OPN Sept 5 send

So this week, I’d like to use this newsletter to bring you our team’s reporting on Springfield and its Haitian immigrant community — reporting that has been underway far longer than the national media has been paying attention and will continue long after its attention has turned elsewhere.

As ever, if you have any tips, comments, or questions, I’d love to hear them. You can reach me at 614-981-1422, avery.kreemer@coxinc.com or @AveryKreemer on X. You can also follow our political coverage on our website and through our Ohio Politics Facebook page.

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This week in Springfield

• Misinformation: Here’s how the fervor started: A post in a Springfield Facebook group claimed that an unnamed person’s neighbor’s daughter’s friend found their pet cat hanging from a branch at a Haitian neighbor’s home being carved up to be eaten. The post, without evidence, went viral, eventually being circulated by vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, and various other high profile Republicans.

• Officials refute: City officials, backed by police, have denied the claim. Springfield Mayor Rob Rue characterized it as unwelcome attention. “Rumors like this are taking away from the real issues such as issues involving our housing or school resources and our overwhelmed healthcare system,” he said.

• State support: In the midst of the maelstrom, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine tried to refocus people’s attention on the governable issues of Springfield. He announced $2.5 million to expand primary care for all residents in the area and directed Ohio Highway Patrol to assist local police in enforcing traffic laws following reports of over-strained hospitals and an uptick in traffic accidents linked to Haitian immigrants. DeWine reiterated that city officials denied the accusations that had been hurled at Springfield’s Haitians.

• Continuation: Still, the “pet eating” rhetoric was launched into a new stratosphere at the presidential debate on Tuesday when former President Donald Trump, speaking about the need for immigration reform, asserted that, “In Springfield they’re eating the dogs, the people that came in, they’re eating the cats ... they’re eating the pets of the people that live there.” Trump, informed by a moderator that the claims are unverified, cast doubts on the Springfield officials’ honesty.

• Bus crash fallout: Nathan Clark, the father Aiden Clark, a student who was killed when a Haitian immigrant veered left-of-center and hit a school bus, had this to say at Tuesday’s Springfield City Council meeting following comments Vance, Trump, and Ohio U.S. Senate candidate Bernie Moreno made about his son’s tragic death: “I wish that my son, Aiden Clark, was killed by a 60-year-old white man. I bet you never thought anyone would say something so blunt, but if that guy killed my 11-year-old son, the incessant group of hate-spewing people would leave us alone.”

• Wild goose chase: Claims have been levied by some Springfield residents at city hall that Springfield Haitians were capturing water fowl at city parks and killing them. One resident called the police to report that four Haitians were carrying a goose apiece. After an investigation, police and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources say they found no evidence to back the claim.

• Bomb threats: On Thursday, things took another escalation. Bomb threats were made against Springfield City Hall, the BMV, the Springfield Driver’s Exam Station, the local Ohio License Bureau, the Springfield Academy of Excellence and Fulton Elementary School. All were evacuated and later cleared. Officials did not disclose the exact wording of the threats, but said it came from someone claiming to be from Springfield who mentioned frustration with the city related to Haitian immigration issues.

• What is Temporary Protected Status?: TPS is the federal program that authorizes Haitians and citizens of 15 other countries in turmoil to live in America — and the program that has largely granted Springfield’s Haitians the legal right to live there. The authorization lasts for 18 months. Folks granted TPS are not directed by the government on where to go, nor does the federal government provide the communities where TPS immigrants eventually settle with financial assistance.

• One Haitian’s story: Here’s a 2023 piece on Haitian immigrant Patrick Joseph, who came to Springfield in 2021. He was granted TPS and had to wait for a work permit, forced to rely on the generosity of friends for food and to pay his rent. Joseph said his Springfield struggles were no comparison to the life people in Haiti face every day where gang violence, kidnappings, murders, deep poverty and political chaos are the norm. He found Springfield to be a warm and welcoming place, despite protests against Haitian immigrants by people at Springfield City Hall.

• DeWine’s Haiti connection: The Ohio governor has an extensive connection to Haiti and has traveled there for many years. For years, a Haiti humanitarian and friend of DeWine’s ran the Becky DeWine School, named after DeWine’s late daughter, in a slum in Haiti’s capitol of Port Au Prince. In 2013, the school had nearly 5,000 kids in attendance and provided about 10,000 meals. The school was shut down last year amid growing violence.

• These stories and many others on the topic are the result of strong local journalism. These reports were written by Jessica Orozco, who has written extensively on the issue, as well as Lynn Hulsey, Daniel Susco, Jeremy Kelley, and me.

Local political news of the week

• Foley continues fight: By the authority of the Ohio Supreme Court, Montgomery County Clerk of Courts Mike Foley has been allowed to continue in his role as he awaits trial for the dozen criminal charges against him, including theft in office and improper political and other activities involving public resources. Sydney Dawes has the story.

• Reynolds fast tracked: Roger Reynolds says by law he is still the “duly elected” Butler County auditor and sued the current Auditor Nancy Nix in the Ohio Supreme Court last week, now the high court has fast-tracked the case to decide who is the rightful auditor. Denise Callahan has the story.

• Miami Twp. Trustee resigns: John Morris, who has served as a Miami Twp. trustee for more than six and a half years, sent in his resignation after his California employer asked him to take on additional responsibilities, which was going to require extensive travel. Eric Schwartzberg has the story.

State political news of the week

• LaRose asks for investigations: Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose said county prosecutors haven’t done enough to prosecute 621 alleged election law violations, so he’s now asking Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost to take over the cases and take a second look. Lynn Hulsey has the story.

• Statehouse stalemate: For now, both sides of a bitter political tiff have expressed approval with an appellate court’s Thursday decision to stay out of a fight between Dayton-area Rep. Phil Plummer and Ohio House Speaker Jason Stephens over who has rightful control of the House Republicans’ political fund. Here’s my report.

• Black politicians warn against Issue 1: Black former legislators from Ohio and Michigan delivered a message of warning Monday against November Issue 1, which would for the first time task an independent citizen panel with drawing the state’s legislative and congressional maps. Here’s my report.

National political news of the week

• Presidential Debate: Vice President Kamala Harris pressed a forceful case against Donald Trump on Tuesday in a showdown that was palpably different than the first debate between Trump and President Joe Biden. The two party nominees laid out starkly different visions for the country on abortion, immigration and American democracy. The Associated Press has the story.