The Chagrin Gateway Dems heard from Chris Ronayne, our  Cuyahoga County Executive. He began his career with the County Planning Commission  and served as the President of University Circle Inc. He caught our attention by pointing out that in recent years we have learned “how fragile our democracy is”.  In this time when the Federal government has cut back funds for Medicaid and food stamps, he sees his role as making sure Cuyahoga County makes clear what help is available.  

He warned us that the State Assembly is encouraging County Executives to re-appropriate funds that the tax-payers have designated for specific purposes to fill in gaps.  But Chris feels it is wrong to just disregard what voters want. 

Chris gave us a list of the positive things that Cuyahoga County is working on:

•         Small business establishment
•         Green Energy
•         Maritime Economy development
•         The Welcome Center in Brooklyn
•         A Music Commission
•         A proposal for a true wellness center for the homeless instead simply putting them in empty government buildings

He is still fighting against the stadium move (did they learn nothing from Richfield?)—He shared his pipe dreams of a Burke Lake front development.  He admitted that we are building a new jail, but said it is a campus that is focused on community re-entry. He is chairman of the Great Lakes Policy Forum.  

We left the meeting impressed by Chris Ronayne’s hope and vision. 
– Lyn Newman

A regular feature to the Chagrin Gateway Democrats from Lyn Newman

What happened?: I had the privilege of being a Voting Location Manager at the primary election on May 6th. When I had finished administering the oath of office to my team, (a deeply moving experience, by the way) one of our members piped up “Did the President have to take this oath?” The answer was that his was not exactly the same. Unlike us, the President did not have to affirm that he had never committed a felony. But exactly like us, the President took an oath to “preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution” However, when asked by Meet the Press host, Kristen Welker if he needed to uphold the Constitution as regards due process for immigrants, as the courts were telling him he needed to, his reply was “I don’t know”.

Why it matters?: Our country is based on certain principles that do not change from one administration to the next. Our Founding Fathers set up three branches of government to prevent any one branch from becoming too powerful and making changes without careful consideration. The President cannot decide to ignore the Fifth amendment (people’s right to due process of law), however inconvenient he may find it. The President is not a King, he does not get to decide who gets access to rights and who does not. This is a large part of why we broke from Great Britain in 1776.

What can we do about it?: We need to keep reminding our Senators and Congress people to do their jobs and oversee Immigration issues. Keep those phone calls and e-mails coming. We need to support the organizations that provide legal representation for immigrants like the ACLU and the National Immigration Law Center. Finally, we need to keep the problem visible. So pick up a protest sign, grab some friends and come to a rally. Let’s tell the President that the correct answer is “Yes! You do need to uphold the constitution. In fact, on January 20th you promised!”

Lyn Newman can be found on Bluesky