This is the latest letter from Lynn Buffington.  This email is also shown on the Important News page but wanted to be sure Everyione saw this as soon as possible!

In this email:  (1) request for help in collecting signatures to place
President Obama on the ballot for re-election in Ohio and (2)  update on
re-districting petition for Ohio U.S. Congressional Districts. 

(1) request for help in collecting signatures to place President Obama on the
ballot for re-election in Ohio:  If you are a registered Democrat
and  able and willing to   support President Obama’s re-election
by contacting and collecting  signatures from ten Greene County registered
Democrats on Monday and Tuesday of this week, please let me know and I will
make arrangements to get a petition to you.   Or, if you are a
registered Democrat and  able to take a three hour shift collecting signatures
at the Greene County Dems HQ in Xenia on Monday or Tuesday, let me know. 
I do not yet know the specific times of the Xenia effort, but I will try to
email those times when known.

Explanation:  Greene County Democrats have been asked to provide
signatures for the petitions to place President Obama on the ballot for
re-election.  Yes, we already collected such signatures on Dec 3, 
but,  apparently due to some technicality that I do not yet understand, we
must collect again since  the passage last week of  a “compromise”
redistricting law, HB 369 which replaces HB 319.    This must be
done in a very short time and must be completed by Tuesday afternoon. 
Christman Bowers, Regional Field Director for the Obama 2012 effort, is
coordinating this in Greene County.  There will be walk-in signing at the
Greene County Dems, 87 East Main Street, Xenia at times to be announced. 
In addition, Beavercreek (or Fairborn, Bellbrook, etc) has been asked to supply
at least 50 signatures by having five people collect ten each (or more!).
   Each signature collector must personally witness the signatures
and must not sign his or her own petition.  The collectors and the signers
must be registered Democrats which means they chose a Democratic ballot in the
2010 primary or in the most recent primary in which they voted.   You
can check whether a person is a registered Democrat by entering the person’s
name at http://voterfind.tzo.org/greeneoh/vtrlookup.aspx

Please call or email if you are willing to help, ABUFFLG@gmail.com, 657-0426.

(2)  update on re-districting petition for Ohio U.S. Congressional
Districts.  If you were one of the 31 people who circulated an HB 319
petition in Greene County,  you already received an email from me last
Wednesday night with most of the info in this item (2):    You may
have heard the news that the Ohio legislature has passed a compromise 
redistricting bill, HB 369.  We are  no longer  collecting 
signatures on the petitions for a referendum on the earlier redistricting bill
HB 319. We needed about 70,000 more by Dec 24 and the compromise avoids the
possibility of failure with that effort;  the more than 150,000 signatures
all of us  have collected have provided the pressure needed to force the
Republicans in the direction of better redistricting (though not yet far
enough).  The  compromise bill draws a new map.  It is still
pretty much an unfair and unrepresentative 12 R / 4 D map, but there will be a
balanced bipartisan redistricting task force set up with the hoped for outcome
being a constitutional amendment to bring Ohio a fair redistricting process and
one that could be used to draw new districts for 2014. (If such an outcome does
not result, there is still the option of a citizen’s petition driven
constitutional amendment, unconstrained by the extra short time we have had to
collect HB 319 signatures).  Also, part of the compromise is a single
March  6 primary next year.   You can see the new map at

http://www.onntv.com/content/stories/2011/12/14/story-congressional-map.html  
as well as

http://www.progressohio.org/blog/2011/12/house-dems-stop-gop-from-wasting-millions-on-two-primaries-and-end-redistricting-standoff.html

ODP statement is at

http://ohiodems.org/news/newswire/statement_in_response_to_passage_of_new_redistricting_map/

In the new map, three districts (7, 10 and 15) are more competitive for
Democrats than in the HB 319 map.  Greene and Montgomery County are in the
same district (so Representative’s Turner and Austria will compete with each
other, as was the case with the HB 319 map).  Our new  district (10) 
still favors Republicans, but is more competitive for Democrats than
previously. 

Thanks to all who circulated, signed, and phoned as part of the HB 319
effort.  If not for our efforts, the HB 319 map would have
prevailed.  The HB 369 map is  improved, but not nearly enough
improved, and   the fight  for fair districts in Ohio will
continue in other ways in 2012, most likely as part of an effort for a
constitutional amendment for which the HB 319 efforts laid the groundwork.

If you  wish to discontinue receiving these emails, please let me
know. 

Lynn

Lynn Buffington  abufflg@gmail.com 
657-0426

 Stand up against Rep. Austria’ misleading statements presenting himself as a defender of Medicare,   Tues Dec 20, 9:30 am – 10:15 am, Xenia, outside Xenia Adult Recreation & Service Center, 130 East Church St, Xenia 45385 where a  “Senior Benefits Workshop” will be held, sponsored by Rep. Austria.   More details on why:   Recently  many of us were mailed a four page color flyer from Rep. Austria which quotes him as saying  “Social Security and Medicare are important for seniors on fixed incomes…That’s why I am working to protect and secure these programs for our seniors.”    The flyer also states that Congressman Austria “Supports a plan that preserves all existing Medicare benefits for workers and retirees age 55 and older.”   These statements are at best misleading and represent extreme hypocrisy. On April 15, 2011, Rep. Austria and all but five of the 240 House Republicans voted  for the Paul Ryan plan to dismantle Medicare as we know it, replacing it with a voucher system.  Under the Paul Ryan voucher plan, seniors would be given a fixed amount of money (vouchers) and sent out to buy insurance on the private market.    The flyer states that Rep. Austria “supports a plan that preserves all existing Medicare benefits for workers and retirees age 55 and older;” which sounds acceptable  until you realize it only applies to those currently age 55 and older.  Under the Paul Ryan plan, supported by Rep. Austria, when those currently age 54 and younger retire, they would NOT have  existing Medicare benefits, but instead would be issued vouchers to purchase private insurance and the dollar value of those vouchers would not be sufficient to purchase benefits equivalent to current Medicare benefits.        Please join Doris Adams, Greene County Dem Chair; she will have a sign that says “98% of Republicans in the U.S. House voted to replace Medicare with vouchers, April 15, 2011″ and half sheets to pass out with information about Representative Austria’s vote to replace Medicare with vouchers.

Thank you and take care.  If you wish to discontinue receiving these emails, let me know.

Lynn Buffington, volunteer, ABUFFLG@gmail.com  657-0426