SWMissourian

Character: Kayley Brennan City/County: Hamilton County (OH) - Cincinnati Target Voters: Conservatives Election: OH Governor (July 2024) Candidate Supporting: Kayley Brennan As your governor, I will champion policies that incentivize the construction of affordable housing units, especially for our students and young families. By partnering with developers and utilizing state resources, we can ensure that everyone has access to safe, affordable places to live, fostering stable and thriving communities across Ohio. I am committed to expanding and enhancing our state housing assistance programs to help students and young families afford their homes. This includes increasing funding for rental assistance and first-time homebuyer programs, providing the financial support needed to make housing more accessible for all. We must dismantle heavy-handed exclusive zoning practices that impede the development of mixed-income neighborhoods. By promoting smart growth strategies, we can create diverse, vibrant communities that offer affordable housing options close to schools, jobs, and essential services, improving the quality of life for all Ohio residents and reducing red tape. View full rally

Authoring Character: Kayley Brennan Columbus, OH — Democratic gubernatorial candidate Kayley Brennan today unveiled her comprehensive plan to support Ohio’s teachers and enhance the state’s public education system. Brennan’s proposal includes strong backing for teachers’ unions, increased funding for public schools, and a significant expansion of early childhood education. “Teachers are the backbone of our educational system, and they deserve our full support,” said Brennan. “As governor, I will stand with our teachers and their unions, ensuring they have the resources and respect they need to provide a high-quality education for all Ohio students.” Brennan’s plan outlines a commitment to raise and protect funding for public schools, prioritizing resources for underfunded districts and ensuring that every child in Ohio has access to a world-class education. By increasing investment in public education, Brennan aims to reduce class sizes, modernize school facilities, and provide teachers with competitive salaries and professional development opportunities. In addition to bolstering K-12 education, Brennan’s plan includes a significant expansion of early childhood education programs. “We know that early childhood education is critical for long-term academic and social success,” Brennan stated. “By expanding access to quality early learning programs, we can give every child in Ohio the strong start they deserve.” Kayley Brennan’s dedication to education reflects her broader vision for a prosperous and equitable Ohio. “When we invest in our teachers and our schools, we invest in the future of our state,” Brennan concluded. “Together, we can build an Ohio where every student has the opportunity to thrive.” View full press release

Tour Name: Big Time & Berzerk Artist: Aloysius "Mud" Devadander Abercrombie City/County: Jefferson County (KY) - Louisville Song #1: Shyness in the Pines Song #2: Friday Night Frenzy Song #3: Fractured Sky View full gig

Tour Name: Big Time & Berzerk Artist: Aloysius "Mud" Devadander Abercrombie City/County: Fulton County (GA) - Atlanta Song #1: Fractured Sky Song #2: Nemesis in Chaos Song #3: Friday Night Frenzy View full gig

Tour Name: Big Time & Berzerk Artist: Aloysius "Mud" Devadander Abercrombie City/County: Benton County (AR) - Bentonville, Rogers Song #1: Friday Night Frenzy Song #2: Shyness in the Pines Song #3: Fractured Sky View full gig

Character: Kayley Brennan City/County: Lucas County (OH) - Toledo Kayley Brennan organized a fundraiser with local progressive business leaders, teachers, union officials, progressive social activists, and women’s rights advocates (Planned Parenthood, NARAL, etc). Brennan gave a speech attacking Republicans for weakening collective bargaining, for bigoted opposition to social equality for LGBTQ and BIPOC Ohioans, and for failing to address the issues that caused the decline of opportunity in cities like Toledo, Ohio. Brennan promised to invest in the local community and reopen opportunities, strengthen and protect union rights, support teachers, and enact policies that make Ohio a beacon of social progress in the Midwest. View full fundraiser

Character: Kayley Brennan City/County: Summit County (OH) - Akron Target Voters: Moderates Election: OH Governor (July 2024) Candidate Supporting: Kayley Brennan 1. As your governor, I will ensure that large, wealthy corporations in Ohio pay their fair share in taxes. This revenue will be invested directly into our communities, funding vital local development projects like infrastructure improvements, small business grants, and enhanced community services to create a thriving local economy for all of us. 2. I am committed to supporting and expanding unionized labor across our state. By strengthening collective bargaining rights and encouraging unionization, we can ensure fair wages, safe working conditions, and job security for Ohio’s hardworking families. 3. We must invest in sustainable development initiatives that create long-term, high-quality jobs. I will focus on sectors like renewable energy, green manufacturing, and technology, positioning Ohio as a leader in the green economy. This approach will drive economic growth while protecting our environment for future generations. View full rally

Character: Kayley Brennan City/County: Hamilton County (OH) - Cincinnati Target Voters: Moderates Election: OH Governor (July 2024) Candidate Supporting: Kayley Brennan During my time spent working for downtrodden people in need of charity, it became apparent to me that many of them are just like you and me. They’re totally normal people who just caught a couple bad breaks and then kept getting beat down by the system for it. Especially thanks to Ohio’s lack of services for its most vulnerable citizens, it’s hard to get back on your feet when life throws you a sucker punch. We should strive to be better as a state, and as Governor, I will be a champion for struggling Ohioans. Housing costs are through the roof right now. This is a result of greedy, shady development and rental practices and bad policy that encourages and enables it. Working families are feeling the squeeze, especially young people just starting out, including our sons and daughters just starting life. They can’t start families or get an education because they can barely afford to simply live. As Governor, I will enact rental assistance and act as a watchdog willing to stop greed and victimizing practices on the part of rental corporations. The same is true of healthcare costs in Ohio. We have the resources to do better for our most vulnerable citizens, but due to Republican politicians’ greed, we aren’t using them. I will enact stronger healthcare reform legislation, bringing Ohio into the 21st Century and joining many other states in expanding access to healthcare for our poorest. View full rally

