Trending
For 18 years, I held elected office in Youngstown, Ohio, as a school board member, a city councilman, president of council, and then as mayor.
Being mayor was the best job I ever had. I had a chance to shine a light on the kind of people we are and the kind of community we can be when we all come together to help each other. I never lost faith in that, and I still haven't.
As mayor, you are also never too far from the people -- they remind you every day that their needs come first, whether it is housing, education, clean streets, or public safety. My job was to make sure I heard from the people about what is going on in their lives and took steps to let them know how we are going to help them ("find a problem and solve it").
That closeness gives mayors a special responsibility to make sure that the voice of the people is never far from the decisions made by the public officials they entrust to look out for their needs.
Nowhere is this more important than during our elections. When we come together to vote, we are coming together to choose our future. Voting is at the very heart of the faith we place in our government to act on our behalf and to make sure that it is done honestly and justly.
Elections are always a time of heightened rhetoric and high temperatures. Far too many people in our community face barriers and challenges to voting every year they should not face- challenges that too often fall unfairly on underserved and minority communities. We have a moral responsibility to ensure that everyone who is eligible to register and vote, have their opportunity.
But this year, Ohio voters, election workers, and the election process itself face more than the usual challenges, and more than just rhetoric. National Security Leaders for America, a non-partisan network of former military and civilian leaders from across the political spectrum, have sounded the alarm about the threat of possible Federal interference in election processes, and intimidation of voters and election workers. In fact, the Attorney General of the United States has said he will not rule out federal interference in the election.
We should not respond to these threats and potential intrusions with fear, but with knowledge and resolve.
Interference or intimidation of a voter or an election worker in the process of casting, counting, and tabulating the votes is illegal under Ohio law -- whether the person interfering is a private citizen or someone wearing a federal badge or uniform. Like every state, Ohio administers its own elections and has responsibility for making sure that voters can vote and that election workers keep ballots and voting machines and tabulations secure.
This kind of federal intrusion is unnecessary. In Ohio, we know how to do this. The Boards of Elections in my Mahoning County, like every county in Ohio, is made up of an equal number of Republican and Democratic appointees. Our elections are run by experienced directors and professional staff at the Board of Elections who manage the work of election workers at polling places capably and well. They run a secure and transparent process for casting and counting votes and then certifying the results.
We know what a free and fair election looks like. We have one every year. We count on Ohio's state and local election officials to ensure that registered voters can vote free of discrimination, intimidation, or barriers to the ballot box, and that election officials are able to resist outside pressures and to do their jobs of counting votes and certifying the results.
I understand the worry and mistrust people carry into this election, especially when they hear about new threats. I heard about it every day as mayor. Youngstown is a small but proud city that has struggled with unemployment and economic challenges that impact so many parts of our daily lives. We are also the county seat of Mahoning County, a county that is still fighting back against a half century of corporate corruption and political corruption that have caused many in our community to doubt whether they can trust the government.
But we must not let this mistrust spill over into mistrust of the elections that provide us the most powerful path to choose our own better future.
At the end of the day, I know no public official has all the answers, and that we must stay surrounded and connected. I trust all the officials in our county- from the Board of Elections to law enforcement to prosecutors to mayors- will come together to provide support for each other and our voters.
The doors are open at the Board of Elections to vote early this week. Every voter should feel safe and welcome whether you vote early, whether you mailed in your absentee ballot or deliver it in person to the drop box at the Board ahead of election day, or whether you vote at the polling place in your community on election day.
I never lost faith as mayor that there is strength in how we can come together to do more than we could on our own. Let's do that again this election day.
Jamael “Tito” Brown is a Youngstown resident and former mayor of the city.