Subject: Release: Labor Leaders Call for Redistricting Reform
From: Catherine Turcer <[email-masked]>
To: john podesta <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 4 Sep 2015 12:59:22 +0000

[1]ProgressOhio

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      September 4, 2015
   Contact:  Catherine Turcer, Common Cause Ohio 614-579-5509

                Ohio Labor Leaders Call for Redistricting Reform

   As union members prepare for Labor Day weekend, Ohio labor leaders are
   calling on voters to vote YES on Issue 1 to create a fairer and more
   accountable election system.

   The Ohio Education Association (OEA) and the United Auto Workers Region 2B
   were early supporters of Issue 1.  Region V of the Coalition of Black
   Trade Unionists and the A. Philip Randolph Institute recently endorsed the
   proposed constitutional amendment to overhaul the way Statehouse districts
   are drawn.

   "Issue 1 provides an opportunity to enact a more equitable means of
   drawing legislative districts and, in so doing, boosting public confidence
   in our electoral process," said OEA President Becky Higgins.

   The state legislature moved earlier this year with overwhelming bipartisan
   support to place Issue 1 on this November's ballot. The reform effort
   follows previous unsuccessful citizen-initiated proposals in 2012, 2005
   and 1981.

   "It is high time the lopsided manner in which districts are drawn in Ohio
   is corrected," said Ken Lortz, director of the United Auto Workers Region
   2B. "Eliminating the current gerrymandering process is the only way we can
   achieve fair, affordable elections where politicians are held accountable
   to the voters who elect them."

   Petee Talley, of Region V of the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, said
   the amendment would finally put an end to gerrymandered Statehouse
   districts:

   "I have been in the fight for fair redistricting for many years and Issue
   1 gets it right. Issue 1 is transparent and it respects communities. Issue
   1 has the support of District V of the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists
   and a diverse group of supporters because it is the pathway to real
   representation. Balanced, fair districts will put the power in the hands
   of the voters and end hyper-partisan gerrymandering."

   Issue 1 establishes a bipartisan panel responsible for creating state
   legislative districts, called the Ohio Redistricting Commission, that will
   have to use a more transparent map-making process. The proposed amendment
   to Ohio's constitution requires mapmakers to focus on keeping communities
   together and includes a prohibition on gerrymandering - unfairly drawing
   state legislative districts to favor one party over another. Issue 1 also
   calls for maps to reflect the statewide partisan preferences of voters,
   sometimes called representational fairness.

   "The A. Philip Randolph Institute endorsed Issue 1 because we believe in
   fair elections," said Andre Washington APRI's Ohio State President. "We
   know that until we have fair state legislative districts, we will not
   achieve the goal of fair elections.  Ohioans need to know their vote
   actually matters. For too long both districts and voters have been
   manipulated. Fair districts will give voters real choices."

   The Ohio Republican Party and the Ohio Green Party have already endorsed.
   On August 19, the Ohio Democratic Party's nine-member screening committee
   recommended that the Democratic Party also endorse.  The executive
   committee of the party is expected to meet this month.

   Support for Issue 1 is diverse and includes: AAUW of Ohio, ACLU of Ohio,
   America Votes, A. Phillip Randolph Institute, Applied Information
   Resources, Buckeye Forest Council, Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce,
   Coalition of Democratic & Progressive Organizations of Central Ohio,
   Coalition on Homelessness & Housing, Columbus Chapter Alumnae of Delta
   Sigma Theta, Common Cause Ohio, Democratic Voices, Fair Elections Legal
   Network, Faith Coalition for Common Good, Faith in Public Life, Food and
   Watch, Greater Cleveland Partnership, Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights
   Under Law, League of Women Voters of Ohio, NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio, NARAL
   Pro-Choice Ohio, Northeast Ohio Alliance for Hope (NOAH), Northeast Ohio
   Voter Advocates (NOVA), Nuns on the Bus, Ohio Chamber of Commerce, Ohio
   Council of Churches,  Ohio Council of Retail Merchants, Ohio Education
   Association, Ohio Environmental Council, Ohio Green Party, Ohio Organizing
   Collaborative, Ohio Republican Party, Ohio State Bar Association, Ohio
   Student Association, Ohio Voice, Ohio Voter Fund, Ohio Voter Rights
   Coalition, ProgressOhio, Region V of The Coalition
   of Black Trade Unionists, United Auto Workers Region 2B and Youngstown
   Chamber of Commerce.

   Ohio union leaders are speaking out ahead of Labor Day, which pays tribute
   to the contributions and achievements of American workers. Congress
   designated Labor Day a federal holiday in 1894.

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