By Johnette Jernigan, Cleveland Urban News.Com Staff Reporter
CLEVELAND, Ohio-Cleveland Urban News.Com Reporter Johnette Jernigan had the opportunity to speak one-on-one with Ashley Allison (pictured), a native of Youngstown, Oh., and now the 'Get Out The Vote’ African-American Vote director for Ohio for the Obama for America Campaign.
The deadline to register to vote in Cuyahoga County, Oh. for the November general election is Oct. 9.
United States President Barack Obama (pictured) will face Republican Party nominee Mitt Romney in a November election that practically every political poll has predicted as a close one, and the Obama campaign is courting every vote, including the African-American vote, a vote that routinely counts for some 12 percent nationwide in presidential elections.
A graduate of Ohio State University and a trained journalist and law student who taught special education in the New York city schools, Allison said that her most favorable accomplishment by President Obama is the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, the first legislation passed by Congress that Obama championed and signed into law upon taking office in 2009. It amends the equal pay provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, and makes each act of alleged equal pay discrimination, which disproportionately affects women, an extension of the time line for filing a complaint with the EEOC or a lawsuit in state court.
And, noted Allison, she is pleased with Obama's appointments of two strong women to the U.S. Supreme Court, justices Sonia Sotomayer and Elena Hagan.
ONE-ON-ONE CLEVELAND URBAN NEWS.COM INTERVIEW
Cleveland Urban News.Com Reporter Johnette Jernigan:
What has President Obama done for us [Black people] lately? What benefits has Northeast Ohio seen from President Obama in the past four years? What can we expect in the next four years if the president wins re-election as the political polls predict?
Obama for America Campaign Ohio African-American Vote Director Ashley Allison:
President Obama has visited Ohio, and in particular, Northeastern Ohio, several times in recent weeks. He was recently at Tri-C on the city’s east side and he visited the west side of Cleveland too. When you look at what the president has done in Ohio, you can look at the policies that affect African- Americans like health care, where there are 7 million African- Americans that were uninsured but are now insured, and many of those citizens are from Northeast Ohio. They can no longer deny treatment for diabetes, high blood pressure or HIV/AIDS, which are diseases that plague our community. When you look at funding for pell grants fo rhigher education or Head Start for early education, those programs are in Northeast Ohio. When you look at the auto industry, that industry directly affects Northeast Ohio. Many African Americans work in the auto plants that create parts for cars, as well as putting the cars together on the assembly lines. These are just a few of the things that the president has funded that directly affect the African- American community. By contrast, when you look at Romney and exactly what he has not done for the African- American community, then you realize how out of touch he is with our community. He is on record for saying that he would have let the auto industry go bankrupt. Romney has said that he would deny preventive medical services and deny treatment for pre-existing conditions. With regard to education in our community, Romney has said that he would cut the budget for programs that allow African- Americans to realize their college dreams.
Cleveland Urban News.Com:
What is the difference between your role and that of Stephanie Brown, the national get out the vote director for the Obama for America Campaign?
Allison:
I worked closely with Stephanie Brown. She works to develop national programs like the Barbershop and Beauty Salons Program and I work to help implement and customize these programs for Ohio’s needs on a state level. There are African- American vote directors in different states [for the Obama for America Campaign].
Cleveland Urban News.Com:
Do you feel the excitement of four years ago when we were on the precipice of nominating the first African -American president?
Allison:
The excitement is still there and it’s seen on a regular basis when in the field talking to volunteers that support the president.
Cleveland Urban News.Com:
What is the Obama campaign doing to get the message out about voting in Northeast Ohio and Cuyahoga County? How are you reaching out to disenfranchised voters?
Allison:
We are going directly into the neighborhoods to the people throughout the state. We are going to barbershops, beauty salons, churches, and small businesses because we know these are institutions that are the backbone of the African -American community. There is also phone banking and we’re knocking on doors so we have face-to- face interaction. We have one-on-one interactions with people to let them know where they can go to register to vote, when the deadline is, where they can go to vote, and we let them know that we will give them more information as the campaign continues. We let them know that they can go to our website, which is BarackObama.com, and we let them know that they can go to GottaVote.org to find out information on how to get registered to vote.
Cleveland Urban News.Com:
Is the media push as strong as it should be here in Cuyahoga County for the president?
Allison:
We are continuing to rep-up our program and you’ll see more and more literature. As previously mentioned, one of the things that we believe is so important is the one-on-one, face-to-face interaction. So, if you don’t see fliers throughout the community, it’s because we are having a conversation with voters directly. As we get closer to the election, you will see more and more printed, radio and TV visibility. We will continue to have more and more communication with people in the African -American community.
Cleveland Urban News.Com:
Is there a Latino director of the Latino American vote?
Allison:
Yes, there is a national Latino vote director headquarters, as well as a Latino coordinator in Ohio.
Cleveland Urban News.Com:
Ohio, by many accounts, is a must win state. One Republican insider said 'no Ohio, no White House.” Do you agree with this?
Allison:
Ohio is a battleground state in the campaign and we truly invested to make sure that all of our efforts are to make sure that the president wins Ohio and win reelection. We know that no Republican in modern times has won the White House without winning Ohio, so I guess I can say that I agree with that comment.
Cleveland Urban News.Com:
President Obama’s personal stance on same sex relationships has created an uproar among some Blacks, and especially some Black ministers. How does Obama plan to jump that hurdle?
Allison:
President Obama’s personal view is that it’s wrong to prevent couples that are in a loving and committed relationship who want to marry from doing so. The president, a practicing Christian, believes in the golden rule of treating others the way you would want to be treated, and he believes that every American deserves the same rights and protections that he has. This is about civil liberties and civil law. We understand that this is an issue that some people may not agree with, but when you look at the president and his overall values on the economy, education, and healthcare, they are in-line with many African- Americans.
This is the president’s personal view and not any sort of legislation [by Congress].
Cleveland Urban News.Com:
Voters sometimes feel that their one vote does not count. As a matter of fact, there is a Cleveland area local radio personality that says, 'it’s not he that votes that has the power, but he who counts the vote that has the power.” How do you debunk this to make African- Americans feel that the Black vote in general and their individual vote in particular count?
Allison:
We believe that every single vote matters so we, as a campaign, will not take any single vote for granted. We come to work every single day talking to voters and letting them know how important their vote is. So we as a campaign believe that every vote matters and we want everyone to vote and that’s why we do voter registration in the field and that is our strategy, as well as getting voters to turn out. And we will remain true to that.
We believe in sharing personal stories face-to-face about how the president’s policies have helped African- Americans. President Obama cares about families and issues that directly affect our community. Compare that to Romney and it's evident that Mr. Romney is out of touch with the needs of African- Americans.
Reach Reporter Johnette Jernigan at jernigan@clevelandurbannews.com
Reach Cleveland Urban News.Com by email at editor@clevelandurbannews.com and by telephone at 216-659-0473.