Local Jewish News

Ask for a DEMOCRAT BALLOT and VOTE SHONTEL BROWN  Congressional District 11!

If you are a Democrat and even if you are a Republican, ask for a Democrat Ballot and Vote Shontel Brown

Why should I do that if I prefer Republicans? And what about my voter registration?

The answer is that in November, when the winner of this Democrat primary runs off against the Republican, Laverne Gore, all conventional wisdom says that the winner of the Democrat primary is a shoe-in to be elected. The reason is that this is a Democrat district by design, read gerrymandered, no Republican has won since Voinovich in the 80s. In fact, in the last similar primary, the Republican did not even get 20% of the vote. In November, you can support Laverne Gore. Right now, it’s important to VOTE SHONTEL BROWN, for the following reasons:

Shontel Brown is a moderate Democrat who supports Israel – funding and self-defense, in contrast to Nina Turner – a Bernie Sanders Progressive opponent – who openly sides with Ilhan Omar and Occasio Cortez and the Sqaud echoing their anti-Semitic language, calling for an end to arms sales to Israel, and using pro terrorist,  pro BDS rhetoric.

Religious freedoms are another reason. Shontel Brown has been an active Democrat in the local party for years and has experience holding office including reaching across the aisle. She has developed ties to members of our community. Those ties mean that we can hope for meaningful responses should we need to call on our representative. We can only imagine how her opponent’s  extreme views will be applied to healthcare and the potential for non-halachic mandates in Bris or end of life matters. Or social reforms. To have someone who respects our religious positions in office instead of the derision we could expect from her opponent is huge.

As a Bernie/Squad acolyte, her opponent believes in an aggressive progressive agenda that proudly calls itself Socialist, advocating for the same policies that lead to poverty and failure in the countries that adopt it. Progressives from all over the country have poured funding into this election in the hopes of swinging Congress to their point of view.  Out of district funding should always be a red flag. Shontel is way behind in fundraising because of this, but is ahead in support in the area where she is well respected and closing the gap in the polls. Latest polls show them tied. Our district includes Akron, but Brown’s base in mostly in Cuyahoga County.  All this means it may be a very close race. Every vote we can get counts.

In order to vote for Shontel Brown you must ask for a Democrat ballot either by mail application or in person. It will change your registration to Democrat, but you can change it back at the next  partisan primary.

Bonus if you live in Cleveland Heights: The next primary is only one month away, and support for Melody Hart for Mayor of Cleveland Heights is gearing up. On September 14th there will be the first ever mayoral primary with four candidates running. Again, this will be an important primary choosing the top two vote getters to run off against each other in November. Of the four, two are more progressive while two are moderate. Because local elections are non-partisan, the same candidates will appear on Republican, Democrat and Non-Partisan ballots alike, so your registration for the August 3^rd primary will not affect your ability to select your preferred candidate for Mayor in the September primary. If you plan to vote by mail and live in Cleveland Heights, request all three ballots at the same time now: Special Aug 3 Congressional Primary, Special Mayoral Cleveland Heights Primary on Sept 14, and the General Election in November.  To do so, each request must be separate. Do not combine the requests onto one form; use three.

For now, I can’t emphasize the importance enough: VOTE SHONTEL BROWN!