Proud Member of The Moms Clean Air Force
Print This Post
Sep
29
OH GOP Treasurer Candidate Josh Mandel To Skip His City Club Debate
Filed Under Campaigning, Debates, Government, OH17, Republicans, Transparency, treasurer | Leave a Comment
Very unfortunate news that he follows the lead of Republican candidates Jon Husted (Secretary of State) and Mike DeWine (Attorney General) who also will be skipping the Citadel of Free Speech’s traditional, well-respected and well-attended debates. And this is Mandel’s home turf as outgoing state rep for the Ohio House 17th.
How is it possible that participating in the debate would be a worse decision for Mandel than skipping it, especially with it occurring in practically Mandel’s home district?
Bad message, just a very bad message and poor form.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 12:11 pm September 29th, 2010 in Campaigning, Debates, Government, OH17, Republicans, Transparency, treasurer | Please comment
Print This Post
Sep
29
You can view the schedule either at the City Club site, this list from Ohio.com or after the jump. Note that two of the Republican statewide candidates, Jon Husted and Mike DeWine, have both decline to participate, and Tom Ganley is listed as only having been invited. Additionally, on the City Club page, only Ohio Treasurere and Democratic candidate for re-election Kevin Boyce’s name appears here and it’s in bold here – making me think that his GOP opponent and my outgoing state representative, Josh Mandel, may skip his debate also (neither he nor a surrogate for him showed up in an open forum last night at the Pepper Pike Civic League).
I don’t know about you, but I hate when that happens. No excuse. As for the governor’s race, which has seen Gov. Ted Strickland catching up to John Kasich for days and now is being shown as leading, it doesn’t appear that John Kasich has spoken at the City Club since 2009 – can that be right? Ohio Governor Ted Strickland last appeared on June 24, 2010.
Read more
By Jill Miller Zimon at 10:30 am September 29th, 2010 in Debates, democracy, Elections, Ohio | 1 Comment
Print This Post
Sep
28
Voting Starts TODAY w/Intro to Excellent Resource on ALL Candidates
Filed Under democracy, Elections, Government, Jennifer Brunner, Law, leadership, Ohio, Politics, Research, Resources, Voting | 1 Comment
Voting by mail or in-person starts today in Ohio. Go here to find out the details for anywhere in the state and here for Cuyahoga County, where we are voting for 12 new elected offices. It is NOT too late to register to vote – October 4 is the deadline.
The Ohio Secretary of State’s office is also providing an excellent one-stop shop for learning about all the candidates running, at all levels. Many thanks to SOS Jennifer Brunner for taking this step toward transparency and voter education.
Check out the 2010 Online Judicial and Candidate Voter Guide for Ohio. The press release after the jump has all the details and examples of what information you can find there. There’s no excuse to not vote and there’s no excuse to not know about a candidate, unless they’re the ones withholding information. Here’s the array of how many of your potential elected officials bothered to participate in a statewide effort to let the voters know about them (hint: our statehouse candidates have a lousy showing):
By Jill Miller Zimon at 9:47 am September 28th, 2010 in democracy, Elections, Government, Jennifer Brunner, Law, leadership, Ohio, Politics, Research, Resources, Voting | 1 Comment
Print This Post
Sep
28
As Jews Get Angry, They’re Turning to GOP?
Filed Under conservatives, Government, Jewish, Politics | 1 Comment
A friend forwarded this commentary to me, The Politics of Anger: Are Jews Becoming Republicans? Before even reading it, I knew what my answer would be but I read it anyway and still had the same answer: no. Jews are not becoming Republicans.
I could have been made to consider the possibility if the author at least provided some evidence to support what he believes is happening, but he provides none – not a single citation to something – anecdotal or otherwise.
And from what I have witnessed, I see no evidence either. For example, take the debate around the location of the Islamic community center in New York City: the more conservatives demonize Muslims in an effort to have them choose a different location for their facility, the more I hear Jews I know worry about that kind of singling out and saying, “sure, you can build it – just not there.” My own synagogue had to litigate to build in my city precisely because the City didn’t want a synagogue built “there.”
In addition, the breaking down of the wall of church and state is not something Jews typically support and the more the Christine O’Donnells and Rand Pauls seek to do that, the more I see Jews going the other way.
