate tax and included an expansion of charter schools. The votes were along party lines- Democrats criticized the budget for including too many cuts and GOP legislative leaders praised the budget for filling in a multi-billion budget shortfall.
The City Club, in partnership with The Civic Commons, ideastream and
The Plain Dealer, will examine the state budget as well as educate the community on the policies and programs proposed to help municipalities.
Moderated by: Joe Frolik, The Plain Dealer
Panelists:
Randy Cole, President, Ohio Controlling Board; Policy Advisor, Kasich Administration
Kathy Mulcahy, Mayor, Orange Village
Tony Paglia, VP, Government Affairs, Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber
*Reservations must be made 24 hours in advance of the event. Reservations will be held 15 minutes past start of program, such as 12:15 for noon programs. Reservations will then be open to standby ticketing.
Special Event:
$20 Member
$20 Non MemberReservations Toll-Free at 888-223-6786 or locally at 216-621-0082
Let me know if you have any questions and feel free to pass this on to folks whom you think might want to join us.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 4:47 pm January 31st, 2012 in Business, Cleveland+, Economy, Education, EfficientGovNetwork, Government, leadership, Ohio, Politics, Regionalism, Transparency | Comments Off
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Jan
31
Last time, however, it didn’t hold. Will it today? And to be clear, we’re not talking the gap between how men versus women vote for Mitt Romney or Newt Gingrich. We’re talking about the gap between who women prefer between the two candidates.
Citing his combative style and personal life, many women in Florida say they won’t support Newt Gingrich in the Republican primary. That gender gap has allowed Mitt Romney to open a commanding lead in Florida over the former Speaker, WSJ’s Neil Hickey reports.
This WSJ report covers why, very specifically, the women going for Newt thing in South Carolina won’t happen in Florida:
By Jill Miller Zimon at 9:10 am January 31st, 2012 in Campaigning, conservatives, Gender, Government, Politics, Predictions, Social Issues, WH2012, White House 2012 | Comments Off
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Jan
27
It was a very fun taping – airs tonight at 8:30pm on WVIZ and again on Sunday at 11:30am. Ohio Channel broadcast info is on the WVIZ page in the sidebar to the right of the blurb:
Prosecutors Lay Out Dimora Indiscretions
Posted Friday, January 27, 2012
Prosecutors Roll up Sleaze at Dimora Trial—week two of the corruption trial of former Cuyahoga County Commissioner Jimmy Dimora brought the most titillating testimony to date. Witnesses told of arranging gambling trips and the services of prostitutes for Dimora. An FBI agent told of a female public employee trading sex for a job. A former county employee said Dimora accepted a cash bribe from another job seeker.
County Development Fund—Cuyahoga County government this week initiated a key facet of its development strategy. A $100-million fund will provide money for a host of loan programs aimed at enticing business to set up shop. Repaid loans will seed further loans.
Arts Backers Prepare for Tax Renewal—for the past four years smokers countywide have paid a 30-cent per pack tax on cigarettes with the money diverted to local arts organizations. Since the tax’s inception, tens of millions have gone to organizations such as the Cleveland Orchestra, the Museum of Art and ideastream as well as to a host of smaller groups. Cuyahoga Arts and Culture is already strategizing a return to the ballot in late 2015.
State of the Union—President Obama used his State of the Union address to renew his call for higher taxes on the wealthy. What’s being called the ‘Buffett tax’ would hit the wealthiest Americans with a minimum 30 per cent income tax. He also called for tax breaks to benefit companies creating jobs in the United States. Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels in the Republican response said Obama is not to blame for the nation’s weak economy but has failed to deliver on promises to fix it.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 6:17 pm January 27th, 2012 in CuyahogaCounty, Economy, Government, Politics, Scandal, Sexism, Social Issues | Comments Off
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Jan
26
One of the things I loved the most about the Meet the Bloggers forums of 2005-2007 was that it let me sit next to and ask questions directly of people like Ted Strickland, Richard Cordray, Jim Petro and Sherrod Brown. Once you have a taste of that, you never want to go back to just writing a letter or placing a call, but alas MTB is no more.
However, into the fray went my colleague, Dan Moulthrop, at the Civic Commons where he is moderating a fantastic online forum with the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Candidates. This forum is a SUPERB way to interact DIRECTLY with people who want to be elected to office. They want to be your public servant, you better believe they should be engaging in the public & this forum does that.
Today is the last day so please go read & ask and comment. It’s your county and your vote.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 9:07 am January 26th, 2012 in Campaigning, CuyahogaCounty, Elections, Government, Ohio, Politics, Transparency | 1 Comment
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