Stop the Plastic Bag Tax in Cuyahoga County & City of Cleveland

Working to collaborate and impose their Nanny-State, Enviro-Goon beliefs on us,  Cuyahoga County Councilwoman Sunny Simon & City of Cleveland Councilman Matt Zone are teaming up in attempts to create a plastic bag tax at the City and County level.  

From the PD -- 

Cleveland and Cuyahoga County want to work together to get rid of plastic grocery bags rather than fight over who has the power to restrict them.

City Councilman Matt Zone and County Councilwoman Sunny Simon -- along with the county health department, solid waste district and community activists -- will meet Friday to start hammering out how, exactly, to reach that goal.

Zone has considered a city-wide ban. Simon said in February she wanted to propose a countywide 5-cent tax for each bag provided by restaurants and stores. The stores would collect the fee along with sales tax, and the money could pay for education or environmental clean up.

Simon's proposal raised questions about whether the 17-month old county council, the product of a government reform movement, has the power to pass laws that apply inside the borders of the county's cities.

"I'm not going to do anything that's going to create unrest and litigation," Simon said. "I want to work collaboratively with cities and find common ground to implement. . . a bag ordinance that's hopefully going to satisfy the residents and the businesses in the county."

A self-described passionate defender of the environment, it is simple, Simon is willing to stretch the limits of her perceived power to push her progressive agenda.

While Simon says she doesn't want to create unrest and litigation, with Ohio being a "Home Rule" state, she is clearly testing the waters to see how much authority the new county council has in mandating on the political subdivisions within its' boundaries in the form of regulation and increased taxing powers.

Quoted in an earlier PD article on the proposed plastic bag tax, Sunny delightfully stated....

"I really want to do the research and be careful," she said. "This is something that's going to be testing the waters. With this new government and the charter, how far can we go to impact residents' lives?"

The convenient and cozy county/city collaboration on the proposed plastic bag tax is more than just a plastic bag tax.

This is a step closer to big government regionalism through Agenda 21 type sustainability programs. Furthermore, this sets a bad precedent by creating an avenue for Cuyahoga County Council to opening the start taxing anything deemed unsafe for the environment. Or even more....

- Take Action Now - 

First contact Cuyahoga County Councilwoman Sunny Simon and City of Cleveland Councilman Matt Zone to voice your opposition to their proposed plastic bag tax.

We then need to reinforce the message by contacting Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson and Cleveland Council President Martin Sweeney at the city level.  At the county level, please voice your opposition to County Executive Ed Fitzgerald and County Council President Ellen Connally.

Contact Info

Cuyahoga County Council

County Council VP Sunny Simon
Office: (216) 698-2035
Fax: (216) 698-2040
Email: ssimon@cuyahogacounty.us

County Council President Ellen Connally
Office: (216) 698-2023
Fax: (216) 698-2040
Email: ceconnally@cuyahogacounty.us

County Executive Ed Fitzgerald
Office: (216-443-7178
Email: Click Here 

To find your Cuyahoga County Council Member, click here.

City of Cleveland Council

Councilman Matt Zone
Council Office: (216)-664-4235
Ward Office: (216)939-1717
Email: council15@clevelandcitycouncil.org

Council President Martin Sweeney
Office: (216)664-2942
Fax: (216)664-3837
Email: council18@clevelandcitycouncil.org

Mayor Frank Jackson
Office: (216)664-3990
Email: Click Here

To write a letter to the Editor of the Plain Dealer opposing the plastic bag tax, submit online form at  www.cleveland.com/plaindealer/lettertoeditor.ssf or email to: letters@plaind.com.