Vote YES on Issue #25 - Corporations are not people & money is not equal to speech

Jeff Mihalich November 1, 2012 at 02:13 pm

Issue 25 is a misappropriation of city resources and limit free speech.
Vote NO on Issue 25 http://brecksvillefreespeech.info

Rose Petsche November 1, 2012 at 08:00 pm

no Jeff...wrong. A misappropriation of city funds would be the $15,000 price tag it cost to oppose the citizens initiative.

Ed Kizys November 1, 2012 at 08:04 pm

A 90 minute hearing and 5 postage stamps every 2 years is a miniscule stretch on Brecksville's resources. The mayor and city council spent more on fighting the Issue 25 ballot initiative than the hearing and postage will cost the city in the 10 year span of the ordinance.
The citizens of Brecksville are an intelligent group. The overreach of the Citizens United ruling is spilling out of our televisions and mailboxes. International corporations with foreign leadership have been given an anonymous path into our democratic process. Small businesses are outflanked. Issue 25 gives voters an opportunity to speak out about these ills with a larger voice via the democratic process. "The cure for the ills of democracy is more democracy." - Alfred E. Smith

Jeff Mihalich November 1, 2012 at 09:07 pm

Trying to leverage local governments to take away the freedom of it's citizens is misappropriation. In 10 years the citizens of this community will still be pushing your political agenda.
Your associations with Occupy Wall Street, Code Pink, The Green Party (to name a few) means the $15,000 will be cheap compared with the flood of initiatives to come. Like Berkley CA, Brecksville will have the business of the community pushed aside for every cause your group wishes to promote. VOTE NO ON ISSUE 25!

Jeff Mihalich November 1, 2012 at 09:28 pm

Thank you for telling us your are an intelligent group, and also costing out this process at just under $5, this proves you are smart.
Which international corporate leaders are usurping our political process, please name one? In fact you are opposed to donations to conservative groups only. The television and internet Ads from Barak Obama's campaign dwarf all of the money spent by all of the groups you are fighting combined. Will you limit all donations? His campaign has collected millions from overseas donors, will you also fight that? Obama's campaign has collected over $1 Billion in donations with heavy support from Unions with forced membership. Would you also limit these funds. In no way does this proposal offer us "more democracy", but it certainly hands control of free speech to the special interest groups that have large lobbies in government such as environmental groups and public sector unions. Vote NO on ISSUE 25

Rose Petsche November 1, 2012 at 09:33 pm

Jeff, try as you might to turn this into a partisan issue...its "no go". Ed Kizy's post says it all. You have not given any reasonable rationale for your position other than to throw verbal bombs. Try and be constructive here. All the evidence points to a demise of our individual voices. The easiest way for undisclosed money to affect our citizenry is at the local and state levels. Also, judicial races absolutely will be affected by the huge amounts of money in our political system. So what is the big money thinking? "Hey, let's buy these judicial races or let's buy the local council members or let's buy the state legislature to be assured that our agenda is enacted." The decisions will not be made on what's best for the American people. They will be made on what's best for the big moneyed interests. Brecksville Citizens for Transparent Politics is working to reinstate the right of congress & state legislatures to be able to REGULATE the way money is infused into our political process. Why is that so bad?
One last note on this issue. We asked for signatures on our citizens petition without regard to party identity. We had a tremendous response to this petition. Hopefully, it will carry through and bring Issue #25 to victory. Really, you're our opposition? sheesh VOTE YES ON ISSUE #25

Jeff Mihalich November 2, 2012 at 01:11 am

Thank you for not making any points but trying to demagogue me and these evil unknown entities. You are the the opposition to Free Speech. Please name ONE SINGLE evil Corporation taking away your right to speak, you are doing it now.
People promoting tyranny always do two things, claim to be helping the citizens and find a group to demagogue. This is what Hamilton warned us about in the first Federalist paper. (Please read it, unlike your group I will not misquote a found father). Businesses and groups will be silenced and their 1st Amendment rights taken away by your efforts. I am bringing some light to your agenda, not throwing "verbal bombs". You are the head of the Broadview Heights Democrat club, and are pushing an anti-business agenda, not a bomb, the truth. Ed's comments are pointless and prove nothing about the validity of your claims. Please stop attacking the 1st amendment, demonizing American business and political groups you disagree with. How is your cause more nobel than that of the job creators and innovators that help make America great. Are we to believe you are just "more intelligent" and more nobel than anyone else. Anyone reading this answer one question, who wants to limit free speech is asking to protecting them? VOTE NO ON ISSUE 25. http://brecksvillefreespeech.info

Ed Kizys November 2, 2012 at 02:46 am

Mr. Mihalich's reply conflates corporations with citizens. Corporations and unions are not citizens. Issue 25 has nothing to do with the rights of citizens.
The organizations Mr. Mihalich names have nothing to do with Issue 25, and neither does Berkeley California. Government is of the people, by the people and for the people. We, the citizens of our communities, via the laws as written, have a right to create legislation that a majority of voters approve. If the registered voters of Brecksville don't want something on the ballot, they shouldn't sign the petition. Over 1,000 registered Brecksville voters wanted this Issue on the ballot. That's democracy in action.

