Activism
Stop the Redistricting! Sign the Petition!
Posted December 12th, 2011 by cmohr152@aol.comCome sign the petition to stop the Gerrymandering of Ohio! Tell your friends!
Stop the Redistricting! Sign the Petition!
Posted December 12th, 2011 by cmohr152@aol.comPlease come by and sign the petition to stop HB319, the Republican Gerrymandering of Ohio.
Sign a petition to protect your voting rights!
Posted August 31st, 2011 by AnonymousThis Saturday and Sunday you can sign a petition to help put HB194 on the ballot and let the voters decide if they want their right to vote limited by this new law. 2,500,000 valid signatures are required by 9/29. Bring a friend....better yet, bring two friends to Carol Mohr's home from 9 to 5 (both days). Her address is 2567 Westmont-right in the heart of UA!
Last petition training session!
Posted May 17th, 2011 by gmcluckieSign up to fight SB5!
Last training session on how to collect signatures to get repeal on the November ballot.
Wednesday, May 25
7-8:45 p.m.
Theater, Upper Arlington Public Library, 2800 Tremont Road, Upper Arlington, OH 43221 (Map)
Can't canvass? We still have lots of jobs for you to do. Contact carolyntc3@yahoo.com
SB5 training with Sherrod Brown May 14
Posted April 29th, 2011 by gmcluckieSB5 repeal training and meeting with Sen. Sherrod Brown
Saturday, May 14
Home of George and Libby Kalbouss
1370 Wyandot Road, Grandview Heights, Ohio 43212
9 a.m. Brief training session on collecting signatures while canvassing
10 a.m. Meet with Sherrod Brown
Please RSVP: T.Johnson3000@yahoo.com or 614-604-5722
Free and light refreshments
Help!
There are many jobs in addition to door-to-door canvassing: Staffing tables at public sites, inviting neighbors to drop by and sign, you name it. Or you might help recruit petition carriers, organize volunteers, double-check petitions as they are handed in, or fill other needs.
Volunteer at carolyntc3@gmail.com .
Thank you for helping stop the extremists' attack on the middle class!
Sign SB5 petitions April 30, May 7
Posted April 29th, 2011 by gmcluckie
April 29, 2011 www.uaprogressiveaction.com
Chances to sign SB5 petitions
We need your john hancock to put the repeal of SB5 on the November ballot!
Saturday, April 30, 9 a.m.-noon
- Colin's Coffee
3714 Riverside Drive Upper Arlington OH 43221
Saturday, May 7, 11 a.m. (after Coffee & Conversation)
-
Colin's Coffee
3714 Riverside Drive Upper Arlington OH 43221 -
Upper Arlington Public Library, Main Library
2800 Tremont Road, Upper Arlington, OH 43221 (Map)
Help!
There are many jobs in addition to door-to-door canvassing: Staffing tables at public sites, inviting neighbors to drop by and sign, you name it. Or you might help recruit petition carriers, organize volunteers, double-check petitions as they are handed in, or fill other needs.
Volunteer at carolyntc3@gmail.com .
Thank you for helping stop the extremists' attack on the middle class!
Time to RSVP to Coffee & Conversation
We were so pleased by the crowds at the first UAPA Coffee & Conversation events, but realized that meant a bigger place. So we found the First Community Village Chelsea Room.
Bring a friend and join special guest Dennis Willard to talk about the Democratic message on Saturday, May 7, 9-10:30 a.m.
Details and RSVP on the UAPA website.
See you May 7! (And afterward you can sign SB5 petitions at Colin's Coffee and the UA Tremont library.)
Sign SB5 petitions April 30, May 7
Posted April 22nd, 2011 by gmcluckieApril 29, 2011 www.uaprogressiveaction.com
Chances to sign SB5 petitions
You can sign up to put the repeal of SB5 on the November ballot!
Saturday, April 30, 9 a.m.-noon
- Colin's Coffee
3714 Riverside Drive Upper Arlington OH 43221
Saturday, May 7, 11 a.m. (after Coffee & Conversation)
-
Colin's Coffee
3714 Riverside Drive Upper Arlington OH 43221 -
Upper Arlington Public Library, Main Library
2800 Tremont Road, Upper Arlington, OH 43221 (Map)
Help!
There are many jobs -- door-to-door canvassing, staffing tables at public sites, inviting neighbors to drop by and sign, you name it. Or you might help recruit petition carriers, organize volunteers, double-check petitions as they are handed in, or fill other needs.
SB5 petition drive training April 26!
Posted April 22nd, 2011 by gmcluckieCome and get 'em! Petitions to get SB5 repealed!
Tuesday, April 26
7 p.m.
