Ohio moves Forward

The Forward Party is a new kind of political party. Forward is a wide tent group that is welcoming to people across the political spectrum. We are only intolerant of intolerance. The idea of the movement is to build a new political party from the bottom up, by focusing on party building and down-ballot races. We are going to let most of our policy be candidate-led, although the entire organization is in favor of ranked-choice voting and voting reform in general.

We want to be a national third party and end the duopoly of American politics. We don’t want to be the last third party, though. Our long-term goal, after reaching the level of influence to do so, is to open the door for more political parties to follow us so that the diverse opinions and needs of the American public can be represented in government.

The National Forward Party is focused on reaching into the states with the most potential of success in the upcoming election cycle and, thanks to the efforts of Ohio Forward state leaders, we made the short list of states where the national team is going to allocate the most resources. According to State Research Director James Bond (yes, that’s his real name), “[Forward Ohio leadership has] participated in numerous projects, committees, and other actions that would develop our notoriety throughout the Forward movement, including our committed state lead Donald Wiggins Jr. being voted to attend the Nashville summit working committee conference — a vote in which he placed second of all Forward state leaders. Many Ohio state leaders have attended other leadership meetings and participated in projects/committees when national/states have requested. Many of them now look toward us for guidance and seek to copy many of our systems.” 

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The focus of Forward Ohio internally in the state is on beginning our fundraising efforts and gearing up for signature gathering to gain ballad access across the state, which should be beginning soon. In the interim, we are building local chapters and having informational meetings across the state. One of the most successful of these local groups is Athens Forward, which is a testament to our local organizers.

Locally, Athens Forward has been having regular meetings at Red Brick Tavern in Athens. Our next meeting is on Monday, May 15, at 8 p.m. The meetings are every other Monday, so if you are interested, please do feel free to attend.

Last month, Athens Forward collected around 1,000 nonperishable items that were delivered to East Palestine to aid the people in need in the area. If you donated, thank you for doing so. Athens Forward is also planning to have more community aid projects in the coming months, so keep an eye out for more bins.

Another success of Athens Forward was the hosting of our first civility summit, with representatives from the OU Democrats and Young Republicans. Local Forward organizers Daniel DeLuca and Mark Harris put on an event where everyone was able to discuss issues affecting the local community in a productive and polite manner.

The Forward movement is active and growing on all levels. With a focus on improving the way citizens interact with politics, we hope to build a better political system for everyone. If you are someone who is bothered by the political turmoil of America today, consider joining Forward and joining our efforts to build a better political future for those who come after us. 

Mark Harris has spent his entire life as an Athens local. This year, he began attending Ohio University working on a political science degree with a minor in journalism. He is also an upper-level organizer for Forward Ohio.