Gibbs
SIDNEY — What an exciting year of renewed energy, accomplishment and promise for the Shelby County Ohio Democratic Party.
Christopher R. Gibbs, chairman, Shelby County Ohio Democratic Party, has submitted the following report:
As a party that’s all about seeking solutions for people and lifting people up, we kicked off our spring Jefferson Jackson Day event by honoring Linda Long of Sidney as Shelby County Ohio Democrat of the Year. She volunteers for Wilson Health, assists with hospice, has been a lecturer, and has been a long-time member of the Democrat Women group in Shelby County. She inspires those around her by reminding others that to her, “Volunteering is like ministry.”
The ability to fundraise is what makes county politics viable. In the summer of 2023, the Shelby County Ohio Democratic Party fundraising arm retooled its message and focus. The effort resulted in an immediate 26 percent increase in membership of its flagship funding initiative, ‘The 100 Club.’
Later in the summer, we reorganized your leadership by electing Bethanne Spires of Sidney as secretary, Bill Moloney of Sidney as treasurer, and reconfirming Merrill Asher of Sidney as vice chairperson. I was honored to be trusted with the responsibility of party chairman with a mandate to reinvigorate and grow the party membership, platform and local presence.
Leadership appointments weren’t the only changes made. Nominated and eventually appointed to the Shelby County Board of Elections were Susan Dunson of Sidney, and Bill Wiley also of Sidney (Orange Township) Dunson and Wiley replaced long-serving Central Committee members and Board of Elections appointees Jim Thompson of Botkins, and Merrill Asher of Sidney. As chairman, I’m proud of these appointments and am confident they’ll honor their oath to the Constitution by ensuring voting access to all citizens regardless of party affiliation.
As a matter of policy unique only to the Shelby County Ohio Democratic Party, both Democrat Board of Elections members will not be directly involved in candidate recruitment or lending their names to issues that fall under their oversite at the Board of Elections. While not required, this simple commitment will demonstrate a contrast in approaches to election ethics between parties.
In late summer and fall, your local party fought to defend the people’s right to amend their own Ohio Constitution in the August Special Election. We continued the fight into November to repel the supermajority in the Ohio General Assembly’s brazen, bare-bones, open-air, out-in-the-daylight attack on Ohio women’s right to privacy, their right to free speech and even their right to travel.
Our work locally and statewide helped to defeat the August initiative and to pass the November Amendment to the Constitution that enshrined the right for women to consider and manage their health care privately.
Also new to your local Party was a fresh and robust social media presence led by a new Facebook page. The media is designed to give followers news they can use along with uplifting content common to all, regardless of political affiliation. The page can be found and followed by searching “Shelby County, OH Democrats.”
In November your Party remained “on brand” to lift people up by creating the “Democrats Making Democrats Proud” series. This online effort reaches into the community and highlights local democrats who are or have served their fellow citizens in various capacities by elevating them to Citizen of the Month.
All in all, your Shelby County Ohio Democratic Party is a high-energy, professionally driven and rejuvenated party gearing up for the 2024 election cycle.
