Gun Safety Activists Detail Progress and Legislative Challenges

Gun Safety Activists Detail Progress and Legislative Challenges

Gun Safety Activists Detail Progress and Legislative Challenges

Moms Demand Action volunteers speak to Chagrin Gateway Dems

If you couldn’t attend our March meeting, you missed a great presentation from Kathleen McGorray and Laura Pulliam of the Cleveland chapter of Moms Demand Action as they discussed their organization, their mission and the steps they are taking to help advance gun safety legislation. At the moment, there are a number of bills in committee—where they are likely to stay without constituent pressure or a change in the composition of the legislature.

Among the bills are:

Interested in tracking any or all of these bills? Create an account on the Ohio General Assembly website and you’ll receive updates as they occur. To learn more about the co-sponsors of these bills, or contact their committee chairs, please visit the Ohio House of Representatives website.

In the News

Voter Alert!

Voter Alert!

In the races for Common Pleas Court, three candidates who are NOT ENDORSED by the Cuyahoga County Democratic Party, have joined together to mail a piece that strongly suggests that they are. Don’t be fooled!

Chagrin Gateway Dems Shatter Petition Event Goal in 45 Minutes

Chagrin Gateway Dems Shatter Petition Event Goal in 45 Minutes

Organization Beats Goal of 35 Signatures..by 415! The Chagrin Gateway Democrats—a collection of progressive activists from Chagrin Falls, Orange, Pepper Pike, Moreland Hills, Bentleyville, Woodmere and Hunting Valley launched a weekend petition gathering effort  in...

Tuesday’s Results Set the Table for November

Tuesday’s Results Set the Table for November

Tuesday’s Results Set the Table for November

Democratic Party slate now set

The 2024 Democratic slate is now set. Tuesday night’s results cleared the field and resulted in a unified ticket for November. Overall, while there were many races where only one Democrat qualified for the ballot, several competitive campaigns made for a spirited election season. Here are the winners of those races:

Katie O’Neill emerged with 56% of the vote against Oakwood Councilman Chris Callender in the race for State Senate. O’Neill will face off against MAGA favorite Jerry Cirino in the fall. Cirino’s aggressive anti-women and anti-public education stances make him vulnerable in a largely swing District 18—which includes Pepper Pike, Hunting Valley, Moreland Hills, Chagrin Falls and Bentleyville from our club area.

Lisa Forbes, a judge on the 8th District Court of Appeals will be seeking the only open seat on the Ohio Supreme Court this fall as she defeated Judge Terri Jamison in the primary with 63% of the vote statewide.

Carl Mazzone fought back a controversial challenge from Judge Nancy Russo, who attempted to switch seats to allow her to stay on the bench longer than ner current term allows. Mazzone, the endorsed candidate, secured 61% of the vote in decisive fashion. Mazzone is unopposed in the fall and will begin his term on January, 6, 2025.

In a race where no candidate was endorsed, and one of the three, Mollie Ann Murphy, was included in a mailing suggesting that she was endorsed by the Democratic party, Murphy, with 36.74%, snuck past Fallon Marie Radigan (33.41%) and Ray Tarasuck (29.85%). Radigan and Tarasuck were monthly attendees at our club meetings. Murphy has not appeared before our club to date.

In the three-way primary for the Court of Common Pleas general division (12/31/2026), Democratic Party endorsed candidate Kira Krivosh earned 52% of the vote over Fallon Kilbane McNally (26.77%) and Jennifer McTernan (21.22%). Krivosh and McTernan were monthly guests at our club meetings. Kilbane McNally never attended a single club meeting.

Longtime Juvenile Court Judge Alison Nelson Floyd handily defeated her opponent, Joseph O’Malley 69.22% to 30.78%

Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O’Malley defeated Matthew Ahn 59% to 40.60%. O’Malley will have an opponent this fall, although the Cuyahoga GOP had to fall back on running a write-in candidate as no one filed petitions in the race.



In the News

Voter Alert!

Voter Alert!

In the races for Common Pleas Court, three candidates who are NOT ENDORSED by the Cuyahoga County Democratic Party, have joined together to mail a piece that strongly suggests that they are. Don’t be fooled!

