Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Senator Nina Turner - ENewsletter September 2010
Senator Nina Turner - ENewsletter September 2010
I encourage you to exercise your right to vote. The primary election
for Cuyahoga County Executive and County Council is on Tuesday,
September 7. Your vote is important, don't forget to use it.
CONTACT SENATOR TURNER
Write: The Ohio Statehouse, Senate Annex Staff:
1 Capitol Square, Room 226 Olga M. Hesch, Legislative Aide
Columbus, Ohio 43215 Adam Warren, Administrative Assistant
Sydney Schmitt, Office Page
Phone: (614) 466‐4583
Fax: (614) 644‐6164
E‐mail: SenatorTurner@maild.sen.state.oh.us Toll Free : 1‐800‐282‐0253
Following Through on County Reform
by Senator Nina Turner
Our nation’s founders held that when a government no longer champions the rights, well‐being, and
prosperity of the governed – from whom its power is derived – they have the right and the responsibil‐
ity to abolish it and start anew; forming a system that better fulfills their needs and ambitions. When
the citizens of Cuyahoga County decided to do just that and change the system under which our gov‐
ernment operates, they sent a resounding message to those in power that the status quo was no longer
acceptable. What preceded it in the months leading up to the May 2009 vote was truly a demonstra‐
tion of democracy in action. The citizens of our county came out in droves to voice their opinion at
town hall meetings, discussions with coworkers, and debates amongst friends, and vetted competing
ideas on the airwaves, in the blogosphere, and in print. The two sides of the Cuyahoga River stood up
and, for reasons as diverse as ourselves, met in the middle and chose change.
With the choice of change, the citizens of Cuyahoga County began building bridges across the many di‐
visions that have long existed among us. White, black, men, women, city, and suburb decided to cast
their lot in with one another and voted to dramatically alter the direction which our county would
move in the future. In doing so we established that we are all in this together and that we all bear the
responsibility to remain invested in our cause. The difficult part about change, however, is not tearing
down the old but building the new.
As our redesigned county government begins to take shape, its two central goals will be to fulfill our
community’s needs and facilitate its ambitions, through the robust and efficient provision of health and
human services and by spurring the economic development of our region. These two pursuits are nei‐
ther mutually exclusive nor causal, instead possessing a symbiotic nature; as one is strengthened the
other is also. As we invest in technology, infrastructure, and human capital we will invigorate our econ‐
omy, growing the economic pie and our tax base along with it, allowing us to reinvest in the least fortu‐
nate among us. As our prosperity allows us to pull up our disadvantaged sisters and brothers, they will
be able to contribute more, further deepening and broadening the vitality of our region.
The formation of a new county government is an occasion to reflect, as a region, upon the direction
from which we have come and in which we are headed, and an opportunity to leave division behind
and continue building the bridges that we set out to last May. To accomplish our mission, and to make
reform real, will require the investment of the energy, time, and thought power of all our county’s citi‐
zens, and will demand a concerted effort to translate the hope and excitement of last year’s vote into
action. Democracy is not a spectator sport; a citizenry who exercises their ability to abolish their old
government has the responsibility to participate in the new one to ensure that it is, indeed, better than
the last.
Government reform is yet another wave in the sea change that will return economic viability, educa‐
tional opportunity, and social equity to Cuyahoga County. In the coming months and years, I encourage
you to remain involved in this process by exercising your right to vote and your responsibility to remain
invested in our community’s future. Together we decided that we wanted something new, now to‐
gether we must build it.
State Senator Nina Turner on YouTube
Sentencing Reform News Conference
August 17, 2010
Ohio in Focus
August, 2010
Watch more Ohio Senate Democratic Caucus videos at: http://www.youtube.com/user/OhioSenateDemocrats
SB 273: To generally authorize municipal corporations and SB 62:“...prohibit the Division of Liquor Control from issu‐
other political subdivisions to enter into agreements to ing a retail liquor permit or entering into an agency liquor
perform services for one another. contract if the permit location or liquor agency store is
SB 256: To establish the Career Training Workforce Devel‐ proposed to be located within five hundred feet from a
opment Grant Program and to allocate a portion of casino school, church, library, public playground, or township
license fees to finance the program. (1st Hearing) park.” (1st Hearing)
SB 205: To require applicants for the Children's Health SB 32:“...to create a nonrefundable tax credit for individu‐
als who purchase a new hybrid vehicle. “
Insurance Program, Medicaid, Ohio Works First, and Sup‐
plemental Nutrition Assistance Program to provide infor‐ SB 21:“...to create a tax credit for the employment of indi‐
mation about their employers and to require quarterly viduals who have previously been convicted of felonies.”
reports identifying the employers. SB 202: To increase the penalties for certain offenses
SB 122: “...to authorize a board of education of a school when a public utility worker is the victim and to make the
district or governing board of an educational service cen‐ killing of a public utility worker an aggravating circum‐
ter to employ public high school law enforcement officers, stance for the imposition of the death penalty for aggra‐
to provide that public high school law enforcement offi‐ vated murder.
cers are members of the Ohio PERS, to prohibit the imper‐
SB 227: To permit, for a limited time, the abatement of
sonation of a public high school law enforcement officer,
unpaid property taxes, penalties, and interest owed on
and to specify the powers of arrest and citation of public property owned by a municipal corporation that would
high school law enforcement officers.” (1st Hearing) have been tax exempt except for a failure to comply with
SB 102: “...to require the State Board of Education to rec‐ certain tax‐exemption procedures.
ommend standards for dropout programs operated by
school districts.” (Reported out of committee on 2/18/10)
In addition, Senator Turner has co‐sponsored over one
SB 217: To require sex offenders/child‐victim offenders hundred and one pieces of legislation with other mem‐
who register a residence address or verify a registered bers of the General Assembly.
residence address to provide proof of residency at that
address, to require Tier III sex offenders/child‐victim of‐
fenders to verify their registered residence address every Senator Turner serves on four standing committees:
30 days, to revise the criteria for subjecting offenders and
delinquent children to SORN Law community notification, • Highways & Transportation (Ranking Minority Mem‐
to expand SORN Law community notification to also gen‐ ber)
erally apply when offenders or delinquent children verify • Judiciary—Criminal Justice (Ranking Minority Mem‐
their registered residence address, and to generally re‐ ber)
quire a sheriff or designee to confirm by personal observa‐
• State & Local Government & Veterans Affairs
tion a residence address registered or verified by a Tier III
sex offender/child‐victim offender. (1st Hearing) • Insurance, Commerce & Labor
SCR 17:“...to urge the US Postal Service in its review of • Ohio African American Hall of Fame Governing Board
postal operations to ensure that certain post offices lo‐ • Ohio Legislative Commission on the Education &
cated in Cuyahoga County remain open to the pub‐ Preservation of State History
lic.” (2nd Hearing)
• Competitive Workers Compensation Task Force
SB 148:“...to authorize municipal corporations to have a
• Joint Committee on Skill‐Based Gaming
deficit in special funds under certain circumstances.” (1st
Hearing)
SB 74:“...to require the State Criminal Sentencing Commis‐ MEMBER:
sion to study sentencing for drug‐related offenses and to • Ohio Legislative Black Caucus
report its findings and recommendations to the General
Assembly.” (1st Hearing) • College Access and Economic Opportunity Caucus
• Cancer Caucus
Visit the Ohio Senate Democratic Caucus Blog to stay updated on information and events:
http://ohiosenatedems.blogspot.com
Helpful Links
Ohio Senate Schedule | Watch Session | Search for Legislation | Your Senators