Never has it been more important to make your voting voice be heard than with this administration. Every vote matters and can make vast differences in how the future of our country unfolds. If you aren’t registered to vote, then you need to get registered. It is a simple process online that you don’t even have to leave your house over. If you want assistance or looking for information, come out on September 6, 2018 to the MidTown Tech Hive at 6815 Euclid Ave Cleveland, OH 44103. We will have speakers from Voting Matters and All Voting is Local to answer questions, help get you registered, and even facilitate training for you to get others registered.

Your voice doesn’t stop there. There is an ordinance before the City Council that will grant LGBTQ residents of Cuyahoga county protection from being discriminated against for being LGBTQ. There are no regulations in Cleveland to prevent that from happen and we are one of the few states left that do not offer protection status for LGBTQ people. Let your councilperson know that this is unacceptable for you. Below is a form letter and links to web tools that will allow you to send these letters to every member of the city council. @ThinkPlexus gave this information to me. For more info contact them at info@thinkplexus.org.

An efficient way to reach Council is to use this online tool which will send each of the members an email on your behalf.

The online tool contains a generic message that shows your support for these protections. You have the option of including something more personal like where you live and work and why this is important to you, your family, your company, etc. You don’t need to do so, but adding a brief personal statement to explain why you see this ordinance positively impacting our county can be very helpful.

The generic message that will be sent is:

Living in a welcoming and affirming community is important to me. I am proud to live in a county that is seeking to join hundreds of other municipalities in the United States by guaranteeing equal treatment under the law for our LGBTQ residents and visitors.

I believe that if you’re willing to work hard, you should be judged on the quality of your work and not who you are––and that’s what this legislation delivers.

Right now, 20 municipalities in Ohio have some version of this ordinance, including 6 in Cuyahoga County. Unfortunately, many people in Cuyahoga County live in one of those six and work in or visit others, or visa-versa. This creates a patchwork where Cuyahoga County residents can lose their basic rights on their commute. This ordinance solves that problem.

I urge you to vote yes on this important ordinance when you get the opportunity.

If you prefer to send individual emails, here is the list of Council members’ email addresses. You can opt to send each of them an email or one to Dan Brady, Council President at dbrady@cuyahogacounty.us.

#GayTheVote #VoteThemOut #StandUpAndBeCounted