Ed Kizys November 2, 2012 at 03:26 am

The combination of the Citizens United ruling with other legal precendents, have made it possible for corporations to donate unlimited amounts of money anonymously via PACs and SuperPACS. This is a well known problem and applies to groups of all political persuasions. Issue 25 has no political focus and would affect donations to all groups.
Is it unreasonable to suspect that foreign CEOs of international corporations with US subsidiaries have an influence in the political spending of the subsidiary? Is that acceptable? Issue 25 is non-partisan. It applies to all corporations and unions (which are corporations). Any impact to presidential elections would apply to all candidates from any and all parties. I complimented all the citizens of Brecksville. Mr. Mihalich clearly shows his partisan stripes and his partisanship clouds the basic issue. I urge the clear thinking, intelligent voters of Brecksville to vote for Issue 25 and tell Columbus and Washington that big money and politics need to be addressed.

Ed Kizys November 2, 2012 at 03:46 am

Mr. Mihalich is distorting a simple, common sense issue into a smorgasbord of inaccuracies. Issue 25 addresses the political spending of corporations. That's it.
If businesses like Exxon Mobil or Brecksville Donuts want to take out full page ads in the Plain Dealer, or send a letter to every member of Congress, they can do it. Issue 25 has no impact. Polls show 85% of Americans want action to correct Citizens United. Your Yes vote on Issue 25 will make our representatives in Columbus and Washington aware that Breckville wants action.

Jeff Mihalich November 2, 2012 at 12:21 pm

Nothing in my statements are inaccurate, but your 85% certainly is. Not a single conservative group supports your efforts.
If nothing will change why the effort? There is nothing to correct in allowing free speech. How about you write Congress or the the state legislature rather than forcing this on my Mayor and City Council who OPPOSE THIS EFFORT. VOTE NO ON ISSUE 25

Rose Petsche November 2, 2012 at 12:54 pm

Here's the bottom line. We want a return to the way it was before the 2010 Citizens United decision. Congress and the states should to be able to implement common sense regulations on the amount of money that flows into our democratic process. The Citizens United decision is one of the worst examples of judicial activism in the history of the Supreme Court. 100+ years of campaign finance reform was thrown out in favor of unlimited, undisclosed campaign contributions. This decision allows those with the most money to have the most speech. We are all affected by this decision.
I would refer those interested to read Justice Stevens dissent in the 2010 Citizens United decision. VOTE YES ON 25

Jeff Mihalich November 2, 2012 at 01:51 pm

The bottom line is you want to put the ability for the billions in union dollars to go unanswered. This proposed amendment also give additional power to the congress to solidify power in Washington, this was not activism it was freedom. Read the MAJORITY opinion.
Keep the control of our local government to our elected officials Dont throw out 225 years of Constitutional process. Vote NO on ISSUE 25.

Rose Petsche November 2, 2012 at 04:47 pm

Well, Jeff...we're on opposite sides of this. We hope the saner voices will prevail. That's what democracy is all about. I have no more interest in discussing this issue with you We will know the verdict in a few days.
VOTE YES ON #25 - vote for the people to have an equal voice in our political process

Brian Scott November 2, 2012 at 05:07 pm

My father who was a moderate, as I, explained this to me about politics. You'll find ideologue's and if your lucky, some people with some common sense. He explained to me how to differentiate between the two. You give each a shovel and ask them to start digging. The common sensed one will dig until he or she gets to where they won't be able to crawl out of the hole they have dug, and stops.The ideologue calls up for another shovel. Who hasn't been deluged with stuffed mailboxes and never ending commercials 5 fold since the CU decision? And you believe that it doesn't effect the end result? That these corporations/special interests/unions would throw tens of millions of dollars at "advertising" if it didn't? If thats the case, then we would have commercial free media aka PBS and near empty mailboxes. And I believe that you meant Mayor Hruby is "our" mayor (inclusive) and not "my" Mayor in your previous post, constitutionally speaking of course. My take on this is you need another shovel.

Ed Kizys November 2, 2012 at 07:01 pm

Mr. Mihalich, I will leave this discussion with one quote from Barry Goldwater, Republican Senator of Arizona and a conservative icon who manifested his ideology with common sense. In discussions on campaign finance reform in 1983, he said:
"[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.