Report Reveals True Election Meddlers and Outsiders
A press release by the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund published on April 6th, 2019.
Toledo, OH: Yesterday, the post-election campaign finance reports from the February 2019 Special Election revealed that out-of-state opponents of the Lake Erie Bill of Rights (LEBOR) spent almost 50 times as much as Toledoans for Safe Water, the group trying to protect Lake Erie. Toledo Jobs and Growth Coalition, which formed to oppose the LEBOR, led a well-funded campaign against the citizens initiative during the special election. Nevertheless, more than 61 percent of Toledo voters voted in favor of Lake Erie.
BP Corporation North America, Inc., based in Houston, Texas, is listed as the sole monetary donor to the anti-LEBOR campaign, donating $302,000 with a wire transfer on February 12, 2019. Toledoans for Safe Water spent a total of $5,899.57 to advance the LEBOR.
Toledo Jobs and Growth Coalition list campaign payments to Yellowstone Associates for consulting and New Troy Strategies for targeted direct mail, phone calls, radio ads, and text messages. Both organizations are based in Virginia and registered to Mary Cheney, daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, according to the Virginia Secretary of State website.
“The time has come for corporate-owned politics to take a backseat to the citizen-led efforts and movements for change. We want to be the ones who influence and shape our communities to reflect our values and protection for the city we call home,” stated LEBOR organizer Julian Mack.
(To read the rest of this press release at its original source please click HERE.)