Statehouse Day 2015 - League of Women Voters of Ohio

League of Women Voters of Ohio
Statehouse Day 2015
March 31, 2015
Columbus, Ohio
Welcome!
Welcome to LWV Ohio Statehouse Day! Today we celebrate the League’s mission, as a
nonpartisan organization, to encourage informed and active participation in
government, increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influence public
policy through education and advocacy. Education and advocacy are critical tools in
making democracy work—and today’s agenda reflects the League’s focus on urgent
issues facing Ohio, including reproductive health rights, clean water, election reform,
the state budget, and public education.
It is clear that the League’s work is as vital today as it was in 1920. The Ohio legislature
is considering a host of issues of vital concern to Ohioans ranging from school funding
and accountability to tax overhaul to women’s health rights to fracking. The Ohio
League has testified and spoken up regarding these and other issues of concern to
League members.
We have outstanding speakers today on many of the vital issues facing our State. Our
goal is for each of you to leave today re-energized and focused on what you can do to
continue to advocate on these and other issues.
The League’s commitment to reform has brought us hard-won respect, credibility and
visibility – and the past year’s achievements are noted in the reports of our Lobby
Corps and Executive Director. And we cannot emphasize enough the importance of our
partnerships with local Leagues across Ohio on initiatives such as voters’ guides,
educational forums and issue advocacy. Our sincere thanks for all you and your Leagues
are doing to further our shared mission.
In closing, we congratulate each member of the League of Women Voters of Ohio and
share with you our best wishes for continued success in making democracy work!
Sincerely,
Nancy G. Brown
President
Thank you to our Sponsors!
Your generous support of the League of Women Voters of Ohio
Statehouse Day helps us to educate and engage voters on
issues central to our democracy.
Table Sponsors:
Marianne Gabel
National Issues Forums Institute
Supporting Sponsors:
PNC Bank
The Women’s Fund of Central Ohio
Partnering Sponsors:
GBQ Partners LLC
Paul Werth Associates
Agenda
8:30am-9:30am
Registration and Continental Breakfast
9:30am-9:45am
Welcome
9:45am-10:30am
Reproductive Rights: Fighting to Keep Ohio Clinics Open - Jennifer
Branch, Attorney at Gerhardstein & Branch
10:30am-10:45am
Break
10:45am-11:30am
Clean Water: Protecting our Lakes - Mike Bailey, Chief, ODNR Division
of Soil and Water Resources & Kathy Hanratty, Co-Chair, LWV Lake Erie
Basin Committee
11:30am-11:45am
Break
11:45am-1:15pm
Lunch & Keynote Speaker at Statehouse Atrium
“Turning Empty into Half Full: Why States Adopt Restrictive Voter
Access Policies and the Promising State-level Reforms that Increase
Turnout” - Professor Erin O’Brien
1:15pm-1:30pm
Break
1:30pm-2:15pm
Breakouts A & B
Breakout A: How to be an Effective Lobbyist – Are you interested in
advocacy? Come hear from two Statehouse regulars, AAUW & LWVO
lobbyist Karen Rainey and ACLU of Ohio lobbyist Gary Daniels, to learn
tips on how to be an effective advocate.
Breakout B: Lobbyist reports – Hear the latest updates on Redistricting,
Judicial, and Election Reform from LWVO’s issue specialists
2:15pm-2:30pm
Break
2:30pm-3:15pm
Ohio’s State Budget – Wendy Patton, Project Director of Policy Matters
Ohio
3:15pm-4:00pm
Coalition for Public Education Updates – Melissa Cropper, and Darold
Johnson, Coalition for Public Education
4:00pm
Adjourn
** Legislative meetings by request throughout the day
** All sessions take place in the Riffe Building 31st floor conference center except for lunch, which
will be held in the Statehouse Atrium.
Speaker Biographies
Jennifer L. Branch
Attorney at Gerhardstein & Branch
Jennifer L. Branch graduated from New York University in 1984 with Honors in Politics. In
1987, she graduated from Case Western Reserve University School of Law cum laude.
She began her legal career at the Legal Aid Society of Cincinnati in 1987. Jennifer
concentrated her efforts in the areas of housing (keeping poor families from becoming
homeless), utilities (advocating for lower rates for poor customers), and prisoner rights.
In 1997, Jennifer joined the law firm of LAUFMAN & GERHARDSTEIN which concentrates its
practice in civil rights litigation. In 2005 Jennifer became partner in the firm now called
GERHARDSTEIN & BRANCH Co. LPA. Jennifer practices civil rights litigation in the areas of race, sex, disability,
and sexual orientation discrimination, prisoner civil rights, and reproductive rights.