I just don’t see what he says he thinks is happening – if he can put some data, even anecdotal to it, great, but otherwise, I don’t buy it.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 8:16 am September 28th, 2010 in conservatives, Government, Jewish, Politics | 1 Comment
Print This Post
Sep
27
Update: Women Voters Bring KY Senate Dem within Two Points of Rand Paul
Filed Under Democrats, Elections, Gender, Politics, Voting, Women | Leave a Comment
If you want an example of how it is that women voters will make or break several Democratic candidates’ races this year, look no further than the KY-U.S. Senate race between Rand Paul (R) and Jack Conway (D):
The last Bluegrass Poll, conducted in late August showed Paul ahead 55-40. In the ensuing weeks, the Courier-Journal reports, Conway has built momentum among women and those wary of Paul’s extreme conservative views.
“The poll shows that Conway, the state’s attorney general, is now appealing to voters who say they are neutral on the tea party — Paul’s base of support,” the paper reports. “And Conway is building a significant lead among women, who earlier were almost evenly split between the two candidates.”
There’s barely five weeks left before November 2. Boring as it may seem, targeting and staying on message matters. It is not rocket science, but it does demand serious discipline and constant evaluation of where you’re going to get the votes. Then, you have to go out and, you know, GET them (hence the phrase, Get Out The Vote). In the case of Democratic candidates, in the face of alleged enthusiasm gaps and women staying home, that’s exactly where you need to look.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 2:40 pm September 27th, 2010 in Democrats, Elections, Gender, Politics, Voting, Women | Please comment
Print This Post
Sep
27
[updated] Democratic Candidates: Enthuse or Lose Dem Women Voters
Filed Under Democrats, Elections, Gender, Voting, Women | 1 Comment
Update: WaPo’s article from Saturday, “Can Women Save The Democratic Party?” makes similar arguments.
Because the gender gap is favoring Republicans big time. I’d say that’s what you get for throwing women under the bus but here’s a bit of what the pollsters say:
A Marist poll this month found 48 percent of Republican men called themselves “very enthusiastic” about voting, the most of any group; just 28 percent of Democratic woman said the same, with Republican women and Democratic men falling in the middle.
“Even though women are still more likely to vote Democratic, the poll suggests that they may stay home this year, giving more of the decision making to men by default,” The New York Times wrote in the analysis of its own survey last week. The Times theorized that men’s “anger may be more motivating than the sense of hopelessness expressed by women.”
Analysts cite a political climate that is apparently ineffably male — though the question of cause or effect is beyond the capability of polling.
“In times when the role of government is particularly controversial, you tend to see a particularly large gender gap,” said Celinda Lake, a Democratic pollster who has long studied gender and voting. She added that this year’s is “among the bigger gender gaps we’ve seen.”
The Politico article cites several perspectives on why this might be the case. Worth the full read.
My thoughts? Pretty ironic that in what some want to say is the year of the conservative GOP female candidate, male voters may make the difference because women – who tend to vote Dem – aren’t going to vote in as big numbers. It will be interesting to see if that gender gap holds in races with the GOP female candidates like Carly Fiorina and Meg Whitman, both of whom have been losing ground to Barbara Boxer and Jerry Brown, respectively.
That women may not be coming out for the female GOP candidates just because they’re female is a good thing if you ask me – I do not subscribe to the “hold your nose” until we get gender parity philosophy. And any candidate banking on the opposite to happen will be making the same mistake McCain made with selecting Sarah Palin, thinking that it would bring women voters over, and it didn’t. By and large, women do not vote for a woman just because she’s a woman. Every candidate has to bring it, period.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 10:51 am September 27th, 2010 in Democrats, Elections, Gender, Voting, Women | 1 Comment
Print This Post
Sep
26
AARP Highlights Female Candidates In Their Demo Running For First Time
Filed Under Culture, Gender, Media, Politics, Women | Leave a Comment
Some of you may recall that I mentioned how even though I’m not yet 50, I got a call from a writer who was working on a story about women in the “around 50″ or older age range for an AARP Magazine story. Turns out that my relative youth (I was 47 at the time) was not what disqualified me (I think I aged just thinking about that) but rather the fact that I’ve already been elected is what excluded me. The writer wanted to focus on women running for the very first time in this 2010 cycle.
The article, “The New Face of Politics: The U.S. lags behind the world when electing women to office. Is that about to change?” appears in the November/December 2010 issue. I haven’t read it yet but did enjoy speaking with the writer who, by the way, collaborated on Staying True with Jenny Sanford.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 9:33 pm September 26th, 2010 in Culture, Gender, Media, Politics, Women | Please comment
Print This Post
Sep
24
How Is Bill Mason Escaping Your Scrutiny As An Issue 6 Promoter?