Chagrin Gateway Dems Shatter Petition Event Goal in 45 Minutes

Chagrin Gateway Dems Shatter Petition Event Goal in 45 Minutes

Organization Beats Goal of 35 Signatures..by 415! The Chagrin Gateway Democrats—a collection of progressive activists from Chagrin Falls, Orange, Pepper Pike, Moreland Hills, Bentleyville, Woodmere and Hunting Valley launched a weekend petition gathering effort  in...

Voter Alert!

Voter Alert!

Voter Alert!

Democratic voters, consider yourselves warned.

While Democratic primaries are a good time for campaigns to build an operation for the fall, and competitive races provide a chance for stronger candidates to emerge from a field, there are occasionally situations where someone will decide to play games with the process to give themselves an advantage.

In the races for Common Pleas Court, three candidates who are NOT ENDORSED by the Cuyahoga County Democratic Party, have joined together to mail a piece that strongly suggests that they are. 

In their joint mailing, the candidates, Mollie Ann Murphy, Nancy Magaret Russo and Fallon Kilbane McNally, encourage voters to “Support Your Endorsed Candidates,” followed by a checklist of big, bold fields stating: “Endorsed, Experienced, and Democrat.” The fact is NONE of them is endorsed by the Cuyahoga County Democratic Party—and, by electing one of them, Nancy Margaret Russo, Democrats essentially guarantee a Republican will replace a Democrat on the county bench.

Judge Nancy Margaret Russo is currently serving on the Court of Common Pleas in a term that expires in 2027. When her term ends four years from now, because of Ohio law, she will be beyond the state’s age limit for judicial candidates. So, rather than be forced to retire, and in an attempt to add two more years to what will already be 20 years on the bench, Russo has chosen to pivot to an open seat that would stretch her time even longer. All of which is great for Russo—but horrible for the court. Her election would result in her current seat being vacated and being filled by Republican Governor Mike DeWine. A net gain for the Ohio GOP.

In her race, there is an ENDORSED CANDIDATE: CARL MAZZONE. At both the Cuyahoga County Democratic City Leaders meeting and the Democratic Party Executive Committee meeting, Carl Mazzone was overwhelmingly endorsed.

It should also be noted that Carl Mazzone has been a very regular attendee of the meetings of the Chagrin Gateway Democratic Club dating back to last summer. He’s done his part to meet our members, heard our concerns and expressed his vision for the court.

In the race for Common Pleas between Fallon Marie Radigan, Ray Tarasuck and Mollie Ann Murphy, there is NO ENDORSEMENT by the county party. However, Radigan and Tarasuck have attended almost every meeting of our club since last summer. We’ve still yet to meet Mollie Ann Murphy. She has not attended a single one of the club meetings since they began to continue in person in 2021.

Another no-show at club meetings and events has been Fallon Kilbane McNally, who is seeking a seat on the Common Pleas bench in a primary against the ENDORSED DEMOCRAT: KIRA KRIVOSH. Krivosh and the third candidate in the race, Jennifer McTernan, have been actively attending our club meetings and events for almost a year and have worked hard to meet voters in our area. Our county party executive committee members were split on the two, but none of them supported Kilbane McNally.

In the News

Voter Alert!

Voter Alert!

In the races for Common Pleas Court, three candidates who are NOT ENDORSED by the Cuyahoga County Democratic Party, have joined together to mail a piece that strongly suggests that they are. Don’t be fooled!

Chagrin Gateway Dems Shatter Petition Event Goal in 45 Minutes

Chagrin Gateway Dems Shatter Petition Event Goal in 45 Minutes

Organization Beats Goal of 35 Signatures..by 415! The Chagrin Gateway Democrats—a collection of progressive activists from Chagrin Falls, Orange, Pepper Pike, Moreland Hills, Bentleyville, Woodmere and Hunting Valley launched a weekend petition gathering effort  in...

Chagrin Gateway Dems Shatter Petition Event Goal in 45 Minutes

Chagrin Gateway Dems Shatter Petition Event Goal in 45 Minutes

Chagrin Gateway Dems Shatter Petition Event Goal in 45 Minutes

Organization Beats Goal of 35 Signatures..by 415!

The Chagrin Gateway Democrats—a collection of progressive activists from Chagrin Falls, Orange, Pepper Pike, Moreland Hills, Bentleyville, Woodmere and Hunting Valley launched a weekend petition gathering effort  in support of the effort to amend the Ohio Constitution to protect reproductive health care rights. The drive, in Pepper Pike on Saturday, April 8, launched with a goal of collecting 35 signatures at a drive-up petition station. It ended with the club securing 450 signatures.

