04/04/2026
Support the Green Party of Ohio
Newsletter committee: Cindy Matthews, Toledo; Debby Manera, Toledo; Logan Martinez, Dayton; Anita Rios, Toledo.
Green Party of Ohio www.ohiogreens.org Co-chair Philena Farley,
The Ohio Green Party is dedicated to being a voice for progressive democracy in the wilderness of Ohio's corrupt, conservative political landscape. We will periodically send out this newsletter to update fellow Greens on candidates, National Green Party news, local progressive issues, and anything else of import to Ohio Greens.
We welcome your input and comments, you can reach us at: [email protected]
Ohio Green Party, 1747 Olentangy River Rd Suite 1074, 43212-1453, Columbus~~~
Ohio Green Party
Town Hall Meeting
Saturday, April 11th at 12 noon
Webinar: CALL TO ACTION
The military is asking for another 200 billion of our tax $$ to fight a war against Iran that Israel and Donald Trump started, while the people of Gaza and The West bank are still being murdered daily. Here at home gas prices are soaring, health care, housing, child care, education and employment are a daily struggle for many Americans. And the only solution that republicans can come up with is to make it harder to cast your vote. They do not want to be held accountable so they are trying to make voting an exclusive club made up of the select few who have benefited from their “make the rich richer” policies and MAGA loyalists who will shoot themselves in the foot to maintain the illusion of their superiority. All the while AIPAC (the American Israel Public Affairs Committee), proudly bipartisan, continues to put its heavy fingers on the scale of American politics to assure that we continue to provide cover and pay for Israeli genocide. Our friends and neighbors are targeted by ICE and if we speak up we are labeled domestic terrorists, or beaten, or murdered. These dots are all connected and while elections alone will not be enough, we must not abandon the best tool we have for not just speaking truth to power, but for becoming the power to make the change that we so desperately need!
The Oho Green party is committed to, running candidates, supporting independent campaigns, and speaking out about the issues.
Join us for a town hall webinar to discuss what some people in Ohio are doing to push back and to share in a grassroots democracy think tank.
Ohio Green Party
Town Hall Webinar
Saturday, April 11th at 12 noon
CALL TO ACTION
Please Join us on
Host: Philena Farley, OH GP Cochair
Keynote Speaker: Walaa Kanan,
Toledo AMP,on divestment from Israeli bonds.
A call for candidates: Logan Martinez,
OH GP member*Immigrant support:
Anita Rios, Oh GP Secretary,
To register email: [email protected]
Support Green Endorsed Independent Candidates!
The following independent candidates are running for office here in Ohio and have been endorsed by the Green Party of Ohio. They can make an important difference in Ohio politics and they need our help to do that. These candidates, Tariq Shabazz in the Cleveland area, and Michelle Bird in Columbus need volunteers to help them collect signatures to get on the ballot. If you can not get out and collect signatures please go to their websites and make a donation, every little bit helps! To sign up to volunteer or to make a donation, or for more information check out their websites.
Tariq Shabazz FOR Cuyahoga County
Executivehttps://www.shabazzforcuyahoga.com/
"Michelle Bird"
Independent candidate for US Congress, OH-03
Enddarkmoney.us/MichelleBird
I’m running for Congress to end dark money so we can make peace, not war and restore power to the people.So long as politicians serve defense contractors instead of the people, we will not know peace.
So long as politicians serve monopolies instead of the people, we will not have medicare for all, a living wage, or environmental protections. In fact, so long as politicians serve billionaires, we will not see social justice or equality.
The public is finally waking up to fact that most incumbents have sold us out in favor of big money
From the outset, I want voters to know that I reject corporate and corrupt money. That is why I registered my candidate committee with the FEC in advance of federal election requirements. Anyone can go to the FEC site, look up my committee “Michelle Bird for Ending Dark Money”, and verify that I am funded by the people not the profiteers.
Most urgently, though, I will oppose the wars of aggression aboard and the wars of oppression at home. The US aiding and abetting genocide on the people of Gaza is what spurred me into volunteering for the SteinWare 2024 campaign. Sadly, the genocide continues. The aggression has spread in the Middle East. The violence has boomeranged back to its point of origin. It’s this unchecked expansion of violence that underscores the urgency in restoring the power to the people. Which is why, against the odds, I work tirelessly to get on the ballot in November to challenge a long-time incumbent who has remained silent on the plight of the people of Palestine.
The Green Party of Ohio Calls for Candidates for the 2026 Elections and the 2027 local elections.
At least 156 Greens hold elected office as of November 4, 2025 elections — Greens have been elected at least 1662 times in history in the United States — and over 7100 times Greens have run for public office in the United States, with 62% for county, municipal, educational and special district offices and 38% for state and federal partisan office.