Jennifer’s litigation experience includes bench trials, jury trials, and administrative hearings in state and
federal court, as well as arguing appeals in the Ohio Court of Appeals, Ohio Supreme Court, and Sixth U.S.
Circuit Court of Appeals.
Mike Bailey
Chief, Division of Soil and Water Resources
Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR)
Mike has been with ODNR since 2012. In his role as Chief of the Division of Soil and Water
Resources, he is responsible for providing leadership to the division’s operations, which
encompass areas as diverse as agricultural nutrients and water quality issues, soil and
water conservation districts, water resource issues and dam safety.
Previously, Bailey worked at the Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) in various
capacities. He served as executive director of the Office of Farmland Preservation, where he oversaw the
administration of the Clean Ohio Agricultural Easement Purchase Program, the Ohio Agricultural Easement
Donation Program and the Ohio Agricultural Security Area Program.
Most recently at ODA, Bailey served as the charter executive director of the Ohio Livestock Care Standards
Board. His role involved coordinating all of the legal, legislative, communications and administrative functions
in support of the board’s efforts to lead the nation in creating sound and comprehensive standards of care for
livestock.
Bailey earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in agricultural economics from The Ohio State University. A
combat veteran of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, Bailey currently serves as an intelligence
officer in the United States Army Reserve. He resides with his wife and children on their third-generation
farm in Union County.
Speaker Biographies
Kathryn Hanratty
Co-chair of the League of Women Voters Lake Erie Basin Committee
Kathryn Hanratty is the co-chair of the League of Women Voters Lake Erie Basin Committee.
A long time citizen advocate for a healthy environment, she has a passion for protection of
our water. Kathryn has been a Great Lakes Ambassador for over 10 years. Her past work
with Audubon and the Ohio Environmental Council has earned the awards 'TogetherGreen
Environmental Hero' and 'Environmental Watchdog'. She is a regular contributor of articles
and letters on conservation issues in various publications. A landscape designer and small
business owner, her business focus is environmentally friendly landscaping using native
plants and sustainable design techniques. Kathy believes that being a citizen is both a right and a
responsibility and that it is important to be an advocate for the issues that are important to you.
Erin O’Brien
Chair and Associate Professor of Political Science at University
of Massachusetts Boston and Co-director of the Boston Chapter
of the Scholar Strategy Network
Dr. Erin O’Brien is Chair and Associate Professor of Political Science at University of
Massachusetts Boston as well as co-director of the Boston Chapter of the Scholar Strategy
Network. Her research and teaching interests focus on voting access policymaking in the
United States, the politics of poverty and social welfare policy, and gender in political
participation and representation. Professor O’Brien’s scholarship has been extensively
covered by media outlets including The New York Times, Boston Globe, Dallas Morning News, Houston
Chronicle, Miami Times, MSNBC, NPR, and The Washington Post as well as in heavily monitored Court cases
on voting access.
Professor O’Brien is author of two books, The Politics of Identity: Solidarity Building Among America’s
Working Poor (State University of New York Press) and Diversity in Contemporary American Politics and
Government (Pearson). She is author of numerous book chapters, policy briefs, and commentaries. Her
research articles appear in top peer-reviewed journals including American Journal of Political Science,
Perspectives on Politics, Political Research Quarterly, and Women & Politics. She is past president of the
Southern Political Science Association’s Women’s Caucus and recipient, with her co-author, of the
Sophonisba Breckinridge award for best paper on women in politics.
Dr. O’Brien is a regular political commentator on American politics and public policy for outlets including NPR,
Christian Science Monitor, Real Clear Politics, New England Cable News (NECN), The Boston Globe, Boston
Herald, and SIRIUS Radio’s POTUS channel. She is one of four “MassPoliticsProfs” offering empirical reads on
politics for NPR’s WGBH and served as a lead policy consultant in Marty Walsh’s successful mayoral bid in
Boston. Professor O’Brien has given invited lectures and keynote addresses to academic and practitioner
audiences including Harvard’s Center for American Political Studies and the Malcom Weiner Center for Social
Policy, University of Minnesota’s Humphrey Institute, the Edward M Kennedy Institute, the National
Conference of the League of Women Voters, and audiences in China, Greece, and South Korea.
Professor O’Brien is a proud Buckeye native – born in Columbus, largely raised in the Dayton area, attended
college in Cleveland at John Carroll University, and had her first faculty position in the Political Science
Department at Kent State.