Filed Under Courts, Crime, CuyahogaCounty, Government, Law, Ohio, Politics, Scandal, Transparency, Voting | Leave a Comment
For a reminder of Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Bill Mason’s level of involvement in bringing us our new form of county government, from the Cleveland Scene, Give Us Your County and No One Gets Hurt.
The Cuyahoga County prosecutor scoffed at people thinking he should have known that the person who was driving the car he was in was drunk and now he’s scoffing at the suggestion that he should have had an inkling about the decades of corruption that was going on involving tens if not hundreds of individuals with whom he and/or people in his office would know (not to mention anyone who reads a paper).
There are legitimate questions to be asked and the only way to ask them with any force is to employ a special prosecutor to investigate and determine whether Mason ignored evidence of widespread criminal wrongdoing under his watch or even participated in the culture of corruption. It seems likely that the federal authorities might be asking these questions, but unless Mason is secretly cooperating with the feds and his beneficial contributions to that investigation will be explained at the end of the process, he appears to be cloaked with a Teflon shield that is insulating him from serious consequences.
And frankly, every single time I read or hear about or face something that brings up the topic of the November 2nd elections for the “new” county government, I get worried that my eyes will get stuck in my head.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 10:18 am September 24th, 2010 in Courts, Crime, CuyahogaCounty, Government, Law, Ohio, Politics, Scandal, Transparency, Voting | Please comment
Print This Post
Sep
23
PD Hits A Streak: Three Female Judicial Candidates Endorsed This Week
Filed Under Elections, Gender, Law, Media, Women | Leave a Comment
Seriously, though, here they are – and I am just giving props where props belong. From the way the endorsements are worded, the editorial board indicates close races in their minds, and so giving the nod to the female candidate is not necessarily nothing. Something had to shift the decision in one direction. Contrary to popular suspicion, I don’t read “she’s a woman” into that – they seem to be relying on experience. With judges, that’s very wise. However, that women have the experience – that’s important to note and, to me, implies some successes in underlying systems that women must also accomplish in order to keep going further in their career.
9/20/10 Maureen Clancy for Common Pleas:
Because both Clancy and McClelland have the makings of a good judge, it’s too bad that one of them has to lose. The good news is that whatever the outcome, the voters — and the bench — should win.
…
It’s a close call, but given the way criminal matters dominate a Common Pleas judge’s docket, we give Clancy a slight edge [because . She’ll need to be on her best from Day One, because this winner will fill some very large shoes: Retiring Judge Timothy McMonagle is first-rate.
9/22/10 Kathleen Ann Keough for 8th District of Ohio Court of Appeals:
Voters get to choose between two skilled, thoughtful candidates who are also well-prepared for this job: Keough first law job was clerking in the appellate division of the Public Defender’s office. Moriarty clerked at the appeals court and has focused his practice on appellate work.
…
Here’s what tips the balance: Keough is now in her third term on Cleveland Municipal Court. She has extensive trial experience and has shown herself to be an innovator by handling the court’s difficult mental health docket. That experience in the trenches would serve her well on a court that offers the only review that most verdicts ever get.
9/23/10 Rosemary Grdina Gold for Domestic Relations: This was going to result in a woman regardless and Gold has been in since the governor appointed her several months ago. Still, mazel tov to this Pepper Pike resident.
A lot has been written lately about the numbers of women who go to and graduate law school – and then don’t work in law. Glad to see that those who are staying in field are continuing to stay in it and be able to move around and up as well.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 5:43 pm September 23rd, 2010 in Elections, Gender, Law, Media, Women | Please comment
Print This Post
Sep
23
Downgrade the Sexist Speaker, Not the Libeled
Filed Under Campaigning, Elections, Gender, Politics, Research, Results, Voting, Women | Leave a Comment
Here’s Susan Page on new survey results from Celinda Lake coming out today:
The poll, taken Sept. 1-8, asked 800 likely voters to listen to descriptions of two hypothetical congressional candidates, Jane Smith and Dan Jones. Half then heard a back-and-forth about the candidates that used the words “ice queen” and “mean girl,” then the word “prostitute” to characterize the woman. The other half of the sample heard a political back-and-forth without those labels.
Among the findings:
•The female candidate lost twice as much support when even the mild sexist language was added to a political attack. Her support, initially measured at 43%, fell to 33% after the policy-based attacks but to 21% after the sexist taunts.
•Voters saw her as less empathetic, trustworthy and effective after the sexist attacks.
•Her support rebounded after a mild response — calling the discussion “inappropriate” and turning to issues — and after a more direct counterattack that decried “sexist, divisive rhetoric.”