The turnout pushed the club nearly halfway to their goal of 1,030 signatures by June 30. To make the ballot this year, state organizers must submit a minimum of 412,591 valid voter signatures by July 5.

In the News

Voter Alert!

Voter Alert!

In the races for Common Pleas Court, three candidates who are NOT ENDORSED by the Cuyahoga County Democratic Party, have joined together to mail a piece that strongly suggests that they are. Don’t be fooled!

Chagrin Gateway Dems Shatter Petition Event Goal in 45 Minutes

Chagrin Gateway Dems Shatter Petition Event Goal in 45 Minutes

Organization Beats Goal of 35 Signatures..by 415! The Chagrin Gateway Democrats—a collection of progressive activists from Chagrin Falls, Orange, Pepper Pike, Moreland Hills, Bentleyville, Woodmere and Hunting Valley launched a weekend petition gathering effort  in...

Reproductive Rights Petition Drive Underway

Reproductive Rights Petition Drive Underway

Reproductive Rights Petition Drive Underway

Reproductive Rights Petition Drive Underway

In Ohio, a coalition of women’s rights advocates, health care professionals, and community leaders have been working hard to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot that would protect reproductive health care rights for women. 

The proposed amendment would give Ohio women the right to make their own decisions about their reproductive health care, including the right to access contraception and abortion services. It would also prohibit any state or local laws that restrict or infringe upon these rights.

However, the coalition has faced opposition from anti-choice groups, who are trying to prevent the amendment from reaching the ballot. To ensure that Ohio women have access to the reproductive health care they need, it’s important to take action to support this initiative.

If you’re an Ohio resident, you can help by signing the petition to get the amendment on the ballot. The coalition needs to gather over 400,000 signatures to qualify, so every signature counts. You can also spread the word about the amendment to your friends and family and encourage them to sign the petition as well.

Of course, another way to help is to volunteer your time and skills. The Chagrin Gateway Democrats are always in need of volunteers to help with various tasks, such as collecting signatures, organizing petition stations and distributing information about the amendment. You can contact us at info@chagringatewaydems.com to find out how you can get involved.

Protecting reproductive health care rights for women in Ohio is an important issue that requires the support and action of every coalition possible. By signing the petition, volunteering, and relentlessly spreading the word, we can all make a difference in ensuring that Ohio women have access to the health care they need and the freedom to make their own decisions about their bodies.

 

Helpful Talking Points

“We need to protect our right to make informed decisions about our health care with our doctor, and without government intervention.”

“It’s about taking decisions about reproductive care out of the hands of lawyers and politicians and putting them back into the hands of women and their physicians.”

“It’s about making it clear that physicians can save the lives of women who are at risk because of a pregnancy.”

“The ballot language acknowledges governments may prohibit abortion after fetal viability. It also says that women and their physicians can take action if the pregnancy jeopardizes the woman’s life.”
 
“It’s about keeping the government out of private, personal, family decisions.”
 
“It’s about ensuring individual freedom and the ability to make decisions without interference from the government.”
 

“It’s about removing harmful regulations that prevent doctors from treating patients and giving them the best possible care.”

“States with strict anti abortion laws are losing OBGYN doctors.  Colleges in those states will see a decline in people applying to those institutions.   Parents will see their children leave the state to start their lives in a friendlier environment.”

“The wording on the initiative is approved by Ohio Attorney General David Yost.”

In the News

Voter Alert!

Voter Alert!

In the races for Common Pleas Court, three candidates who are NOT ENDORSED by the Cuyahoga County Democratic Party, have joined together to mail a piece that strongly suggests that they are. Don’t be fooled!

Chagrin Gateway Dems Shatter Petition Event Goal in 45 Minutes

Chagrin Gateway Dems Shatter Petition Event Goal in 45 Minutes

Organization Beats Goal of 35 Signatures..by 415! The Chagrin Gateway Democrats—a collection of progressive activists from Chagrin Falls, Orange, Pepper Pike, Moreland Hills, Bentleyville, Woodmere and Hunting Valley launched a weekend petition gathering effort  in...