"I am proud to be your County Commissioner, and I ask for your support on November 7th so we can keep moving forward toward a future full of promise and opportunity: a future that makes us proud to say we're from Portage County."
Chuck Keiper, Democrat
Portage County Commissioner
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Endorsements - 10.22.2006
And the Endorsements keep on coming! We received notification yesterday that I have received the endorsement of Asbestos Workers Local #84. I would like to thank that group for its support and for its interest in my race.
To date we have garnered a dozen endorsements including Tri-County Building & Construction Trades Council, Carpenters Local #639, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local #306, Iron Workers Local #17, Iron Workers Local #550, Painters Local #841, Plumbers and Pipefitters Local #219, Teamsters Local #348, Unite HERE Local #10, BrickLayers Local #7, and the AKRON BEACON JOURNAL (10-9-06). I would like to thank all of these organizations for their faith, trust, and confidence. I promise to continue carrying the torch for working men and women.
Portage County Sheriff and union - 10.20.2006
I've gotten a number of calls in the past 12 hours about the bargaining unit contract between the Portage County Sheriff and union representing his employees. The calls, all anonymous, raise a concern that somehow the Board of Commissioners has been unfair to these hard working folks. I've received enough calls that I thought I should respond here.
First, let me tell you that I believe in the right of workers to organize. I am a former AFL-CIO Boilermaker member and currently am a member of the American Federation of Musicians, Local #24. I support our law enforcement community and the men and women who make our safety their life's work.
I have been hearing lately that an attorney in those negotiations spent a good deal of time bad mouthing me - in fact one of my several anonymous phone messages was very direct on this subject. I have no idea what caused such a behavior on that person's part or whether, in fact, such a behavior really did take place. I am certainly aware that those negotiations are occurring but I have had no voice in them. This bargaining unit, after all, belongs to the Sheriff - not the Board of Commissioners. As for health insurance, the Board has been trying to unify the language in all of our contracts (I believe that there are 14 separate bargaining units under the entire Portage County Umbrella) for nearly 5 years now. We have successfully negotiated a standardized language in nearly all of them at this point. We are not "going after" insurance coverage. We are trying to manage it, however. With over 1200 employees it can be quite challenging to have more than a few plans. It just makes managing our cost of health care nearly impossible. The Board of Commissioners is dedicated to providing the best package of benefits to its dedicated employees as is possible. If you'll check the offerings of private and public employers in the region you will find our current offering in the upper 5 or 10%. You will also find that we are among a group of very few employers who still offer a plan that does not cost the employee a single penny. We have three plans currently; a gold plan, a silver plan and a basic plan, for lack of a better way to describe them. Employees make a contribution on the first two, but the third remains free.
To date, no member of the leadership or bargaining unit representation has ever had a conversation with me - either directly or indirectly. And I mean NEVER. I am not the elected official to whom these folks report, I am not in their chain of command. I have never said yes to any request and I have never said no to any request because, of course, I have never been asked. No one has ever reported a problem or concern to me nor has my help ever been enlisted. Had such a request been made I would have certainly stepped forward (within the limits of SERB requirements, of course) but no one has ever made such a request or reached out to me in any way. In fact, I only learned there was a problem today!
NEOUCoM gift - 10.19.2006
Congratulations to every Portage County resident and a great big THANK YOU to an anonymous donor who is helping to change ALL of our lives! The Northeast Ohio Universities College of Medicine announced today that it has received a $1.1 million anonymous gift toward to construction of a medical clinic which will serve the needs of the medically underserved in Portage County. The clinic has been a dream of a number of community leaders, myself included, for well over a decade now.
For the past 5 or 6 years I have been meeting with Steve Colecchi, CEO of Robinson Memorial Hospital; Mark Frisone, CEO of Family and Community Services of Portage County, and Dr. Jay Porter, Associate Dean at NEOUCoM. Our singular purpose? How to create such a facility in Portage County. During that time we have made great progress. With this generous gift we hope now to be able to move forward. Keep watching my blog and I'll keep you up to date! With a little luck, we hope to be open within the next 12-18 months!!