Upper Arlington Public Library, Main Library, Meeting Room B (downstairs)
2800 Tremont Road, Upper Arlington, OH 43221 (Map)
Collect signatures to put the repeal of SB5 on the November ballot!
There are many jobs -- door-to-door canvassing, staffing tables at public sites, inviting neighbors to drop by and sign, you name it. Or you might help recruit petition carriers, organize volunteers, double-check petitions as they are handed in, or fill other needs.
We have petitions and answers to your questions!
RSVP by clicking on the headline above so you'll get the latest information.
SB5 repeal drive needs you!
Posted April 20th, 2011 by gmcluckie 
April 20, 2011 uaprogressiveaction.com
SB5 repeal is under way. Grab a petition!
Join us for the drive to repeal SB5. We are collecting signatures to ensure the repeal is put on the November ballot statewide. If you are unable to walk door to door there are many other ways you can be a part of this effort. Please contact Carolyn Casper at CarolynTC3@yahoo.com for more information.
Thinking of giving this a pass? Let's review:
SB5 is introduced by a group of extremists in the Ohio Legislature to limit the bargaining power of public employees including teachers, police officers and fire fighters. The legislation would change the way public sector workers negotiate their pay, benefits, and working conditions.
In the case of safety forces, this could mean the elimination of safety equipment that might save your life. Safety forces not only need to protect the general public, they must always protect each other and need equipment such as bullet proof vests, medical equipment and other items. The folks who make the decision should be the forces that use the items, not the budget office.
Government is not like the public sector and cannot be administered in the same manner.
Teachers, fire fighters and police officers must be free to perform their duties without fear of their wages or promotions being impacted over something like stopping the governor for speeding. It is bad legislation and not in the best interest of the citizens of the State of Ohio.
Ain't my fracking problem? Think again
Votes on Ohio HB 133 and SB 108 are coming up soon. These bills would allow drilling in state parks, wilderness areas, nature preserves. John Kasich has said that drilling in the Marcellus Shale will be a "godsend" for Ohio -- a source of revenue and jobs. But what natural treasure will we lose to pay for that so-called "godsend"?
An equally compelling issue is the big push by oil companies to lease mineral rights on private property, especially along the Marcellus shale formation of eastern Ohio.
A proposal calls for a state-wide moratorium on the granting of new well permits by Ohio Department of Natural Resources until the drilling practices are proved safe. Slick-water fracking technologies are virtually unproven. They are unregulated. Oh...and ODNR Director David Mustine led a United Arab Emirates oil and gas company before becoming the protector of Ohio's natural resources.
Environmentalists/progressives face a steep uphill battle on both issues: close to home example of disaster capitalism seizing state assets in a weak economy, a clear conflict of interest on the part of both leaders.,and so much more. Contact your representatives and senators, and tell them to vote NO!
UAPA on Facebook is your place. Join us to learn, and teach!
Have you visited the UAPA Facebook page yet? Visit to find links to interesting news, essays and analysis of Ohio and national issues, upcoming local events and lively discussion. Recent posts include a Vanity Fair article about income inequality and a video that describes this week’s student activism on The Ohio State University campus.
And our social network gives you the chance to be in the center of the action, whether volunteering to fight SB 5 or adding your thoughtful comments on current affairs!
If you are on Facebook, please join us by searching for us and clicking on our page. You can also link to our Facebook page from our website. This is a great opportunity to tell us what you think and talk directly with your progressive neighbors.
Coffee & Conversation, new location!
Mark your calendars for the monthly Coffee & Conversation in a roomier location:
First Community Village Chelsea House
1800 Riverside Drive
Directions: enter at Waltham Road and follow the signs to Chelsea House
Saturday, May 7, 2011
9-10:30 a.m.
Plenty of parking! Private meeting room!
Special guest: Dennis Willard
Media and public relations consultant for the Ohio Democratic Party
Do you feel conservatives always control the narrative? Are you hoping and progressives develop a clear message for the 2012 election? Meet Dennis Willard, who will tell us how Democrats are already taking charge of the dialogue.
Please RSVP on the UAPA home page so we have enough coffee, tea and light refreshments.
2010 Mid-Ohio Food Bank Drive - This Weekend
Posted January 21st, 2010 by uamakIn celebration of Martin Luther King Day and President Obama's inauguration last year, progressive volunteers organized a food drive to benefit the Mid-Ohio Food Bank that raised almost $3000 in cash and 3000 pounds of food, and we hope to repeat that success again this weekend! Volunteers will be conducting a food drive this Friday through Sunday, January 22-24, in their neighborhoods to once again benefit the Mid-Ohio Food Bank.
Join us in canvassing your neighborhood for food and cash donations. The only requirement is to hand in your donations at a drop-off location (identified below) near your home by Sunday afternoon at 5:00 PM.
