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Ohio is our seventh largest state. Our seven smallest states have 14 Senators. Ohio has 2 – one Republican and one Democrat. Ohio also has had 16 Members of Congress – 13 Republicans and 3 Democrats based on a gerrymander in favor of Republicans. In 2020, Ohio will have 15 Members of Congress.
Five times, the State Supreme Court has found that redistricting proposals submitted to them by the legislature are inconsistent with the state constitution. The May 3 primary was based on the legislature’s third proposal. The likelihood of change is slim. The Court explains that it does not have the authority to revise Ohio’s districts as other state Supreme Courts have done.
US Senate
Democratic Congressman Tim Ryan (Political Note #392) v Author and Trump Nominee JD Vance
Constitutional Office Contests for 2022
Governor
Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley (Political Note #465) vs Republican Governor Mike DeWine
Secretary of State
City Councilor Chelsea Clark (Political Note #471) is the Democratic challenger for incumbent Republican Frank LaRose.
Attorney General
State Rep Jeff Crossman is the Democratic challenger for incumbent Republican Dave Yost.
Some Congressional races
OH 01 R+3 City Councilor Greg Landsman (Political Note #452) v Inc Steve Chabot
OH 13 R+3 State Rep Emilia Sykes (Political Note #460) v Attorney, former beauty queen, and Trump acolyte Madison Gesiotto Gilbert
OH 09 R+8 Incumbent Marcy Kaptur (Political Note #430) v AF Vet, Security Professional, and QAnon follower JR Majewski
OH 10 R+9 Activist David Esrati v Incumbent Mike Turner
State Supreme Court Races (Political Note #444)
For Chief Justice
Democratic Associate Justice Jennifer Brewer v Republican Associate Justice Sharon Kennedy
For Associate Justices
Democratic Appeals Court Judge Marilyn Zayas v Republican Associate Justice Pat DeWine
Democratic Common Pleas Court Judge Terri Jamison v Republican Associate Justice Patrick Fischer
June 7th, 2022 Political Note #471 Chelsea Clark Ohio Secretary of State
2022 General Election
Chelsea Clark is prepared to challenge the Republican incumbent Frank LaRose, who is completing his first term as Ohio’s Secretary of State. In 2018, LaRose was a right wing, anti-abortion state Senator who won election by 3.7 points, pretty much the same as the rest of the ticket. Mike DeWine was elected Governor by 3.7 points. Dave Yost was elected Attorney General by 4.4 points.
Chelsea Clark, a 36-year old city councilor in Forest Park, Ohio does not have a lot to make up to defeat LaRose. Her family has been farmers for generations. Tobacco farms initially, now they raise Angus cattle. She grew up and went to high school Elida, Ohio — a 95% white town of 2,000 people in northwest, Ohio. Chelsea Clark went south to college, Miami University. Not the one in Florida. Two hours south, she went to Miami University of Ohio where she majored in business and political science. She settled in Forest Park – a distinctive, planned community near Cincinnati in the southwest corner of the state.
Forest Park was created in 1956 by two developers, Marvin Warner and Joseph Kanter who bought 3,400 acres north of Cincinnati that had been set aside in the 1930s by FDR’s Resettlement Administration to relocate low income urban and rural families. The plan did not work and the concept was abandoned in 1949. The Warner and Kanter plan worked. They opened an area for purchase in 1956, the village was incorporated in 1961 with a population of 5,000, and Forest Park became a city which declared itself an “open city” that welcomed citizens regardless of race, creed, or national origin. (Contrast that to the Levittowns which excluded Blacks in communities developed as suburbs in the northeast.).
By 2010, Forest Park was a small middle-class city of almost 20,000 people with a history of encouraging diversity. That history brought African Americans who had become half of the population in 2000 and nearly two-thirds of the population in 2010.
Chelsea Clark started a business in the prosperous suburb of Blue Ash, Ohio. The business, Cincy STEM lab, offers programs for kids when school is out. The programs are focused on science, technology, engineering, agriculture and math at events that range from summer camps to birthday parties.
