Start:
Sat, 11/05/2005 - 9:00am

Local NYC activists from The Saloon are organizing a trip to Ohio from Nov. 5 to Wednesday Nov. 9 to get out the vote for important ballot proposals to reform Ohio. (Local DFA Groups in Ohio support Reform Ohio Now.)

Here's a message from the Saloon Steering Committee:

A year ago, many of us-- some for the first time-- contributed money, time and energy to try to elect John Kerry as President. The disappointment was great, but we've remained active and haven't given up hope. Now it's time to get back on the road.

The fight for the White House in 2008 starts this year – and the battleground is Ohio.

The most significant election reform in the country this year is two weeks away –- it's called Reform Ohio Now (RON). We're going to go help them and we invite you to join us. ("We" is a coalition of NYC progressive groups led by The Saloon, including ACT-NY, Democracy For NYC, DL21C, Downtown For Democracy, Drinking Liberally, NDN, and New Democratic Majority. )

RON is poised to pass four important constitutional amendments that will reform Ohio's electoral system, making it clean and fair, taking control of the elections out of the hands of partisans, and inspiring a wave of reform across the nation in a more progressive direction.

If these initiatives are passed, Democrats stand to gain 3-6 House seats in 2006, and we'll face a fair fight in the 2008 Presidential Election. (More details about Reform Ohio Now below.)

So here's the plan:

We will travel to Columbus, OH by van on Saturday November 5 and spend Sunday through Election Day working with Reform Ohio Now organizers getting out the vote for these key ballot issues. We'll return on Wednesday November 9 after what we hope will be a triumphant Election night party!

WHEN/WHERE: Depart Saturday 11/4 @ 9AM from the TriBeCa Grand Hotel (2 Avenue of the Americas between White & Walker). We'll drive to Columbus, OH and return to NYC on Wednesday 11/9 by 9PM.

COST: $100 R/T van trip, plus $125/night motel room. We're reserving a block of motel rooms there, you'll pay at the motel when we arrive. All volunteers are responsible for meal costs.

We expect a lot of hard work and a lot of fun. This year, though, we think the victory party will be a bit happier!

To sign up to join us or for more information, please e-mail us at Thesaloon –at- thesaloon.org (replace –at- with @).

Thanks,
The Saloon Steering Committee
(Jed Alpert, Nicholas Butterworth, Carol Irving, Michael Kovnat, Jesse Peretz, David Sampliner, and Meema Spadola)

Briefly, the Reform Ohio Now initiatives would:

- Create a new bipartisan Election Oversight committee, taking that function away from the Secretary of State's office
- Institute new campaign finance reforms
- Provide for univeral, no-fault absentee balloting
- Create a new Redistricting committee, taking that function away from the Legislature
(www.reformohionow.org has full details)

More info about The Saloon at: www.thesaloon.org