Vote Tom Sawyer (and Chuck, of course)! - 10.18.2006
Chris Smeiles and I spent a long, fun day putting out Chuck Keiper signs. My thank to Chris and to the dozens upon dozens of folks who asked for our signs! It's all of you who are going to help me win this election.
TN and Christine Bhargava hosted an event for Tom Sawyer at Mangiamo's in Twin Lakes. Many of you will remember Tom as our long-time US Representative. Tom is now a candidate for the State Board of Education. Tom has, without doubt, the best background for this job possible! An educator himself, Tom has a been one of the strongest advocates for education throughout his career. He will be a part of the solution for Ohio's educational mess. He is the ENDORSED DEMOCRATIC candidate. SO when you're voting for change in Ohio make sure you vote for Tom Sawyer. He's going to change the way we think about education in this state!
Parks, open space, and farmland preservation - 10.17.2006
There's been an awful lot of wind out there about which candidate will best support our parks, open space, and farmland preservation. I also know that during an election year some folks will say just about anything to get your vote. I prefer to let my record speak for itself.
For 13+ years now I have, without a doubt, been the strongest voice for our county parks on the Board of Commissioners. I advocated for a dilution of the Board of Commissioners funding by allowing a portion of our inside millage to be split with the Park Board thus providing the very first solid, undisputed and irrevocable funding in the history of the Portage County Park Board. I fought for the health of the middle Cuyahoga - and won. There is now a guaranteed amount of water going over the Lake Rockwell Dam and the middle Cuyahoga is healthier than at anytime in my lifetime! I brought the initial funding for the Kent Dam Restoration Project (about 3/4's of a million), helped where ever I could with the Portage Project including fighting for federal funding for the State Route 261 footbridge as well as Natural Resource Assistance Council Funding for purchasing some of the land along that remarkable footpath. I fought for the inclusion of local voices at the Summit superfund site, fought against the burning of old buildings at the Arsenal, and have been a creative and powerful part of making our recycling program the best in the State. I have carried the torch on loans extensions and loan forgiveness for the Parks Board. I believe that our last, best chance to leave a legacy of high quality park land for future generation of Portage Countians to enjoy is today. I support open space zoning, farmland preservation, purchase of development rights programs, and have supported each with my voice and my vote. And the list goes on and on.
So before you go to the polls make sure you check the record of each candidate. My record is strong and clear. Don't fall for some empty promise. Check the record. Whatever else you might be hearing is just a lot of wind.
Campaigning, "Change Ohio" and Issue 3 - 10.15.2006
We spent quite a long day campaigning yesterday! Signs duties have arrived - one of my favorite parts of the campaign, actually. Bonnie and I formed one of our several crews putting out 4X8 signs. Our thanks to everyone who helped. We will be placing about 750 more little yard signs over the next couple of weeks. You can sign up for a Keiper or Bogo sign right here on this site or you can call my home.
We went to a great breakfast sponsored by the Ravenna Men's Civic Club. While the event was billed as a Strickland-style "Change Ohio" Rally, it was really more an opportunity for that organization to meet all candidates. The breakfast was spectacular! Sausage gravy and biscuits, eggs, bacon, sausage, grits . . . mmm, mmm, mmm!! Hats off to the cooks!
My good friend Peter Lawson Jones, Cuyahoga County Commissioner and former democratic gubernatorial candidate was the key note speaker. An eloquent, intelligent man, Peter is passionate about why we all ought to be supporting Ted Strickland. He was equally passionate about his support for State Issue 3 - the slot machine issue. He believes that this issue is absolutely necessary for the State to be able to compete with our neighboring states. Those states provide college educations to their young people for a fraction of the cost of education in Ohio. As a result, Ohio continues to lose our best and brightest kids to out-of-state colleges. Many never come back. If Peter is any where close to right, you may want to give this issue a good look before deciding how you're going to vote.
Annual Jefferson-Jackson Day Dinner - 10.14.2006
The Portage county Democratic Party held its annual Jefferson-Jackson Day Dinner last evening. Jennifer Brunner was the evenings key note speaker. Jennifer is going to be Ohio's next Secretary of State. Her speech was moving and right on target. This is one bright and talented leader. Be sure you vote for Jennifer Brunner and the entire DEMOCRATIC TICKET on November 7th.
