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Dear friends,
Many of you may have already heard the news of my decision to step down as party chairman at the end of the year, but I wanted to take this opportunity to share my thoughts with all of you and thank you for your support over the past six years.
Since the tough 2014 election, after which I was elected chair, Ohio Democrats have made progress on important fronts at the state level -- re-electing U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, flipping three seats on the Ohio Supreme Court (first time since 1994) and netting several seats in the highly gerrymandered Ohio Statehouse for the first time in the decade.
In addition, the foundation of a strong party is building a strong and growing bench of public servants, starting at the local level, year in and year out -- and we have worked diligently to serve that mission. Shortly into 2015, we rededicated the party to a bottom-up strategy we call the Main Street Initiative, providing training, guidance and support every year to candidates for local office from across the state. No other state party provides ongoing support at this scale, and the approach has secured unprecedented wins at the local level in cities, suburbs and rural areas.
For the first time in a generation, our Supreme Court victories and the successful passage of two redistricting reform measures also place us on the precipice of a system of more fair districts that our state and communities desperately need and deserve. Nothing matters more in the coming year.
We also made clear over the past five years that any gains we make must reflect the diversity of our party and our communities, and over the past five years, they have. Our Supreme Court wins marked the fifth and sixth time in our state's history that Ohio has elected a Democratic woman statewide, and in Justice Melody Stewart's victory, Ohio elected the first African-American Democratic candidate -- woman or man -- to statewide office. Women now make up the majority of our House caucus, the majority of our appellate judgeships (20 out of 35), and we have added historic levels of diversity and representation to local offices -- in cities and suburbs alike -- as well as courthouses.
Of course we have faced challenges, setbacks and disappointments in this era of Trump, and there is no sugarcoating that much work remains to address those challenges. But even those struggles made a difference. Even in the recent presidential race, our effort here in Ohio -- where we battled Trump to the final days, forcing him to return again and again -- contributed to the historic national victory that ensured Trump would be a one-term president. Ending the nightmare of Trump will go down as one the most important political moments of our lifetimes, and I will forever be proud of the role Ohio activists, staff, candidates and supporters played in the national team effort to save our democracy.
The party has a full plate in 2021, 2022 and beyond -- fighting for local wins, for fair districts and to make statewide gains (including more Supreme Court seats) in 2022. I look forward to the ideas, energy and perspectives a new leader can bring, building on important foundations we have laid while taking needed new directions as well. While it is up to the executive committee to determine my replacement, I am committed to a process that allows a healthy and open discussion of that new direction. Then, for me, "finishing the job" means working hard to ensure a smooth and quick transition to my successor, because there is no time to waste as the '21 and '22 cycles begin.
I pledge to all of you that the process of selecting our next chair -- which will be elected by our executive committee, the governing body of the Ohio Democratic Party -- will be open, transparent and inclusive. We will hold an executive committee meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 15, via Zoom, which will be livestreamed on our Facebook page. In addition, we hope there will be additional public forums for potential chair candidates to discuss their plans and hear from all of you.
Thank you again for all of your hard work and support over the years,
David
David Pepper
Chair
Ohio Democratic Party
P.S. -- If you would like to indicate your interest in running for chair, please email Liz Shirey at [email protected].
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