LIMA — A new Lima chapter of the Ohio Young Black Democrats held their first general meeting Tuesday night under the leadership of chapter president Amber Basares, a Lima native and ex-Marine who is looking to spend more time influencing the system that has influenced her own life so strongly.
Basares’s earliest encounter with politics started in the judicial system in California when she had to fight for custody of her children in 2015. That experience showed her how much she didn’t know about politics, and it influenced her to go back to law school and begin her political journey.
Her first step was to start the Lima chapter of the Ohio Young Black Democrats.
Basares’s second step is to actually vote. She has never visited the polls herself. Whether her journey there will influence her peers remains to be seen.
The group held their official launch at the end of January, and on Tuesday, roughly 30 individuals gathered into the back room of Fresh N Faded on South Main Street for its first general meeting.
The group’s established agenda was to educate and impress upon both young and black voters the importance of coming out to the polls, especially in wards where turnout above 10 percent is considered impressive.
“I want to see minorities raise the bar and not just be statistics,” Basares said. Taking from her own story, she explained how individuals may not understand how the system affects them, and because of such, they don’t act at the voting booth.
At the first meeting, those gathered started with the basics — definitions of basic political terms, the principles of voting, the differences between May primaries and the November contest.
Allen County Board of Elections Director Kathy Meyer was on hand to help explain the ins and outs of the voting process. Other Lima city officials at the meeting included Chief of Staff Sheretta Smith, Neighborhood Specialist Autumn Swanson and 5th District Councilman Jamie Dixon, who was on hand to provide resources to the group.
Policy goals of the group include increasing housing ownership, improving childcare options and creating jobs for underdeveloped communities.
The Lima chapter of the Ohio Young Black Democrats meets every fourth Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Fresh N Faded, 227 S. Main St.