I was able to perform "Rise Up Together" at the banquet as well. For those of you who came up to me afterward, thank you for your kind and enthusiastic words. The song never fails to motivate and invigorate Democrats!! All you interested folks can hear the song right here on this site and download it for free. We'd love to have you download a better quality copy and make a contribution to our campaign efforts. Incidentally, we were posted recently on Arriana Huffington's blog and the song had a few thousand visitors take a listen! AND Ted Strickland recently released a collection of songs called "SONGS FOR CHANGE." You'll find "Rise Up Together" right in the middle of the disk. Ted tells me that he listens to the song every day and especially when he needs encouragement or fired up before a big event! Thanks Ted!! I wonder if he'll let me sing it at the inaugural?!!
Bonnie Jane - 10.13.2006
I'm going to spend today's blog saying nothing about politics, work, or my philosophy of life! Instead, I just want to tell my bride, Bonnie Jane, how much I love her. We have been married two months today! There is simply no way to tell you how you have transformed my life. I can't wait to find what our future holds. Thank you for your support, for your patience, and for the warmth you have brought to my life. I love you.
Absentee Ballots - 10.11.2006
There's a movement afoot. Can you feel it? Are you a part of it? Odds are you are. I just picked up a set of absentee labels from the portage County Board of Elections. For the uninitiated, during every election cycle people can apply to vote absentee. The Board of Elections (BOE) then mails a ballot to those individuals who in turn complete and return that ballot to the BOE. For a small fee, candidates, like myself, can purchase a set of labels so that they can send information to those absentee voters about their campaigns. During the course of the dozens of elections in which I have been involved, those numbers tend to hover around 3,000 absentee voters on average in Portage County. We have already sent nearly three thousand out after just 4 days!! That is remarkable. The estimates indicate that the number will reach 10,000 before we're done. Why?
The answer is in how folks feel about the new computerized voting process. A good number of folks feel that they never had their votes counted in the last couple of elections and that those two elections were "stolen" in Ohio. Voting absentee assures your ballot gets counted and because it is a paper ballot through which your vote is cast, a verifiable paper record is left behind. This appeals to a lot of folks and the numbers of folks requesting absentee ballots has more than tripled! The last day to get in touch with the BOE to get an absentee ballot? November 4th is the very last day if you order by phone. You can walk into the BOE up until 6:00 on November 6th (the day before Election Day) and get an absentee ballot as well. I recommend it!! Let's all send a message to Columbus and Washington that the old system of voting was fine and that we no longer want our elections manipulated!
DEMOCRAT, and proud of it! - 10.10.2006
If there's anything more beautiful than a crisp autumn day in Ohio I don't know what it is. What a glorious day today. I spent a full day working at the County Building then headed over to a Mary Jane Trapp fundraiser. Mary Jane is running for the 11th District Court of Appeals and is the Endorsed Democrat in that raise. She's going to make a great judge and deserves our support.
I spent the evening with the Portage Democratic Coalition, the progressive organization in Portage County. We shared a lovely meal and then I was able to share some thoughts about myself and my office. During the Q & A session that followed I was asked what being a Democrat meant to me and what having the Democrat next to my name should mean to voters.
Folks, it's real simple. The commitment I have made is a lifelong commitment to ALWAYS place the value of common folks above everything else. I am a DEMOCRAT. I am proud of the things for which the Democratic Party stands. I believe in a family supporting wage. I believe in accountability. I believe in the right of workers to organize. I believe in the right to free speech. I believe that we are only as strong as our ability to lift up the weakest among us. I believe that we have a right to expect affordable medical and pharmaceutical coverage and that retirees should be able to count on the pensions they earned from the companies they gave a lifetime to. Every single time I am faced with a decision I will always, 100% of the time, err on the side of the common man. I don't hide behind the label "DEMOCRAT". I wear it like a badge of honor!!
Important Issues
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Media
Links
- Chuck's Music Site
- Ted Strickland
- Sherrod Brown
- Portage County Democrats
- Northeastern Portage County Democrats' Club
