note: spelling correction --> divided

Hi Rose,

I only wish this was not a partisan issue. I think it is. What about unions spending their members money on elections? That's not right either. Many union households vote Republican. Whey should they finance someone they don't want to represent them?

No, Citizens United may not be perfect, but it is certainly better than what you are calling for.

Vote NO on Issue 25
This is a Free speech issue, don't allow this far left group to Constitutionalize limits on free speech.

Mayor Hruby and City Council are voting NO on Issue 25 so should you.

We are calling for the ability of congress & the states, the elected representatives of the people, to regulate All political money on a reasonable basis. With regards to people in corporations or unions, I would guess each individual can act as they see fit. People work in corporations and people work in unions, we cannot regulate peoples behavior. With regard to union dues, that would be regulated too. As I said, common sense regulation of corporations, unions, PACS & Super-pacs. This is a non partisan issue.

Mayor Hruby & city council say this is not within the city's charter. The Ohio Supreme Court of Ohio has ruled and the Secretary of State, John Husted, has ruled that this is with in the city's charter. A town hall meeting and a few stamps certainly can be done by our City.

Anyone who is against the whole sale purchasing of our democracy buy undisclosed, unaccounted for special interest groups (no matter who they represent) can sense the "stink" emanating from this election. Things will only get worse unless We The People, demand better.

VOTE YES on ISSUE #25

Vote NO On Issue 25, leave our local government out of their attempt to Constitutionalize limits on free speech.

This will FORCE our local government to petition the federal government for 10 years, even if the citizens and elected officials do not want it.

The only "stink" eminiating is from the group backing this issue, who is supported by far-left groups like Occupy Wall Street, Code Pink and many anti-business, anti-jobs groups.

Vote No on Issue 25

Far left, far right or somewhere in between, the current state of our political process is broken. It's mighty arrogant of you, Mr Jeff Mihalich, to intuit anything about the composition of Brecksville Citizens for Transparent Politics. Your characterization of our group as "far left" is such an unintelligent thing to say. It indicates, to me, that you are part of the problem in this country. Trying to pigeonhole people into groups so we can hate each other and therefore not "listen" to each other.

It’s my hope that the citizens of Brecksville, Ohio will vote to send a message to our elected state & federal representatives that the current state of our politics is unacceptable. We cannot allow our democracy to be captured wholesale by special interest groups. Fact: 67% of all Super-pac, undisclosed, money came from just 209 donors who gave over $500,000 each.

We have the opportunity to join with Newburg Hts and other communities across our state and raise our voices in protest over this issue.

VOTE YES ON ISSUE #25

Something to listen to between now and election day…

"End Corporate Rule: Move To Amend" with David Cobb. Democracy; Sovereignty; Legal Personhood; Corporation; Move To Amend's proposed 28th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States which would abolish in its entirety the idea that a corporation has constitutional rights, and overturn the idea that money equals speech.
http://www.kpfa.org/archive/id/85713

Ask yourself this one question when you vote on Issue 25 . Come the first Tuesdays in November, do we the people , want to hold an election or an auction? Your answer should help guide your vote.

No one cares about buying your vote, Jeff. It's only the votes of elected officials that are the target.

John Paul Stevens, dissenting in Citizens United: “… corporations have no consciences, no beliefs, no feelings, no thoughts, no desires. Corporations help structure and facilitate the activities of human beings…But they are not themselves members of “We the People” by whom and for whom our Constitution was established"

Apparently the proponents of Issue 25 don’t have a problem with union bosses using unlimited amounts of their membership’s dues to pay for political ads without a majority vote of their members

It seems to me that Issue 25 is nothing more than an attempt to silence business owners and give unions a monopoly on funding political ads. If not, why doesn't the ballot language also reference union organizations?

Hi Kim, The ballot language was written by the Board of Elections. The actual ordinance does include the following: corporations, unions, pacs & super-pacs. I hope this addresses your concern.

Unfortunately there is no guarantee anywhere in this issue that unions and corporations will receive equal treatment. If you limit corporations and do not limit unions, nothing has been resolved. More importantly, does anyone really want the government to start controlling any aspect of political free speech? Similarly, when unions force their members into the streets to support issues and candidates, how will that be resolved? No one enjoys the ugliness of the current campaign. I would caution that we do not want to make a bad situation worse. How do the union supporters feel about this possible limit on their campaign support?

What is with all you people and unions? How thick are you? The ordinance covers all entities. It's simple. You want to continue to cast confusion and doubt but it's very clear. I'll say it very s-l-o-w-l-y ---> The actual ordinance does include the following: corporations, unions, pacs & super-pacs. Nowhere does it carve out anything special for one particular entity. So, give it up. ;>

I would like to recmmend a NO vote on issue 25. Citizens United acts as a counter balance to the large sums of money unions drop on elections. Further, this should not be on a local ballot. This is something the petitoners should address on the federal level.

Grassroots efforts start locally and expand to state and federal levels. Issue 25 is Brecksville's opportunity to make a statement about the decline of our election process and the overbearing influence on politicians by political contributions. Only human beings should get their rights from the Constitution. Corporations, unions and non-profits should be defined via legislation and the democratic process. Citizens United gave constitutional rights to non-persons and eliminated the ability of state and federal legislatures to regulate campaign financing.

Barry Goldwater, Republican Senator of Arizona and a conservative icon said the following during discussions on campaign finance reform in 1983:

"[O]ur nation is facing a crisis of liberty if we do not control campaign expenditures. We must prove that elective office is not for sale. We must convince the public that elected officials are what James Madison intended us to be, agents of the sovereign people, not the hired hands of rich givers, or what Madison called factions."

Vote for Issue 25. Send Goldwater's message to Washington and Columbus with your vote.

Dave, just to clarify. We had no influence on the ballot language. The actual ordinance itself does include corporations, unions, pacs & super-pacs.