Moving on from her roles on the city council, vice chair of the city’s economic development commission, and her membership on the Board of the Southwest Ohio Regional Transportation Board, she announced for Secretary of State. She said she was running because of politicians like Frank LaRose who have “embraced MAGA lies,” pushed voter suppression and massive purges from the voter rolls.
The Ohio Elections Commission, connected to the Secretary of State’s office, fined Chelsea Clark for naming her committee Chelsea for Ohio when committee’s must include the candidate’s last name. They fined her again for accepting a donation before her committee had been formed legally, with its proper name. The Commission added that she had previously been fined for late campaign finance reports. Immediately after the Commission Report, almost as if he had foreknowledge of what was in the report, Larose demonstrated the kind of politician he is. He began criticized the minor errors her in her campaign.
Chelsea Clark responded. She noted that LaRose’s work was imperfect. His election scheduling announcements included different dates on the same page for a special election. More focused on his real inadequacy, she began calling him the Secretary of Suppression.
There is something to be said for a Democrat to fight the Republicans with their kind of language. Substantive proposals are more important. Chelsea Clark developed proposals. If elected, she would expand early voting from 28 days to 35. She would restore Ohio’s “Golden Week” eliminated by Republicans 8 years ago. During the “Golden Week” voters could register to vote and cast an absentee ballot on the same day. She would also reverse LaRose’s policy regarding drop boxes for absentee ballots. He allowed drop boxes only on the property of county boards of election.
Chelsea Clark would return to providing secure drop boxes for absentee ballots at various spots in each county. Instead of using a city example for this, she points to how inconvenient it is for farmers to have to travel for miles to the county seat to use a drop box for an absentee ballot. Republicans, she says, are attacking free and open elections and undoing democracy with extreme gerrymandering and voter suppression.
You can just hear her say “Humph” – easy to vote and hard to cheat? Republicans are making it hard to vote and easy for them to cheat. One Ohio commentator said that “Chelsea Clark is no dummy.” She knows that it will be tough to win this election. She is, nevertheless, accustomed to doing multiple hard things. A city council member, a business owner, and a mom, she will travel the state to places that don’t know her. She will get her name out. “Nobody said it would be easy,” she added. “Pure unadulterated moxie,” said the commentator.
Reward that moxie. Chelsea Clark is joining a solid Democratic team running statewide – Tim Ryan for Senate, Nan Whaley for Governor and now Chelsea Clark for Secretary of State. Help Chelsea Clark get enough resources to carry on her fight. If you would rather mail a check, they will cash it even if you make it out to Chelsea for Ohio.
Candidates for Attorney General and Secretary of State particularly worth noting
Democratic Attorney General candidates
Arizona Kris Mayes (Political Note #470)
Arkansas Litigator Jesse Joe Gibson
Georgia State Senator Jen Jordan (Political Note #441)
Idaho Attorney and national health figure Steven Scanlin
Kansas Attorney Chris Mann (Political Note #425)
Michigan Incumbent Dana Nessel (Political Note #415)
Minnesota Incumbent Keith Ellison (Political Note #442)
Nevada Incumbent Aaron Ford (Political Note #360)
New Mexico County DA Raul Torrez
Ohio Ex City Counselor Jeff Crossman
Texas Attorney Rochelle Garza
Wisconsin Incumbent Josh Kaul (Political Note #367)
Secretary of State candidates
Arizona Reginald Boulding (Political Note #437)
Georgia State Rep Bee Nguyen (Political Note #409)
Michigan Incumbent Jocelyn Benson (Political Note #435)
Minnesota Incumbent Steve Simon
Nevada Attorney and ex Boxing Commissioner Cisco Aguilar (Political Note #436)
New Mexico Incumbent Maggie Toulouse Oliver
Ohio City Counselor Chelsea Clark
CFO/State Treasurer/Comptroller
Florida Ex State Rep Adam Hattersley (Political Note #299)
Minnesota Incumbent Julie Blaha
Lt. Governor
Texas Ex CFO and schools advocate Democrat Mike Collier
New York Incumbent Antonio Delgado
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