Speaker Biographies
Karen Rainey
AAUW Public Policy Chair & LWV Ohio Volunteer Lobbyist
Karen Rainey joined the LWV Ohio lobby corps following her retirement from state
government in 1998, and currently follows housing and human trafficking issues. She served
on the LWV Ohio board for six years as legislative director; and has also served on the
League boards of Alexandria, VA, the National Capital Area Inter-League Organization, Metro
Columbus, and is a past president of LWV Delaware County. She is currently a MLD coach
for two Ohio Leagues.
Karen was a registered lobbyist for AAUW of Ohio for four years and now serves as the AAUW of Ohio public
policy chair. She is also the legislative officer for the Public Employee Retirees Delaware County chapter, and
its past president.
Karen has a BA from Thiel College, Greenville, PA, and an MPA in Urban Affairs from the University of
Pittsburgh. Her working life was spent in city, county and state government, including stints in urban
planning and community development, administration of job training programs, and coordination of statelocal government relations.
Gary Daniels
Chief Lobbyist, ACLU of Ohio
Gary Daniels is the chief lobbyist of the ACLU of Ohio and works in the ACLU of Ohio
regional office in Columbus, where he has lived since February 2008. Gary has worked for
the ACLU of Ohio for 16+ years, from 1995-2000 and 2003-present. Before becoming chief
lobbyist, he worked for the ACLU of Ohio in the position of litigation coordinator.
Gary works with local and statewide elected and government officials to further the ACLU’s mission. He is a
frequent commentator on civil liberties issues in local, statewide and national print, TV and online media.
During the time he lived in New York City, Gary was the Cuba Travel Project Coordinator for the Center for
Constitutional Rights and later the Media Affairs Coordinator for the National Coalition Against Censorship.
A 1994 graduate of Kent State University, Gary graduated with a bachelor’s degree in political science. He is
originally from Youngstown, Ohio.
Wendy Patton
Project Director, Policy Matters Ohio
Wendy Patton is a project director for Policy Matters Ohio. She has worked in economic
policy and economic development for 30 years - mostly in Ohio - including service for the
Celeste and Strickland Administrations. Her degrees are from Kent State University and the
University of California at Berkeley (master of city planning). She writes about public
finance for Policy Matters Ohio.
Speaker Biographies
Melissa Cropper
Coalition for Public Education Chair & Ohio Federation of Teachers President
Melissa Cropper was elected President of the Ohio Federation of Teachers in February
2012. Cropper hails from Georgetown in southwest Ohio east of Cincinnati where she
served as a library media specialist in the Georgetown Exempted Village Schools for 14
years.
She brings a strong history of leadership to the OFT having served as president of the
Georgetown Federation of Teachers, as a member of the OFT Executive Committee, and as
Chair of the OFT Retirement Committee. She continues to be an active leader in the Ohio Appalachian
Collaborative, a comprehensive approach for transformational change in rural education, as a member of its
Stewardship Team.
At the state level, Cropper serves on the Ohio AFL-CIO's Executive Board and Chairs its Political Committee.
She is Secretary-Treasurer of We Are Ohio, a state coalition of community and labor groups formed to
preserve workers' rights, and chair of the Coalition for Public Education, an advocacy group that fights for
charter and voucher accountability. At the national level, Cropper is an AFT Vice President, a member of the
AFT Teacher Program and Policy Council and Chair of AFT's State Federation Presidents Advisory Committee.
As President of the Ohio Federation of Teachers, Cropper continues to develop collaborative relationships with
leaders and organizations across the state in fulfilling the OFT mission of advocating for issues that affect not
only OFT members but also the children, families, and communities that our members serve. She recently
launched a new program, Leadership OFT (LOFT), to cultivate individual and local leadership skills.
Cropper believes that public employees are the fabric of our communities. OFT members, ranging from
teachers to bus drivers to college professors to children services employees, and many others make a
difference in the lives of the children and families they serve every day. As president, her focus is on
supporting and empowering OFT members by carrying out their vision and placing an important emphasis on
increasing member voice.
Darold Johnson
Director of Legislation and Political Action, Ohio Federation of Teachers
Darold works for the Ohio Federation of Teachers (OFT) where he is the Director of
Legislation and Political Action. Responsible for developing organizations recommended
legislative agenda and monitoring state and federal policy affecting OFT members in K-12,
higher education, public sector and overall labor issues.
Darold also was the Interim Director of the Children’s Defense Fund local DC project Office
and CDF’s Deputy Director, National Program and Policy Department. Darold began his
career as the founding executive director of Big Brother/Big Sisters of Delaware County, Ohio
He has a Masters in Public Administration, the American University, awarded a two-year Leadership
Fellowship and a B.A. in Politics and Government, Ohio Wesleyan University, Delaware, OH.
