Announcing the 1st Annual Northeast Ohio Political Action Conference (NEOPAC)
Announcing the 1st Annual Northeast Ohio Political Action Conference (NEOPAC)
Join us on Sat. Aug. 5 from 10am to 10pm for a day of organizing and strategizing among regional progressive activists, organizations, and public officials
For too long, the fat cats in Columbus have had their way of things. The situation across the State of Ohio for common, everyday Ohioans is rapidly diminishing, and the stability of the state moving forward is in question. This looming crisis is the sole responsibility of the OH GOP who’ve taken every opportunity to gut this state of voting rights, human rights, and public funding to critical infrastructure, education, and healthcare. Without strong homerule, there’s little action that can be done at the local level that can’t be reversed by the state. Therefore, it’s mission critical that we align our efforts across the state towards a progressive future that allows us to rebuild Ohio into a bastion of labor rights and industry.
At the end of the day, what matters is the number of votes cast in favor of progressive policy. Getting there, however, isn’t nearly as simple of an idea.
Gerrymandering, voter ID laws, and other forms of voter suppression have been militarized by the OH GOP for decades as a means to consolidate GOP control across the state and box out any meaningful Democratic opposition. But Ohioans aren’t nearly as radical as the OH GOP, so there’s not yet been a point where the GOP has decided that they’ve had enough, lest they lose control of the state.
Knowing what we’re up against is the first step in bringing about change. The real work is still ahead of us, however, and the OH GOP has made their intentions mightily clear. OH GOP politicians now see the TX and FL GOP as the model for oppression through public policy. On the docket is nothing short of a fundamental overhaul of every aspect of the state, including public education, free speech, separation of church and state, and voter rights.
Faced with this challenge, we cannot lose sight of a progressive future; though things look grim, we cannot lose hope in a better tomorrow. Instead, we must come together to build and deploy a far-reaching progressive political machine.
Introducing NEOPAC
The Northeast Ohio Political Action Conference (NEOPAC) is a one-day event where we’re convening progressive activists, organizations, and public officials across Northeast Ohio for the sole purpose of aligning our efforts, learning about others’ work, building coalitions, and sharing resources to achieve a progressive future for our region in the face of entrenched GOP interests.
We’ll be releasing a tentative schedule and call for speakers come June. As of now, NEOPAC consists of 4 panel discussions and 2 round table discussions with breakout rooms. With this, we’re looking to have the broadest possible sample of regional progressives speak on the broadest possible set of issues. We’re also planning time for informal networking throughout the event, and we’ll have space available on-site for smaller groups to meet in private as conversations develop. Lunch, dinner, and happy hour will be catered on-site.
We’re committed to providing this event to the broadest array of progressives without the burden of exorbitant registration fees. For this reason, all tickets are $5, fees included. We’re offering partner organizations free ticket promo codes, and anyone who can’t afford the $5 can request a free ticket as desired. Opportunities for tabling will be made available at the beginning and end of the day as well as throughout the catered lunch, dinner, and happy hour. To help recover costs, we’re offering sponsorships to any interested organizations.
We hope to see you there!
Questions, comments, feedback? Please contact Eliot J. Oreskovic (he/them) at eliot@neoleft.org. Links are provided below for event registration and forms for partner inquiries and the call for speakers.
Eventbrite registration: https://neopac.eventbrite.com/
Partner application: https://forms.gle/PLG847XNydUqW7hi7
Call for Speakers application: https://forms.gle/cGJgDKZTvnrAvCEH6
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