Donations will be delivered to the Mid Ohio Food Bank on Monday, January 25.
If you aren’t able to canvass, please consider dropping off food donations to one of the drop-off locations listed below. Encourage friends and family to drop off donations as well by forwarding this Action Alert on to them. Here are some sobering statistics to consider:
- Nearly 20% of children in Ohio live in poverty.
- Food requests at the Mid-Ohio Food Bank pantries are up 15% over last year.
- For every $10 donated, the Mid-Ohio Food Bank can provide $80 worth of wholesome groceries to those who need a helping hand.
Drop-off locations:
- Laura Cook
2019 North Edgemont Road
Columbus, OH 43212
614-487-0479
Block between Northwest and Wyandotte
- Laura Kuykendall
1580 Guilford Road
Columbus, OH 43221
614-783-9677
South of Lane Avenue, between North Star and Northwest Blvd. House is on the corner of Guilford and Beaumont.
- Jan Davis
2492 Edgevale Road
Columbus, OH 43221
614-348-0820
- Carole DePaola
4944 Buck Thorn Lane
Columbus, OH 43220
614-477-1800 or 614-459-3668
Off Francisco between Kenny and Reed
- Robyn Harper
2200 West Lane AVENUE
Columbus, OH 43221
614-554-7762
Corner of Lane and York
-
Melissa Hedden
2491 Lane ROAD
Columbus, OH 43220
614-481-9455
Drop-off on covered side porch next to garage
- Colin’s Coffee
3714 Riverside Drive in the Golden Bear Shopping Center
Food can be dropped off on Saturday or Sunday between 7 am and 2 pm
Join UAPA as we Race for the Cure!
Posted April 14th, 2008 by Pathadler
Saturday, May 17, 8:00 a.m.
Race begins at the Ohio Statehouse, corner of Broad and High.
8:30 a.m. 5K Coed Race • 8:45 a.m. 5K Coed Walk • 9:15 a.m. 1 Mile Fun Walk
UAPA is assembling a team for Race for the Cure and we would love to have you on it. Both runners and walkers are welcome!
To be a part of Team UAPA simply log on to: http://www.komencolumbus.org/race/ and follow the prompts. On the registration page, select Team Member Registration, agree to the waiver and age certification, and on the next page select Upper Arlington Progressive Action under the drop-down menu.
Regarding the questions about how you are connected, click on “I am an employee or student” and for the question “What employee/student” enter the word “self.” The rest is self-explanatory. The cost is $20.
If you choose not to run, you can donate directly at https://www.active.com/donate/columbusrftc08, or register for “Sleep In For the Cure” under Team Event options on the registration page. All registered participants will receive a Race T-shirt as well as a Team UAPA Race shirt.
When we get closer to the race, we’ll let you know where Team UAPA will meet the morning of the race for T-shirt and number distribution. For more information, call co-captains Barb Falkenberg at 488-0588 or Kathy Panning at 486-8462.
Please note that online registration closes on April 25.
Columbus Dispatch 2004: Lawyer in hot water over removal of Kerry sign
Posted January 18th, 2008 by sdybiecBy Robert Ruth THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
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Mitchell H. Banchefsky doesn't seem like someone who would lead a young person astray.
Besides being a partner in the Downtown law firm of Schottenstein Zox & Dunn, Banchefsky, 51, is a part-time law director for New Albany and Marble Cliff, and a member of the Ohio Crime Victims Compensation Fund board.
But then, it is an election year.
Yesterday, Banchefsky acknowledged to The Dispatch that he told his 13-year-old daughter last month to filch a John Kerry campaign sign from the yard of Ann Boucher, of Clearview Avenue, on the Northwest Side.
Two people witnessed the theft and gave Boucher the license plate number of the suspect's vehicle, which Columbus police traced to Banchefsky.
He said he was driving with his daughter when he spotted the Kerry sign at the corner of Clearview and W North Broadway. He stopped and asked her to grab it, which she did, Banchefsky said.
He was more irritated that the sign was too close to W North Broadway - in the public right of way - Banchefsky said, than he was that it supported the Democratic presidential candidate. A registered. Republican, he is an avid supporter of President Bush.
"Most people don't realize you can't put signs in the right of way," Banchefsky said.
"I'm not using that as an excuse. It was an exercise in bad judgment on my part. I should have called the Columbus code-enforcement people and had them remove it."
Boucher, who spoke twice with Banchefsky after the incident, was skeptical of his right-of-way argument. The sign was at least 12-feet from North Broadway, she said, and well within her property.
"And even if it was in the right of way, what right does he have to take it down?" she said. "It sounds like vigilantism. This is about my First Amendment right of freedom of speech.
