13 11th Congressional District delegates from Ohio for Obama for the Democratic National Convention are majority female, all Black, include State Sen. Nina Turner, State Rep. John Barnes Jr., Cleveland City Council members, Cuyahoga County Council members, Meredith Turner of the office of U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, Obama in Cleveland Wed, Mayor Jackson meets him at the airport, is likely to endorse Obama
United States President Barack Obama
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(Editor's note: Read in the below article the names of the 13 Obama delegates to the Democratic National Convention from Ohio's 11th Congressional District, an article also with comments from President Barack Obama, Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson Press Secretary Andrea Taylor, State Sen. Nina Turner, State Rep. John Barnes Jr., Cuyahoga County Councilman Julian Rogers, Cuyahoga County Democratic Party Vice Chairperson Blaine Griffin, Community Organizer Larry Bresler, and Meredith Turner, a regional representative from the office of U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown).
CLEVELAND, Ohio-The 13 delegates for Obama to this year's Democratic National Convention from Ohio's predominantly Black 11th Congressional District, which is led by Congresswoman Marcia L. Fudge (D-11), are majority female and all Black, and they will add more color and diversity to Ohio's majority White and largely male convention delegation of its now 18 congressional districts. And the president was in town on Wed., landing by plane in Cleveland at its international airport to holler at Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson and other supporters before heading to an afternoon speech at Lorain County Community College.
Asked if the effort by Jackson in meeting the president before his invitation only speech on the economy to an audience of students at LCCC is an endorsement for the November presidential election, a spokesperson for the mayor said probably so.
During his speech at LCCC Obama said that his policies on the economy are designed to help all Americans reach the American dream and not just the rich . He said that as president he has an obligation to make sure that "everybody gets their fair share."
The 2012 Democratic National Convention, where delegates will choose the party's Democratic nominees for president and vice president for the November national election, will be held during the week of September 3 in Charlotte, NC, and Obama and Vice President Joe Biden are the only Democratic contenders.
And though the Obama delegates from Ohio's 11th Congressional District might be all Black and largely female, it should not be mistaken as a trend of the relatively conservative Buckeye state in Democratic politics, political experts and community affiliates say.
"It's not a trend because the majority of the delegates to the Democratic National Convention from Ohio's congressional districts statewide are still White males, but its a good thing because it adds more diversity to the overall delegation," said Larry Bresler, a licensed attorney who teaches a class on community organizing at Case Western Reserve University and a White Northeast Ohio community organizer who leads Organize Ohio and the Northeast Ohio Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign.
The seven women chosen are likely pacesetters, at least one of them said.
"It is a powerful statement coming from the 11th Congressional District that women are important and that the issues that affect our daily lives must be taken seriously by all of those elected to serve," said Meredith Turner, one of the 13 delegates and a regional representative for Northeast Ohio from the office of U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown.
In addition to Meredith Turner, who was chosen last week at an election in Garfield Hts among others seeking the position, the other 12 Obama delegates are State Sen. Nina Turner (D-25), State Rep. John Barnes Jr.(D-12), Cuyahoga County Councilpersons Yvonne Conwell (D-7), Pernell Jones (D-8) and Julian Rogers (D-10), Cleveland Councilpersons Phyllis Cleveland and Jeff Johnson, Former Ward 7 Councilwoman Stephanie House, Community Organizer Gigi Travore, Community Affiliate Louise Buchanan, Cleveland Ward 10 Ward Leader Anthony Hairston and Blaine Griffin, vice president of the Cuyahoga County Democratic Party and head of the Community Relations Board for the City of Cleveland.
Nina Turner, now a well-known Ohio lawmaker who was featured last night on the Ed Show on MSNBC discussing the attack on women by the Ohio GOP and its move to dismantle Planned Parenthood to hurt poor women and girls, was elated too about working to keep Obama as the chief political leader for America.
"I am deeply honored to have been elected again as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention. I was blessed to be a delegate in 2008, said Turner. " And I look forward to the opportunity to help re-elect President Obama in 2012 to a second term in the White House. I proudly represent many greater Clevelanders in the Ohio Senate and am humbled to be able to further serve them as their voice in Charlotte."
The six Black men that will represent the president as delegates from the 11th Congressional District, which includes the east side of Cleveland and its eastern suburbs and next year also a majority Black pocket of Akron and staggering parts of its Summit County suburbs, were not taking their wins for granted either, and said that they too are proud to be in Obama's company.
"I'm excited to represent the 11th Congressional District on this historic occasion and none of us can sit idly by while anyone attacks the people, programs and policies so near and dear to our community.," said Griffin, the highest ranking Black official in the Cuyahoga County Democratic Party and mayor's voice on many community outreach matters in Cleveland from responses to protests over the Imperial Ave Murders, to funerals, educational forums, and Black on Black crime vigils.
Barnes, a Cleveland Democrat who has politics in his blood as his father, John Barnes Sr., is a former Cleveland Ward 1 councilman, said that he is pleased to be elected as a delegate because he wants to help "ensure that President Obama remains president of the United States of America and of the free world," and Rogers, 38 and in his first term as a member of the 11 member Cuyahoga County Council, said that he has been a longtime supporter of Obama and that he wants to do all he can to support the president's reelection to office.
Reach Editor and Journalist Kathy Wray Coleman at ktcoleman8@aol.com and phone number: 216-932-3114.
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