Join me today from 3:30-4:30pm, via livestream, at the Women’s Campaign Forum announcement of the survey results and the Name It. Change It. initiative to get this junk out of our politics – and all our other institutions where it still thrives. I will ask if they measured whether there was any downgrading of the sexist speaker because of their chosen method of attack (sexism – intentional or un-).
By Jill Miller Zimon at 10:41 am September 23rd, 2010 in Campaigning, Elections, Gender, Politics, Research, Results, Voting, Women | Please comment
Print This Post
Sep
16
How Hillary Clinton Is Tougher Than Bill, More Qualified to Succeed in Israeli-Palestinian Peace Talks
Filed Under Foreign Affairs, Gender, Hillary Clinton, Israel, Law, leadership, middle east, palestinians, Politics, Women | Leave a Comment
As the unusual confluence of the Jewish new year, Ramadan and September 11th has come and gone, I’ve been thinking a lot about the direct talks being pursued right now by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. But this post is not about the talks’ core issues, as they’re called, or about the fact that the talks themselves are happening.
I want to focus on Secretary Clinton and the skills and talents she is using, will need and may possess that can help — or hinder — efforts to end violence and gain a permanent peace, whatever that ends up looking like, between the Israelis and Palestinians.
At least one article is calling the current negotiations a “second chance” for Clinton, after her husband Bill’s efforts to forge a lasting peace agreement in the 1990s failed. Aaron David Miller, who advised numerous U.S. secretaries of states in the past and worked on peace process policy, seems to indicate that Clinton’s skill set is very well-suited to getting the job done. From CNN:
[Miller says that] … Hillary Clinton arguably has at least some of the qualities that America’s top diplomat would need to help shepherd successful Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.
To read the rest, please visit the full entry at, “Hillary Clinton May Succeed At Building Mideast Peace.”
By Jill Miller Zimon at 3:58 pm September 16th, 2010 in Foreign Affairs, Gender, Hillary Clinton, Israel, Law, leadership, middle east, palestinians, Politics, Women | Please comment
Print This Post
Sep
3
Palin Continues To Damage Women While Others Spend Time, Money To Help Them
Filed Under Civil Rights, Congress, conservatives, Ethics, Gender, leadership, Politics, Sarah Palin, Sexism, Women | 2 Comments
In a week that saw the launch of a funded, organized, coordinated effort to help us get at the roots of sexism (check out Name It. Change It), we also get Sarah Palin demonstrating the carelessness with which she’s accused many others in using sexist rhetoric. From CNN Politicalticker:
“Those who are impotent and limp and gutless and they go on their anonymous – sources that are anonymous – and impotent, limp and gutless reporters take anonymous sources and cite them as being factual references,” Palin said in her criticism of the press. “It just slays me because it’s so absolutely clear what the state of yellow journalism is today that they would take these anonymous sources as fact.”
It would never be okay and we would absolutely slam any political figure who used frigid or barren in an analogous context. When Sarah Palin says things like this she is giving permission for frigid and barren to be used as well. And let’s not forget her use of cojones.
Seriously – I thought we were trying to stop this kind of ridiculous lazy language that demonstrates a failure to come up with substantive attacks rather than buzzwords and sound bites. People who write about women’s rights and gender parity should be noting how these incidents compound the difficulty in breaking down and getting past barriers. Palin is in fact reinforcing the strength of those barriers for women to get ahead when she uses this kind of rhetoric.
How long will people let her play the victim of sexism rather than recognize that Sarah Palin invites it with her use of it and continues to lag in taking action to defeat it? You know what I’d rather she call impotent, limp and gutless? The Young Guns program and book that does nothing but feature stereotyped machodom. Where’s Sarah’s criticism of that campaign’s paucity of women (which leads to the paucity of women down the pipeline)? Where’s her critique of the fact that because Republicans are challenging Democratic women with men, rather than with women, the number of women in Congress may go down significantly? The Los Angeles Times directly connects that possibility to the GOP’s Young Guns failure to include more women.
Feh.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 9:29 am September 3rd, 2010 in Civil Rights, Congress, conservatives, Ethics, Gender, leadership, Politics, Sarah Palin, Sexism, Women | 2 Comments
Voted into Top 25 Political Mom Blogs
Now on sale-WLST essay included!
Posts About Pepper Pike City Council2010 WE Magazine 101 Women Bloggers to Watch
Category Specific RSS
Pepper Pike Cleveland+ Politics Women Ohio Elections Law Jewish
