Possible reprieve for injured workers

It was great to see the filing of over 240,000 signatures yesterday in order to have a referendum placed on the Ohio ballot in November to repeal portions of a workers compensation "reform" bill that was passed in the Ohio House in March, 2006.

Senate Bill 7 was an attack on some of the most vulnerable in Ohio, injured workers, and followed revelations over an almost one year period of time detailing mismanagement and scandal within the Bureau of Workers Compensation. This was clearly an attempt to balance the budget of the BWC on the backs of the injured workers, and we should remember that this was passed well before investigations into irregularities within the Bureau had been completed.

It will be great if enough valid signatures are certified so we can let the people of Ohio decide whether or not they believe the Republican majority acted fairly, or this bill was merely an attempt to recoup some of the losses the Bureau had seen as a result of poor investment decisions.

However one feels about the merits of the "reform" bill, I believe it was great to see democracy in action in the collection of the signatures, and hopefully the citizens of Ohio will have the final say in November.

Congratulations Maumee!

It was certainly great to see Maumee earn the designation of a 2006 All America City. Honors like these just don't happen. These honors are the culmination of a selfless community effort and a true partnership between the city's administration, its elected leaders and employees, the school system, and every day citizens all working toward a common goal.

My wife Heather and I have long experienced the spirit and pride of the city and the school system as she has been a teacher at Maumee High School since 1995. She has had the opportunity to interact with many of Maumee's fine students and I have also had the opportunity to meet and come to know some of these students through extra-curricular activities and sporting events we have attended as fans and chaperones.

Maumee's elected officials have been able to work together on projects such as Arrowhead Park and the renovation of the Maumee Indoor Theatre without worrying about who was getting the credit, instead merely focusing on the greater good and improving the community for Maumee's citizens. There has also been cooperation across city boundaries with other communities to enhance the quality of life for Northwest Ohio, an example of what can be accomplished when folks work together for the common good.

Again, congratulations to Mayor Wagener, Superintendent Smith, and all whose hard work has helped to make Maumee the wonderful place it is to live and raise a family. What a great experience for the delegation who represented all of Maumee's citizens it must have been!!

Thanking Labor Organizations for their support

As a past member of the AFL-CIO for over 18 years, I am proud to announce that our campaign continues to gain momentum receiving endorsements from the following groups and organizations representing working men and women in District 46:

Ohio Federation of Teachers
International Longshoremen's Association, AFL-CIO
NW Ohio Building and Construction Trades Council
Ironworkers, Local 55
Sheet Metal Workers International Association, Local 33

We're also proud to have received the endorsement of the Ohio Democratic Party as well as the Lucas County Democratic Party
We have also been recommended for endorsement at the state level by the AFSCME Ohio Council No. 8 AFL-CIO and the Toledo Area AFL-CIO Council.

I will stand strong for issues important to our working men and women including support for a living wage and collective bargaining rights. In March 2006, the Republican majority rushed through a workers compensation "reform" bill (reducing benefits for injured workers) and attached an amendment to raise the minimum wage to $5.15, bringing it in line with the Federal minimum wage passed a decade earlier. This represented a "slap in the face" to Ohio's workers and illustrated how out of touch our present leadership (?) is in Ohio.

I'm proud to say that I will work for an Ohio in which those who choose to work hard will be rewarded and I also will work to see that all Ohioans can make a decent living and be able to raise their families with dignity. Let's work together to reverse the trend of the past decade which has seen hundreds of thousands of good paying jobs leaving Ohio while corruption has run rampant in our state. We can do better on jobs, education, health care and the list goes on.

Thank you and good evening.

Mark

Father's Day at the Strawberry Festival in Holland

Today we had the opportunity to participate in the parade at the Holland Strawberry Festival. I want to sincerely thank my volunteers for their efforts and for freely giving of their time and energy, when they could have spent the day with some R & R and with their families.

We were fortunate to meet many great people along the parade route and there was certainly a great turnout of folks in the neighborhoods. I am also appreciative of the enthusiastic reception we received from voters who seemed to express a common desire for change and a new direction in Ohio.

The best part of the day for me was that my wife, Heather, and my two daughters, Caitlin and Sophie, were able to participate and walk/ride the route with me. Their support is most gratifying as we attempt to affect a positive change for District 46 and the state of Ohio.

To my father (who we saw on Saturday to celebrate) and to all the fathers out there, my hope is that you had a great Father's day and were able to spend some valuable time with loved ones over the weekend.

Thanks to all my old friends I saw today and also the new friends we met for your warm greetings and words of encouragement. I promise that we will continue to be a voice for positive change in Ohio and will work to give all the disaffected voters out there a reason to become involved and together we'll forge a new beginning in our great state.

Thanks and have a great evening,

Mark

Ken Blackwell on the radio

I had the opportunity to listen to parts of an interview
with Secretary of State Ken Blackwell yesterday on my drive home
from work on WSPD radio in Toledo.

Forgive me for paraphrasing below, but what I heard is typical for
Mr. Blackwell, and it really rings hollow when you consider which
party has been in total control of state government over the last
decade and more.