The Green Party is looking for progressives to run for elected office. In 2026, seats in the US Congress, the Ohio State Senate and House of Representatives, and other offices are up for election. To be competitive for these seats candidates need to begin their campaigns early.
If you or someone you know is thinking of running, please contact your local Green Party or the Green Party of Ohio. All across the country hundreds of Green Party candidates will be challenging the two corporate parties. This will be a great time for someone to learn the art of running for office, and a smart, energetic person can win.
We are looking for candidates who are under-represented in elective office: women, African Americans, Hispanic, Asian Americans, g**s and le****ns, people with disabilities, and young people.
We are also looking for volunteers to work with the candidates.
Green office holders in 26 states and the District of Columbia are hard at work for the voters who elected them. They are creating public policy on important issues including civil rights, a living wage, affordable housing, alternative voting systems, peace, and the environment. They are opposing urban sprawl, fracking, and expansion of corporate power. Green office holders ran to make an immediate impact on their communities as town council members, county commissioners, and school board members. These Greens reached out to voters of diverse backgrounds and brought together coalitions of community organizations and individuals to begin to reclaim their local governments.
Future Candidate and Campaign Volunteers
Please Contact:Logan Martinez 937-260-2591--no text- - [email protected]
Anita [email protected];
A Victory (Of Sorts) For Anti-Genocide Activistsby C. A. Matthews
Five Toledo area activists arrested for “disorderly conduct” for protesting in front of the Ohio Building (where US Senator Jon Husted’s office is located) have been vindicated—sort of.After four and half hours of testimony and police body cam video footage, the Toledo Municipal Court jury deliberated about two hours before telling the judge they were deadlocked on a verdict. While the defendants— Mike Ferner. Susan Kuehn, Al Campaan, Steve Masternak and Nancy Larson—weren’t acquitted, they at least convinced the jurors that the minor inconvenience they may have caused in front of the Ohio Building on October 3, 2025, was justified because the major war crime of genocide was happening (and is still happening) in Gaza because of Senator Husted’s support of Israel.
The protest occurred on a sunny morning and was well attended by approximately 30 persons. The signage the defendants held while standing and sitting in front of the main entrance of the Ohio Building said, “Guilty for delivering aid” and “Guilty for providing blankets” with a photo of Phil Tottenham. A Toledo native and Veteran for Peace, Tottenham had been kidnapped by the IDF while sailing as a Global Sumud Flotilla member to bring humanitarian aid to the beleaguered Gazans the month before. The protesters stated that they wished to speak with Senator Husted or a staff member of his district office about Tottenham’s dangerous situation. They also demanded Husted explain why he continued to vote for more funding for Israel to commit genocide against the Palestinians.
Crime scene tape was hung across the entrance of the building because, as the protesters explained in their testimonies, war crimes of aiding and abetting a genocide of the Palestinian people were being committed by the US government. They each testified how they didn’t want to be arrested, but that they were prepared to be arrested in order to shed light on the immoral actions of their elected representative. Husted had voted several times to give Israel funding in order to commit genocide.
The city prosecutor showed three separate police body cam videos of that day. Each video demonstrated that it was a peaceful protest. The protesters were polite and cooperated with police except for leaving the front entrance of the Ohio Building when ordered to do so. Their protest signage was visible in the videos so the jurors could see the messaging was one of how war crimes were being committed with tax payers’ dollars and how American citizens such as veteran Phil Tottenham were being held in prison by the Israelis and his plight ignored by Senator Husted.
Terry Lodge, acting as all five defendants’ counsel, emphasized to the jurors that at no time was the public unable to enter the Ohio Building to access their offices or keep appointments. There was a side entrance that wasn’t blocked or locked during the protest that the public could freely access. The sit-in at the main entrance was primarily symbolic. It wasn’t “disorderly conduct” as much as “an orderly misconduct” according to Lodge. The protesters’ objective was to demonstrate how Senator Husted was deaf to the people’s demands to stop funding the genocide of the Palestinian people.
The police body cam footage also demonstrated how the officers at the scene were clueless as to which politician’s district office was located in the Ohio Building. The first officer to testify thought it was the governor’s office. “They’re never here,” he informed the defendants, “I’ll contact the building owner.” In the lobby the officer conversed with the building owner and assured him that the police would remain at the scene until the protesters dispersed. “A political stunt” the officer called what was happening outside. “It was the most bizarre arrest I ever made,” he said in later testimony, “about something to do with the Middle East.”
The second police officer to testify said, “I guarantee they’re not even here,” referring to the Ohio senator with an office in the building. Mike Ferner, former director of Veterans for Peace and a former Toledo city councilman, tried to explain to her what the signs they held meant and how federal laws were being broken by funding Israel’s genocidal actions. She stated that the defendants were “more polite ones” than others she’d encountered before, and she didn’t check that the building had a side entrance open to the public.