Prior to coming to OFT, Darold was the Director Southeast Policy and Leadership Program for the Center for
Policy Alternatives, in Washington, DC responsible for developing policy and leadership programs.
Thank you to our Donors!
The League of Women Voters of Ohio and Education Fund wish to thank all
the individuals who have thus far donated to our 2015 Annual Campaign.
Your generous support helps us provide critical voter services, state
advocacy, support for local Leagues, and year-round programming.
Elizabeth Aldrich
Jo Ellen Armstrong
Theodora S. Artz
LWV of Ashtabula
Barbara Barna
Barbara Bayless
Nancy Beja
Maribel Beyler
Benjamin Blaney
Bonnie Jean Bolsen
Betty Bowers
Nancy & Robert Brown
Kirsten Burkey
Maryjane Cariens
Dorothy Cibula
Esther Connors
Sallie D. Cook
Theresa H. Crabbs
Dale Craig
Emiko Custer
Nancy Dawley
Janet DeLong
Dorothy B. Dick
Zita Divis
Beverly A. Dorson
Gifford Doxsee
Christine Driver
Jean L. Duston
Pearl K. Edelstein
Alice Edwards
Lillian Emmons
Alice Faryna
Meg Flack
Elizabeth Ford
Constance Freundlich
Jane Fryman
Carol Ganzel
Mary Lou Gault
Jean Gianelos
Steven Gordon
Robert Gorman
Pamela Grandon
Corlis J. Green
Erica Greer
Lois Gross
Dorothea Hartin Barker
Kathryn Helmuth
Brenda Hill
Mary Ellen Hopkins
Carol S. Jacobs
Chloma Jarrett
Penelope Jeffrey
Susan Kaeser
Cassandra Talerico Kaplin
Nancy Kelley
Cynthia Kelley
Sallie Killian
Carolyn Kneisly
Melodee Kornacker
Patricia Larson
Donald Lateiner & Marianne Gabel
Joan Lawrence
Nancy Lewkowicz
Dorothy Lockspeiser
Carol Lowenthal
Eleonora Marovitz
Brenda Maurer
Marilyn C. McLaughlin
Elaine McLean
Johanna Meara
Marion L. Mills
Amy Mitch
Barbara Moll
Claire Moore
Nancy Moss
Marlene Muse
Darlene Norman
Ronda Pauley
Marilyn Paulsen
Frances Pepper
John Pesuit, Jr.
Edwin R. & Frances Phillips
Jean Priest
Gail A. Pytel
Eileen M. Rehg
Alison Scott Ricker
Mary Lou Riday
Jean Romans
Gretchen Roose
Laurel Schauer Rowen
Lillian Sagstetter
Tom Sakmyster
Edith Samuels
Deborah A. Schmieding
Carolyn Schoenstein
Kathryn C. Schwartz
Richard & Jean Seasholtz
Kathryn Shahani
Marilyn Shearer
Dean Sheldon, Jr.
Pat Simons
Barbara Sones
Paul Spierling
Katherine Stealey
Carolyn Sugiuchi
Helga C. Susemihl
Karin P. Swedenborg
Roslyn Talerico
Thomas Thompson
Linda Tobin
Nancy Treichler
Mary Louise Van Dyke
Swanhild Voneida
Mary Warren
Lois Whealey
Belinda Wing
Diana Wise
Charles Wolfe
Dan & Carol Young
Louanne C. Zipfel
The League of Women Voters of Ohio / Education Fund also wishes to thank the
many donors who wished to remain anonymous for their generous support.
Political Fix:
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How Do We Gitics
American Pol ?
Back on Track
The view that
something
is amiss in Am
government erican
is now widely
shared.
Want to join the discussion?
Participate in a forum through National Issues Forums
Institute by contacting William V. Muse, NIFI President
at
Attend LWVO's 61st State Convention!
1920 to 2015: Celebrating 95 years of
Empowering Voters and Better Government
WHEN: May 15-17, 2015 (Friday-Sunday)
WHERE: Downtown Cincinnati at the Hyatt Regency
151 West Fifth Street, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202
Online registration is open.
Take advantage of the Early Bird Discount if you register before April 15.
Visit the LWVO website at www.lwvohio.org or call the state office
at 614-469-1505 for registration and hotel information.
Looking forward to seeing you in May!
Notes
Notes
Notes
Notes
League of Women Voters of Ohio
17 South High Street, Suite 650, Columbus, Ohio 43215
Phone: (614) 469-1505
Fax: (614) 469-7918
www.lwvohio.org
Facebook.com/lwvohio
Twitter.com/lwvohio