Mr. Blackwell was talking about the need to reign in spending in
the state and decrying government waste and stating that
we need a fiscal conservative like himself as the governor
so we can reduce taxes and let the markets flourish.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but hasn't Mr. Blackwell's party been
in power the last twelve years, and hasn't Mr. Blackwell been
proud to ride the republican ticket to victories along with Mr.
Taft, Petro, and others?

Watch the campaign as time moves along. If I could sign up
now to receive $1 each time the term "liberal" is used derisively
by the GOP office seekers from now until November 7, I could
probably retire a rich man.

We can and should demand more from our elected officials
than to simply categorize their opponent in a derogatory manner.
Demand ideas and proposals, not silly catch phrases.
Ohioans deserve more than politics as usual, and deserve an open
respectful debate about the future of our state.

We are a state in crisis with many issues to address and many opportunities to explore. We see people working two jobs to make up for the fact that their good paying job has left the state. We can do better on health care, we can do better on education issues and we can see that
the public confidence is restored in our elected officials, leaving behind
the multiple scandals we've seen in recent years.

Just today I had a conversation with a 22 year old man whose wife has been going without health insurance since they married in October of 2005, hoping against hope that nothing catastrophic would occur, basically rolling the dice since they don't have the $300/month to cover her on his health insurance and her job doesn't offer insurance to her. This, in the greatest country in the world, should be and is unacceptable.
And how many others out there, including many children, do without health insurance and therefore without basic preventative care?

We can move forward only if we engage our leaders to be
bold and innovative, leaving the politics of the past behind.

Thank you and have a good evening,

Mark

The ongoing need for education funding reform in Ohio

This question will require that you recall your days in school. When you went to school, was 58.8 % a passing grade? It is a question we all should ask our present leadership in Ohio.

According to the Ohio Department of Education, 110 out of the 187 school tax levies on the ballot May 2 in the 2006 primary election passed for 58.8 success rate. While this represents a three percent increase over the average for the most recent five years, and a full five percent better than in May 2005, we should seriously consider if this is adequate when it comes to funding our schools in Ohio.

Consider that only 12 of 40 levies where additional operating funds were sought passed on the first attempt (a 30 % success? rate) and that operating levies on the ballot previously passed at a 51 % rate. Also consider that four Ohio school districts were on their sixth attempt to pass new operating levies and that schools with "excellent" ratings for academic performance have had to go back to voters multiple times, sometimes at reduced millages to get levies passed.

I believe it is time for leaders in Ohio to get to work on developing a new formula for funding public schools, and make it a priority in the next two years, so the present burden that rests on property owners who continue to say "enough is enough" is eased.

With the statistics above, schools face a 50-50 chance of winning or losing funding which is needed to sustain academic programs while state funding continues to decline.

Going back to my original question, do you recall that 58.8% was a passing grade while you were in school?

The "Culture of Corruption" in Ohio

With the latest revelations involving the former Ohio BWC's chief financial officer, I feel it is necessary to comment on the corruption seen in the last couple of years in Ohio.

Every day (in my job as a legal assistant), I speak to injured workers who are trying to get back to work, trying to get the benefits they are entitled to, and who are upset that dollars that should be there to pay for their medicine, treatment, and compensation have been squandered, misappropriated, or even stolen from the BWC insurance fund. They have noticed that in the last decade, it has become more difficult to receive benefits that are due to them, as the present leadership in Ohio has sought to "streamline" the system, many times to the detriment of the injured workers.

The latest Workers Compensation "reform" bill (Senate Bill 7 which passed in March, 2006) passed the House largely along party lines and failed to address the reasons why hundreds of millions of dollars had been lost or stolen. The GOP majority also attached a minimum wage hike which set the minimum wage at $5.15 (up from $4.25) which only matched the rate set by the federal government ten years earlier (nice political theatre). I believe there was no reason to rush into a "reform" bill until the entire ramifications of the scandals and investment losses are fully investigated.

Across the state, from the Governor's office to the local level, we have seen widespread ethics violations. From the unreported free golf trips to the laundering of money into the President's campaign, we are unfortunately experiencing the result of over a decade of one party rule in Ohio. And the most disturbing fact of all is that these violations have been committed by political veterans who should and do know better, not political neophytes who could be excused for their ignorance. One veteran state legislator even explained away a round of golf at the famed Inverness Club in Toledo (valued at $140) as non-reportable on his ethics report since he had used a "coupon" that lowered the price to $70 (just below the $75 cutoff).... how convenient!

I believe that it is time for Ohioans to work for change and say to those who have squandered their opportunity to serve the public, "You've had your turn, now it's our turn".

Thank you and have a good day.

Mark Dansack

Introduction

This site was created to establish a dialogue about what is important to Ohioans in general, and citizens in Ohio House District 46 in particular.

My name is Mark Dansack, and I am the endorsed Democrat for the office of District 46 Representative for the state of Ohio.

I'm running for office because I believe we can and must do better. Issues such as primary and secondary school funding, the cost of higher education rising uncontrollably, and the creation and/or retention of good paying jobs with benefits are not being addressed. We also have seen ethical violations that are unacceptable and must be stopped.

Only by continuously asking the questions and demanding resolution will our state move forward. I hope to begin a dialogue which will ensure that these issues are addressed.

Thank you.

Mark Dansack