Contributors: Deb Wang and Rachel Jamison.
Primary Elections are important. Here are Stow Collaboration for Change’s recommendations for contested seats on the upcoming Democratic ballot.
Recommended Candidates for contested races are noted in green below. Uncontested candidates are noted in blue.
Governor and Lieutenant Governor
Nan Whaley and Cheryl L. Stephens
No contest – Whaley and Stephens have comprehensive, specific policy plans. We appreciate that Whaley has a plan for Appalachia, meaning she’s not afraid to get specific about the state’s political failures. Whaley supports a $15 minimum wage and addresses things like wage theft, meaning she’s thinking about the class of people who have to deal with these things.
We take Whaley/Stephens much more seriously. Whaley has a proven pro-choice track record and Stephens is CEO of the East Akron Neighborhood Development Corporation (EANDC), focused on affordable housing. Their life experiences and work place them close to the issues.
U.S. Senator
Morgan Harper
Of the three candidates, only Harper states on her website that she supports Medicare for All (not just ‘more affordable ways to obtain health insurance’) and debt-free college (not just ‘student loan forgiveness and zero-interest loans’).
She also has a separate, explicit jobs plan based on clean energy. The other two candidates do not specifically tag their jobs plan to a clean energy economy, nor do they single jobs out for such emphasis. Johnson talks about upskilling workers, but we don’t think joblessness is a matter of wrongly-skilled workers, it’s a problem of not creating jobs.
Instead of hewing to a safe unity message, Harper isn’t afraid to specifically name the political interests which have benefitted from political oppression.
Member of City Council at Large
Elizabeth Walters
Walters is currently serving her second term and has been active on a wide variety of issues, including: implementation of Paid Parental Leave for county employees and distributing funding for small business and important social service nonprofits during the Pandemic. Currently, Walters chairs the Summit County Environmental Sustainability Task Force, co-chairs the Summit County’s Special Committee to address racism as a public health crisis, and is a Liaison for Summit County Executive Ilene Shapiro’s Council on Diversity and Inclusion.
Walters supported a resolution opposed to 2018 changes in Title X federal fund allocation and will continue to fight for access to comprehensive family planning and related preventative health services, regardless of income or resources. Walters steered federal dollars towards all public schools to promote health and safety for families throughout the pandemic and allocated millions of dollars for opiate abatement.
Erin Dickinson
Dickinson is a member of the Executive Board of Community Legal Aid and is committed to affordable housing and housing stability initiatives, such as rent and utility assistance. Dickinson is committed to addressing the digital divide made evident by the Pandemic by working to provide broadband internet access for communities to ensure every student, every educational institution, and every small business in Summit County has equal access to high-speed, affordable internet.
Dickinson believes it is critical to continue to invest opioid settlement funds into meaningful, evidence-based healthcare initiatives to address maternal and child health by working with community partners on an integrated approach.