Authoring Character: Kayley Brennan CLEVELAND, OH - At a rally in her hometown of Cleveland, Democratic State Senator Kayley Brennan announced her campaign to be the next Governor of Ohio. Senator Brennan vowed to fight for justice, equity, climate action, fair taxation, and a more engaged government effort to improve the lives of everyday Ohioans. “Right now, our state government isn’t working for the people,” Senator Brennan said in a statement issued to the press. “Under Republicans, Ohio has failed to invest in the working class and marginalized communities. We have failed to protect the equal rights of Ohioans who are people of color and a part of the LGBT community. Business as usual hasn’t worked for Ohio; it’s time for change.” Senator Brennan has built a career fighting for everyday Ohioans and marginalized communities. As a longtime activist for equity and women’s rights, she has direct experience working in the ground with people who are left behind by our system. “We need a government that is more responsive to giving everyday Ohioans who are struggling a hand up. We need a government that is interested in fairness and justice for all, no matter your race, skin color, or sexual orientation,” she continued in her statement. Senator Brennan is promising to raise taxes on super wealthy corporations and individuals to pay for more social services, increased access to healthcare, and anti-poverty programs. As Governor, she will work to protect reproductive rights and expand access to family planning services, and she will enact policies that reform our prison and justice system to be more equitable for BIPOC communities. Brennan declared in her statement: “Republicans are holding Ohio back from the American Dream. Not only will I stop holding us back, I’ll give us a boost forward.” View full press release

Character: Kayley Brennan City/County: Franklin County (OH) - Columbus Target Voters: Liberals Election: OH Governor (July 2024) Candidate Supporting: Kayley Brennan Under Republican rule, Ohio has failed to live up to its obligations to guarantee equal rights to its people. Ohio continues to maintain a minimum wage that is far too low, disproportionately impacting historically marginalized communities, including people of color and single women. As Governor, I will raise the minimum wage to a living wage that can support young working families, no matter where you’re from. Ohio has failed to implement the necessary legal reforms in law enforcement, the justice system, and prisons to ensure fair treatment and stop harassment of communities of color, especially African-Americans. I will support new reforms that prioritize equity and justice and ensure accountability for those that abuse their power to harass communities of color. Republicans have failed to invest in struggling communities from the city to the countryside. As a private citizen, it fell to me to found charities to provide support and vital services for underserved communities. But it shouldn’t have to be that way. As Governor, I will make the rich pay their fair share so we can provide quality investment in neighborhoods, cities, and people that have been left behind in the 21st Century. As a woman, no one values equal rights and pay for everyone more than me. I will ensure that equal pay is enforced, that more women are represented in business and STEM, and that reproductive rights are protected. View full rally

Character: Kayley Brennan City/County: Franklin County (OH) - Columbus State Senator Kayley Brennan held a fundraiser targeting wealthy Democratic interest groups in the capital city of Ohio, Columbus. She discussed her fight for women’s rights and equal pay, a higher minimum wage, labor rights, a fairer tax code, healthcare expansion, green energy, and racial equity. View full fundraiser

Character: Kayley Brennan City/County: Cuyahoga County (OH) - Cleveland, Parma Target Voters: Liberals Election: OH Governor (July 2024) Candidate Supporting: Kayley Brennan Ohio’s minimum wage is far too low to support families struggling to make ends meet. This is particularly harmful to marginalized people, like African-Americans and other POC and also single women. I will raise the minimum wage in Ohio and make it a living wage because we shouldn’t tolerate exploitation of working people by greedy corporate executives, who won’t even pay their fair share in taxes. I will boost school funding and public health initiatives for all Ohioans. Instead of asking how we can afford to make our people’s lives better, we should be asking how we can afford not to. The cost of poor healthcare and under equipped schools is unfathomable to the families living that reality every day in Ohio. As Governor, I will enact new common sense gun reform that keeps dangerous weapons of war off our streets and away from our schools. Even one mass shooting is one too many—and we see hundreds every year in this country. Our kids have a right—not an expectation, but a right—to safe schools where they can learn and flourish. Under Republicans, Ohio has failed its people of color, particularly Black Ohioans. Black Ohioans continue to be jailed and abused by an unaccountable justice system, and the scars left behind are deep and painful. Black communities do not receive the kind of funding and investment that white communities do. Their schools are left to crumble and decay. Even when they call the police to help them and save them, they have to wonder if they’ll be the next statistic. It is time we listen to marginalized communities and build a state that works for everyone. I will enact prison reform, increase police accountability, ban chokeholds, and reform the law so that bad cops can be held accountable and good cops can continue to do their jobs. I will invest in our future by saving our climate. This is an existential crisis, but Republicans in Ohio have focused instead on short-term, harmful, unsustainable growth at the expense of our children’s future. For a more prosperous Ohio, a more equal Ohio, a more fair Ohio, a more safe Ohio, and a more caring Ohio, I hope to earn your vote for the Democratic nomination and for Governor of our great state. View full rally

Tour Name: Big Time & Berzerk Artist: Aloysius "Mud" Devadander Abercrombie City/County: Mecklenburg County (NC) - Charlotte Song #1: Shyness in the Pines Song #2: Fractured Sky Song #3: Shadows in the Rye View full gig