The third officer (acting as a mediator) was Officer Owens. His body cam footage showed that he listened politely to the defendants, but he kept reiterating they must leave the front entrance or they would be arrested. The defendants repeated that there was a crime happening every time the senator voted for more weaponry for Israel to commit genocide. Nancy Larsen stressed that “Husted is getting away with war crimes. We’re maintaining the crime scene because crimes are being committed.” Mike Ferner stated, “Our government has been killing people by the tens of thousands with our tax dollars.” Larsen added, “Law officers need to arrest the senators who are breaking the law, but you’d get fired, right?”
On the body cam footage, Officer Owens is heard speaking on the phone a short time later while standing across the street. “They just want their voices to be heard by the governor—senator.” He informed his superior that they were “old people” who were going on about “Gaza stuff.” At one point he corrects the person on the line, “No, they’re older… older people… part of the groovy group.” After the call, he returns to the protesters at the building entrance and asked them, “How long?” to which Ferner replied, “Until Husted talks to us.” At this point the crime scene tape is pulled down and the arrests begin.
Each of the defendants took the stand in his/her defense. Susan Kuehn, a retired paralegal, said, “Our purpose was to get Husted’s personnel to speak with us.” Mike Ferner stated that he never said “International law trumps local rights,” but that “We have no rights,” and “Senator Husted is breaking the law when he votes for arms. We’re seeing an abomination of the law.”
Al Campaan, a retired physics professor at the University of Toledo, and Steve Masternak, a retired mechanical engineer who served aboard a US Navy nuclear submarine during the Vietnam era, both stressed that it wasn’t their intent to be arrested, but they acknowledged it could happen. Al stated, “My purpose was to make a strong statement to our senator on his support of Israel.”
Nancy Larsen, a retired social worker, said: “My main motive for being there was because I’ve been acquainted with Palestinian Americans—some have lost 50 family members, and I wanted to stay that not all Americans are willing to allow this to continue. We give billions to Israel to slaughter a population. I didn’t care if we’d break a little law to demonstrate that a higher law is being broken daily. What kind of system do we have if we let our elected official break the law with impunity? That is just insane to me.”
The city prosecutor’s closing argument and rebuttal were short and reiterated his point that, “These defendants broke the rules.” He reminded the jury that, “This case is not about the content (of the protest signage) and why they protested—apply the rules.”
The defendants’ counsel, Terry Lodge, reminded the jury that, “The history of our country is one of breaking the rules… America only moves ahead by saying ‘No!’” He referenced Officer Owen’s ageism by stating, “This was an ‘orderly misconduct.’ Thirty old people wanted to get the attention of an important government official. There was an alternate entrance to the building… It was a lovely day, but 6,000 miles away people were starving and dying in Gaza.” He summed up by quoting John F. Kennedy: “Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.”
Since the trial ended with a deadlocked jury, it is up to the City of Toledo prosecutor whether or not he wishes to re-try the defendants on charges of disorderly conduct. But, for now, these activists are free and happy to know that their voices were heard and understood by at least half of the jurors.
DATA CENTERS IN OHIO
By Jim Kushlan
There are two kinds of buildings that are being built, not just in Ohio but across the nation, that are at the forefront of people’s minds these days, Data Centers and ICE Detention Facilities. Recently we found out another ludicrous thing our wonderful state of Ohio is cooking up. A whole bunch of money to yet more data centers to the tune of a $136 million expansion in Northeast Ohio (Akron and Independence to name a few) and a $4.5 million sales tax exemption on equipment and such that they need to buy to get the date centers up and running. All for 10 whole permanent jobs after construction is complete (praise the job creators, amen).
We’ve all by now heard of some of the major red flag drawbacks of these data centers. Water is a big one, as the centers need vast amounts of water for cooling the machines that house the data. But it’s not just the amount of water but also what kind of water comes out of the data center after cooling. The Ohio EPA legitimately worries about the discharged water after colling with possible large temperature changes and particles picked up along the way and thus it’s potential effects on Lake Erie and other waterways in the state and the wildlife in and around them.
How about effects on the land? The biggest issue here is space, namely how much space a data center takes up. These are massive buildings and since a lot of them will have to be in more rural areas that means farmers losing space for farm the land, on top of the potential water and land quality concerns, something the Ohio Farm Bureau has vocalized as well. Ohio Capitol Journal has also reported that in one case in Hilliard, those planning on building the data center say they will be using gas cells and diesel generators to supply the power. Some good old school pollution right there.
Then you get into factoring how much electricity is needed to keep the data servers running, and like water you guessed it, it’s a vast amount. In a state that is known recently for (or at least should be better known for) its obscene corruption regarding state officials (GOP naturally) and the main electric company supplier in the state First Energy, then you know shenanigans will be afoot, and the average citizen will be left holding the bag as usual. Not to mention, and regardless of who ends up paying how much, there is also the strain on the power grid that these centers can bring. Even a report by Ohio Business Roundtable says power demands will grow by 50% over the next decade because of data center and artificial intelligence demand, not population growth….Blackouts anyone?
