House District 6: Where is Marlene Anielski?
By Dana Shugrue
On Sept. 22, people could feel the tension of anticipation in Brush High School’s auditorium when they walked through the door for the League of Women Voters and National Council of Jewish Women’s East Side Candidates Forum. Little slips of white paper were being distributed around the auditorium, inviting audience members to write their questions to candidates in exchange for answers from candidates. More than 50 people flocked into the auditorium in hopes of hearing several candidates state their opinions and thoughts on various political matters. Among them was a student reporter who had booked an interview with candidate Marlene Anielski after the forum, through her campaign office.
The Ohio House race for District 6 features two candidates: Democrat Phil Robinson and Republican incumbent Marlene Anielski. Both candidates preach promise and claim to have voters as one of their top priorities. But sometimes, actions speak louder than words.
Robinson was in attendance, but Anielski was nowhere to be found. The student reporter found herself looking around the auditorium, glancing over each row of chairs and the school’s main lobby, trying to figure out where the candidate might be. An hour or two passed, and Anielski’s reserved chair remained vacant.
When the candidates for House District 6 were called to the stage, as the final district to be covered that night, moderator Wendy Deuring announced that Anielski wasn’t able to be there because she was attending an event for missing children outside of the Cleveland area.
Anielski had sent a written a statement that was read by the moderator, explaining why she wasn’t able to attend. It stated that she sincerely regretted missing such an important event. However, Deuring noted, Anielski did not send answers to the list of questions the League had sent to her ahead of time, to allow her to participate in the debate.
So, who is this woman, who is the incumbent 6th District Representative in the Ohio House?
She has helped to create jobs, economic growth and tax revenues in Ohio by supporting Senate Bill 310, which will provide a total of $2.6 billion in funds for workforce development, infrastructure and art-related professions. Her Ohio House website is filled with accomplishments, this among them.
Having lost a son to suicide, Anielski feels strongly about depression and other mental health issues, and has provided support for families who have experienced similar tragedies by granting a day of recognition to those who have been affected by suicide loss. She created House Bill 440, which, if passed, will give the Saturday before Thanksgiving significance and a brand new title as Ohio Survivors of Suicide Loss Day.
As an effort to draw attention to the world’s “silent epidemic,” Anielski has donated lock boxes to several public and private schools in hopes of providing a place for adolescents struggling with depression and suicidal thoughts to express themselves and ask for help.
Anielski also took action to educate others on suicide prevention by introducing the Jason Flatt Act and inviting schools to participate in the Guardian Angel Program. The Jason Flatt Act ensures that teachers receive proper training if they are approached by a student struggling with depressive thoughts or suicidal tendencies. If students are incapable of reaching out to others, they are able to seek comfort in the Guardian Angel Program, which allows students at St. Ignatius High School and Chagrin Falls High School to write their feelings down on a piece of paper and insert it anonymously into a lock box.
“A culture of openness has developed over the years,” says St. Ignatius High School’s Assistant Principal for Student Life Tim Evans, “perhaps in part due to the Concerned Persons Boxes, through which students seem to be much more comfortable sharing their concerns in person with a teacher, campus minister, counselor or administrator.”
An employee in each school district is required to check the boxes every day, and must address the issues expressed in each note immediately.
“We give that (box) free to any school, church or any place that kids gather,” Anielski told a reporter for Cleveland’s Channel 5, “and all we ask is that an adult checks the box everyday.”
By having access to these boxes, students are able to express their feelings or a concern for one of their peers anonymously and without worry of being judged.
Phil Robinson, Anielski’s opponent, has been focusing on improving school districts and making sure children are being educated properly.
“I’ve worked with the drop-out crisis many times,” said Robinson, who has worked with City Year Cleveland, at the Sept. 22 candidates forum, “and I think it’s about time we improve our education system.”
Both candidates seem to agree that the children of District 6 should receive a quality education, but they have different viewpoints on where improvements should be made. Anielski’s view is geared towards reducing negative thoughts and suicidal tendencies in children and adolescents before anything else. Robinson would like to make changes to the education system.
“I created a program that will consist of crisis intervention access, mental health program access, multimedia applications, a student communication plan, and a prevention plan,” said Anielski at a Senate Education Committee meeting. “Each public institution shall provide all incoming students with information on depression and suicide prevention.”
Another matter that Robinson and Anielski respectfully disagree on is the defunding of Planned Parenthood, an organization that provides health services on family planning, contraception and reproductive problems.
Anielski voted to defund Planned Parenthood. Robinson, however, strongly disagrees with that position.
“I am against the defunding of Planned Parenthood,” said Robinson at the Sept. 22 candidates forum, “$1.3 billion in budget cuts for PP clinics is simply unacceptable.”
Robinson is an advocate for women’s reproductive rights and believes that everyone, no matter their gender, should have constant access to health care.
Although the student reporter has yet to hear from Anielski, she continues to send emails and has made several calls to Columbus in hopes of speaking with Ohio’s current 6th District Representative.