"This was a Bush-Kerry thing, not a right-of-way thing."
Banchefsky said he is sensitive to the right-of-way issue because a Bush sign had been removed from his yard, possibly because of right-of-way concerns.
Banchefsky, who sent Boucher a $10 check for the sign, said, "This is being blown out of proportion. I did it on impulse."
Columbus City Prosecutor Steve McIntosh said he would not pursue the case unless Boucher files a complaint.
Boucher said she will not do that because she also would have to file a complaint against Banchefsky's daughter.
Instead, she plans to file an administrative complaint against Banchefsky with the Ohio Supreme Court's disciplinary councel, which investigates allegations against lawyers.
Since the July 17 incident, a second Kerry sign has been stolen from Boucher's yard.
The determined Kerry supporter has installed a third sign that she made herself. "I'll keep replacing them," she said.
The whole situation is unfortunate, said the mayor of Dublin, where Banchefsky handled zoning and development issues until about a year ago.
"The political process is to allow everyone to run for office and to allow them to tell people about that," Mayor Marilee Chinnici-Zuercher said.
Banchefsky showed bad judgement, but his part-time job is secure in New Albany, Mayor Nancy Ferguson said last night.
Ferguson, an attorney, couldn't say if Banchefsky had taken the law into his own hands by having his daughter remove the sign. "I would have to think about that," she said.
There are better way to get young people involved in politics, New Albany Council Member Colleen Briscoe said.
"I would not pull out yard signs, and I wouldn't be having my daughter do it," Briscoe said. "What was he thinking?"
UA News 2004: Suburbs' law director had daughter swipe Kerry sign
Posted January 18th, 2008 by sdybiecUpper Arlington News
August 8, 2004
By Aaron Marshall
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A tip for the politically active: If you plan to yank someone else's election signs out of the ground, don't use a "sea foam" green SUV with a vanity plate as your getaway car.
A prominent Republican attorney, who works as the law director for both New Albany and Marble Cliff and also is a Dublin prosecutor, learned that lesson the hard way last month.
Mitch Banchefsky, a partner in the Columbus firm of Schottenstein, Zox & Dunn, has admitted to directing his daughter to take a "UA for John Kerry" sign from the side yard of Clearview Avenue resident Ann Boucher, according to a police report filed on the incident.
Driving his distinctive "sea foam" SUV with the license plate OLDTOYS, Banchefsky stopped in eastbound traffic on West North Broadway around noon on July 17, according to the report. A passenger then jumped out and took the sign, which sat between the road and a fence in Boucher's yard, the report said.
Banchefsky told the reporting officer, "Yes, I did tell my daughter to remove the sign," adding, "That was the only sign we stole," the report said.
During a brief interview Tuesday, Banchefsky called his role in the sign swiping "a lapse in judgment." He added that he believed the Kerry sign "was clearly in the public right-of-way" but acknowledged, "that is not the point."
"I should have called Columbus code enforcement and had them do it," he said. Banchefsky said he paid Boucher $10 to compensate her for the sign.
The Schottenstein, Zox & Dunn website said Banchefsky's practice focuses on municipal and governmental law, including "police issues" and "right-of-way ordinances."
Carlo LoParo, spokesman for Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell, said citizens shouldn't remove political signseven if they appear to be illegally placed in the public right-of-way.
"Signs are considered property of the campaign, and anyone not working on behalf of the correct municipality or Ohio Department of Transportation taking one down can be charged by the campaign for destruction of property," LoParo said.
Boucher, a Democratic central committee member, said the removal of her sign at the direction of a suburban official is troubling.
"Yeah, it's just a sign, but to me it's representing the foundation of this country," she said. "When you start denying people their right to speak up, where are we headed?"
Boucher said the yard sign, while outside of her fence line, is still on her property thanks to a quirk in her property deed.
Said Banchefsky: "I doubt that very much."
Boucher said she won't pursue criminal charges because she would have to press them against the younger Banchefsky and then charge her father as an accomplice.
Boucher said Banchefsky told her that his daughter is 13 years old. Banchefsky declined to discuss his daughter during his interview.
However, Boucher is planning to file an ethics complaint with the Ohio Supreme Court's disciplinary counsel against the elder Banchefsky.
"The fact that he is a city attorney makes this a little bit different," she said. "He's sworn to uphold the law, so I thought disciplinary action would be more prudent."
Boucher said the sign she lost July 17 is just one of three that have come up missing in recent weeks. Early this week, she was displaying a homemade Kerry sign, made with a black trash bag as she waited for her fourth "UA for John Kerry" sign to arrive.
"If I don't have a sign of some kind up, I feel like they have won," she said.
