Want to put a big lump of coal in John Kasich's stocking on Christmas Eve? Then join the fight for Democracy and Fairness Today!

Dear Friend and Fellow Democrat:

Take a minute and look up the word “Gerrymander” in the dictionary and you'll find a picture of the new Congressional districts cooked up by Governor Kasich and his GOP cohorts in the General Assembly. Not only are the new districts ridiculous—they are an outright attack on democracy and our Democratic Party.

Apparently Kasich and his buddies didn't learn anything from their attempt to jam Senate Bill 5 down Ohioans' throats. They should have known that their gerrymandered map would spark the same type of rebellion that is on the verge of turning back the Republican attack on working families.

It's done exactly that.

When Governor Strickland, ODP Chair Chris Redfern, and Senator Sherrod Brown saw the ugly new map which, among its many ridiculous features, includes a district so long and contorted that it would force Marcy Kaptur from Toledo and Dennis Kucinich from Cleveland to run against each other, they immediately decided to start a referendum campaign to repeal the map.

That campaign is now underway, but time is short. In order to place the issue on the ballot so the people of Ohio can trash the map, we must collect and submit 240,000 valid signatures by December 24th. In order to build momentum, we’ve set a goal of collecting the first 100,000 names by November 9.

That's a heck of challenge, but with your help it can be done. Here's how.

Each petition contains 70 signatures. I, along with Governor Strickland, Senator Brown, ODP Chair Redfern and other leading Democrats are asking that you help in one of two ways:

Either write a check for $70 which will cover the cost of a having a paid circulator gather the signatures,

Or

Take out a petition and gather the names yourself. In order to make sure you have enough valid signatures, you’ll need to collect about 120 names.

Either way, when our petition drive succeeds—and it will—we'll be handing Mr. Kasich a Christmas gift he really doesn't want: another taste of Democracy served up by Ohio Democrats.

To sponsor a petition, please send your check for $70 to the Mahoning County Democratic Party and note on the memo line that you're contributing to the petition drive. To obtain a petition simply (insert whatever they have to do to obtain a petition.)

Thanks in advance for your help, and remember to VOTE NO on Issue 1, 2, and 3.

David J. Betras
Chairman
Mahoning County Democratic Party