Dear Friend --

This fight was personal.

FirstEnergy's tactics to keep the HB6 referendum off the ballot not only attacked democracy, they threatened our canvassers' safety.

In the end we couldn’t overcome the obscene amounts of money and corruption we were up against. What’s worse is that the lies, fear-mongering and racism used so recklessly by our opponents could have lasting effects.

Ohio Citizen Action's mission is to organize and mobilize people to advocate for their own interests.  One of the most important ways we do that is face to face, at your door.

The ability to organize is a foundation of democracy. Please protect it by making a special year end contribution to Ohio Citizen Action to support our canvassers.

Here's what some of our staff had to say about how the HB6 referendum fight affected them:

	Hannah Spring  "They infiltrated the trust between people and grassroots movements. It’s demoralizing. I talked with people who had Chinese neighbors and were worried how perceptions of them could be altered. It’s deeper than this campaign. It's about racism and people being pitted against each other - by using historical guilt, hate, fears, to confuse people."
	Mike Steere "What's more shocking, the misinformation campaign and brazen attempts to persuade the public, or the fact that people believed it?"  (Now,) there’s a higher chance that someone will generalize and say “I don’t sign petitions.”
	Tatiana Rodzos "I was initially shocked when I realized people believed the ads. I felt steam coming out of my ears at the doors, because any trust they might have had in canvassers doing petition drives could be lost because of these commercials. (I worry that) it doesn’t end after HB 6, (that) people mistrust petitions. They changed the culture, just like that."

These young people do a difficult job on your behalf because they believe in the wisdom and justice of self-governance. Please support and encourage them by making your year-end gift today.

Thank you! 



Ohio Citizen Action
http://www.ohiocitizen.org/