Democracy Day 2026 Public Hearing: Corporate Influence and Local Issues – March 11, 2026
Democracy Day 2026 Public Hearing: Corporate Influence and Local Issues
On March 11, 2026, at 5:00 PM in Toledo City Council Chambers, the City Council held a special recorded public hearing for Democracy Day, a citizen-initiated event to examine the impact of political contributions from corporations, unions, PACs, and super PACs, and issues arising from corporate personhood. Council members Driscoll, Kramer, Sarantu, McPherson, and President Williams attended, along with the Mayor. The hearing lasted approximately 90 minutes and featured seven public speakers addressing a range of national and local concerns.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Tony Salagi (sponsor of Democracy Day) opened the hearing, referencing the 1971 Powell Memo and arguing that corporate influence has undermined democracy, free elections, and public health. He called for an educated public and economic justice, including health care and free college.
- Unnamed speaker (second speaker) expressed support for the 28th Amendment to limit corporate influence. He raised concerns about the Toledo Public Schools (TPS) $68 million deficit, the lack of adequate notice for a planning commission meeting on a property (672 Lotus) near his home, and the need for actionable steps and monthly in-person meetings with elected officials. He left a handwritten statement and a list of statewide organizations promoting public education.
- Peggy Daily Masternack (3455 Drummond Road) criticized the I-475 expansion project, citing health harms from highway pollutants, ODOT's own data showing nine carcinogenic pollutants, and the project's cost of over a quarter-billion dollars (66% unnecessary). She noted that the I-475 Neighborhoods Coalition has opposed the expansion for six years, arguing it benefits corporate trucking and harms residents. She urged the council to pass a resolution opposing the expansion.
- Mr. Nestor (Sean) thanked council members and speakers. He argued that corporate personhood, rooted in the Citizens United decision, undermines government legitimacy and discourages participation. He noted Democracy Day was enacted in 2016, and questioned whether the country has become more or less democratic. He urged local officials to prioritize the people's will over career interests.
- Nancy Larson (Sylvania, 43560) shared her experience of a hung jury after a protest arrest for blocking a doorway at Senator Eusted's office. She argued that the justice system punishes ordinary citizens while allowing elected officials to break laws with impunity, citing Israel funding. She referenced a Sylvania ballot initiative to limit local resources for ICE enforcement, and called on local officials to act as a frontline defense for democracy.
- Dennis Slotnik (Genoa, 43430) noted it is the 10th anniversary of Democracy Day. He cited statistics: $229 million from one person bought the presidency, 2,200 corporations each spent an average of $3 million on super PACs, 226 trade groups involved, and 25 individuals spent $1.4 billion. He reported that fossil fuel industry profits increased 68% in 2025 due to administration policies. He also noted positive global trends in solar and wind energy.
- Eric (last name not given) thanked the council for the committee hearing the previous night. He raised concerns about the approval process for large data center projects, citing three problems: anonymous land acquisition, anonymity of applications filed under LLCs, and dedicated natural gas plants attached to data centers that bypass normal permitting. He urged the city to adopt ordinances to ensure transparency and oversight.
- Robert Worthington (last name given as Worthington) thanked council and the Mayor. He described Democracy Day as Toledo's Citizens' Day and argued that money is the root cause of societal division. He urged the council to help Toledo become a leader in educating people and finding common ground, rather than condemning ignorance. He called for talking through disagreements to reach truth.
Key Outcomes
- No formal votes, resolutions, or referrals were made. The hearing was solely for public testimony and council listening. Council President Williams thanked the community and noted the council has been listening.
- The meeting adjourned without further action. The next Democracy Day is expected in one year.
Meeting Transcript
Welcome to Democracy Day. This is a public hearing that will examine the impact of political contributions of corporations, unions, PACs, and super PACs on the city, as well as other issues that arise from the Supreme Court's decisions to give corporations the rights of real persons. I'll ask Mr. Tony Salagi to come up and get us started. Um everyone will have three to five minutes to speak, and we're excited to have everyone here today. Appreciate members of City Council. The first was the Powell memo, which was written in nineteen seventy-one by Lewis Powell. The memo's title was Attack on the Free Enterprise System. The memo was a rallying cry towards businesses and corporations to defend itself against social and progressive movements. So where is this lettuce? Our voting rights fear free and fair elections are threatened. Political power and influence is now for sale to the highest bidder from anywhere anywhere on the earth. Crony capitalism is peddled from the White House, where a walking corporation sits as commander in chief. He's bombing Iran without a declaration of war. There's no debate in Congress. There's no public debate. Other recent presidents have unofficially declared war as well, killed people without permission of Congress or the people. Cynicism, rules in the corporate media. We can no longer count on the media to deliver the news truthfully about events. This is all about money and class warfare. It's all about denying people the right to health care so that profit continues to go up the funnel to the oligarchs. And of course, we get to trickle down. It's all about not having an equated public because an educated public is a threat to the oligarchs and politicians. It's about not having health care for all because that diminishes profits. We had it, we had and have a civil rights movement and legislation that was passed, but yet minorities are well aware that the promises of the legislation and other initiatives have not come to fruition. I began talking about the Powell memo and the fear of socialism. Martin Luther King knew that we cannot have a civil rights, we cannot have civil rights and social justice unless we have economic justice, which means as a start, health care for all, free college education, along with a strong social safety internet. Thank you. Thank you. All right. And our clerk Julie Gibbons, she's gonna go get the sign is she. Anyone who wants to speak and sign in? I think I was second. You were second. Okay. Okay. Thank you. Uh to the City Council and to those who sponsor Democracy Day. Thank you, Tony, and all your supporters. So each year, I usually at the end of my presentation, I mentioned that it's going to be Edward Drummond Libby Day celebration of his birth, April 17th. This year it's April 18th at the Libby House. It's a free open house from 11 to 3. Um this is the tenth year we've celebrated it. But the reason I mentioned this, it was begun to honor Mr. Libby when the school was destroyed. And that was the purpose. And so when it was open in 2019 23, there were 25,000 people at the open house to honor Mr. Libby. Its absence has been made a dip deep cut in the South Side areas of low-income families, and the community still is recovering from that lot those losses. My particular part, Southside uh lost Libby, Jones, and Newberry.
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