Minutes of the meeting of the Chagrin Gateway Democrats on Feb. 5, 2026 at the Orange Branch of Cuyahoga County Public Library

Chagrin Gateway Democratic Club Meeting Summary
Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026 – 6:30 pm
Orange Branch of the Cuyahoga County Public Library

270 Days Until the 2026 Midterm Elections

The meeting began with announcements of exciting upcoming events:

Events Committee Meeting
Feb. 10 at 6:30 pm inside Eton near Kilgore Trout

Robert Bierman, Minnesota State Representative
Feb. 15 at 6:30 pm, Zoom

Amy Acton, Democratic Candidate for Ohio Governor
Feb. 19 at 7 pm at Chagrin Falls Township Hall (doors open at 6 pm)

Resistance Fair
Feb. 21 from 1 pm to 4 pm at Cleveland Heights-University Heights High School

Gateway Pints Social Hour
Feb. 26 from 5 pm to 7 pm
Saucy Brew Works at Pinecrest

Next Club Monthly Meeting
March 5 at 6:30 pm at the Orange Branch of the Cuyahoga County Public Library

The featured speaker was Rebecca Gorski, Political Director of the North Shore AFL-CIO who shared important information about unions in the United States, in Ohio, and in Northeast Ohio.

• Ohio is one of the states with the highest percentages of unionized workers at 13%
• In Cuyahoga County, the percent in some areas is higher. Brook Park is the highest at 24%
• Nationally, union membership is around 10.7%, but only 7% if you exclude federal employees
• It is important to expand unions. Union members enjoy higher wages, more health care coverage, more paid sick leave, better retirement benefits and safer workplaces than nonunion employees.

The North Shore AFL-CIO works on this a number of ways, including:

• family friendly events to teach the importance of union membership to kids, including through a Labor Day children’s art contest.
• a legislative program to work with elected officials at the local and state levels to protect workers’ rights and oppose the easing of child labor laws
• working with not for profit organizations, who can be more antiunion than for profit companies
• More information is available at their website:
  https://northshoreaflcio.org/

At the end of the meeting, candidates for local offices (or their representatives) asked the club members for support:

• Brian Poindexter for US House District 7, currently held by Republican Max Miller
• Robert Schleper on behalf of Sunny Simon for domestic relations court
• Jennifer McTernan for court of common pleas
• Pastor Aaron Phillips on behalf of Anjanette Whitman for domestic relations court
• Nicole Sigurdson and Dionna Gore for Ohio house district 19
• Diane Russell for court of common pleas
  A representative of Fallon Radigan for court of common pleas
• Jeff Crossman for court of appeals
• Gabe Crenshaw for Ohio house district 18

Rep. Juanita Brent, Ohio house district 18, provided information about pro-ICE bills currently under consideration by the Ohio legislature. Please see the attached information to let representatives know you are opposed to these bills.

Minutes of the meeting of the Chagrin Gateway Democrats on Nov. 6, 2025 at the Orange Branch of Cuyahoga County Public Library

The room was full with Democrats who were happy and relieved about the success of the party across the US on Nov. 4.

The meeting began with a recap of local races. Most of the candidates who sought the endorsement of the Chagrin Gateway Dems were successful:

Anthony Fossaceca, Chagrin Falls Village Council
Christabel Devadoss, Moreland Hills Village Council
Eric Meli, Moreland Hills Village Council
Rebecca Boyle, Orange Board of Education (incumbent)
Nakeshia Nickerson, Woodmere Village Mayor
Amal Liddell, Woodmere Village Council

Chavone Taylor Nash, endorsed by the club for Orange Board of Education, is in a tie with candidate Julie Lawrence. The final results are not in at the time of this newsletter.

Ref Luevano ran a great campaign for Moreland Hills Village Council. The club was proud to support him and is grateful to him for stepping up to run.

There was a lengthy discussion of rules for campaigning at polling places on Election Day. At Orange High School, the rules of the Orange Board of Education were being enforced although they are more restrictive than the law. Candidate advocates were stopped from  passing out literature to voters. Given the situation with the Orange Board of Education result as it currently stands, with Dr. Nash and Julie Lawrence in a tie with 1881 votes each, the inability to speak with voters may have affected the outcome. Going forward, the club will get clarification about rules and laws and make sure the Board of Elections is made aware of candidate intimidation or obstruction.

Nicole Sigurdson and Dionna Gore are Democrats running to replace Ohio House District 19 Representative Phil Robinson, who is term-limited. Nicole and Dionna spoke to the club and will be at future meetings.

Judicial candidates who will be on the ballot for the May 5, 2026 primary election stopped in to introduce themselves. Attendees heard from Common Pleas Court judicial candidates Jennifer McTernan, Fallon Radigan, Ashley Kilbane, and Daryl Dennie, as well as Court of Appeals candidate Jeff Crossman.

The next meeting is on December 4.