Recently our illustrious GOP Senators Moreno and Husted went to pay homage to Dear Leader and to talk about data centers. Ohio is already one of the nation’s leaders in data centers with 200 already running with another 77 more by the time the decade is out. “In places like Ohio, this is a very, very big deal,” said Husted at this meeting with Trump and other tech giants, and further claimed the following gibberish: “As the data centers build new power plants, it leads to energy stability, affordable, reliable electricity for American rate payers.” New power plants, oh wait that’s GOP “power plants” so that means coal and nuclear because that’s exactly what we need more of and definitely not that “fruity” wind and solar (after all how many times must Dear Leader tell you wind turbines are just the worst).
Then of course get to the name itself, data centers….like ok what kind of data are we talking about here? This is the type of question that has already shown to cross all party and ideological lines. We’ve heard of AI and the tech giants and all that, and not to get too conspiratorial or anything but all of us have these nefarious ideas of what these types do with the “data”. “Data” of course being anything and everything on us to use later for the purpose of going after the citizens who dissent. And it’s certainly not all paranoia either as we’ve come to learn during the ICE occupation of Minneapolis, that ICE in conjunction with Palantir has a system where their agents can snap a picture of a face of say a citizen protester for example and bam all possible info on that person is displayed to whatever device the “agent” is using. Where is all that data coming from, maybe soon the brand new center being planned for Akron?
None of the entities of government or business or tech have shown that they can be trusted with all this data and to do lord knows what with it (though I think we all kind of know). But this issue has shown to be one of the few that is breaking the “partisan divide” as there have already been numerous people who lean conservative in the streets and on social media who are leery of data centers. We must let them know that it is the Green Party and only the Green Party that is against this continued proliferation of data centers and as such, especially here in Ohio (one of the nation’s data center “leaders”), we Greens must continue to be forceful in our opposition to data centers and continue to be the ones to spread the word on their many dangers to any and all.
RANKED CHOICE VOTING
By Jim Kushlan
When it comes to either of the major parties in our country, a common feature of either of them has been to make sure that political entities and candidates that are not part of their club are kept from your ballot. We’ve seen this with Democrats and their repeated actions of getting Green candidates and the party itself kicked off the ballot all the way down to shaming voters with illogical stuff like “a vote for a 3rd party is a vote for Trump”. Republicans haven’t been innocent in this either. I distinctly remember early in the Kasich governorship where they passed legislation that basically kicked their conservative rival the Libertarian Party off the ballot, or as I referred to it at the time “The Re-elect John Kasich Bill”. This month the Republicans that have controlled Ohio for so so long have done it again.
Here in early March, passed by both Houses in the Ohio State Legislature and headed to Governor DeWine’s desk, is a bill to ban Ranked Choice Voting in the state. The legislation however does more than just ban the idea and practice of Ranked Choice Voting, it would also allow the state to withhold state for local governments that ignore an attempt to implement Rank Choice Voting for elected offices in their jurisdiction. DeWine has indicated his support and likelihood to sign the bill making it law in Ohio.
Of course, as is often the case when Ranked Choice Voting is brought up is many asking what is Ranked Choice Voting? A brief explanation is that you the voter are not just voting for 1 person for an office, but you are ranking all the candidates in a race. When the votes are counted, if no candidate has 50% + 1 of the vote, then the person in last place is eliminated and that eliminated candidates 2nd place votes are applied and the process is repeated until someone has 50% + 1 of the vote.
This process still does confuse some and that is an excuse many use when banning it, as some Ohio Republicans have claimed in this process. But are these the real reasons Republicans and Democrats favor banning it (regardless of what some Democrats may say publicly)? No, of course not. As we Greens know, the baseline reason is because to ban it would be another bullet in the chamber to keep 3rd parties off ballots. This will always be a North Star for the 2 major parties, keeping those alternative voices silent.
Though it didn’t work out the way we would have hoped 6 years ago in the Senate race in Maine, it seems obvious that with the ability to rank a voters preferences for an office, that people would finally be more willing to vote for candidates that are not Democrats or Republicans. How often do we hear people say they would be open to alternatives when voting, but then the time comes and people still haven’t cast that vote for the alternative. The reason a vast majority seem to give is some version of “throwing my vote away” or “helping the bad guy win”. Both of these are the catch-22 that have been propagandized to all of us for so long, but Ranked Choice Voting is way to circumvent that catch-22 votes believe. It would allow them to not be helping bad guys or throwing votes away. Republicans and Democrats know this, that’s why it’s being banned. Greens believe in democracy and ways of expanding that democracy and franchise, and Ranked Choice Voting is certainly a part of that and another way we can make our voices heard.
